April 27th, 2009 / 12:56 pm
 Author News

Gulag Archipelago 2

prison051707

“In prison, they saved. They saved cigarette ends to make full cigarettes from the tobacco. They saved bits of turnip to eat at night when they were hungry. They saved shoelace ends to tie together to make new shoelaces. They saved the stumps of rotten teeth that fell out of their mouths.

“It was 2010 and they were in prison.”

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8 Comments

  1. April 27th, 2009 / 5:12 pm addison Kerr—

      i am not looking forward to future prison worlds

  2. April 27th, 2009 / 1:12 pm addison Kerr—

      i am not looking forward to future prison worlds

  3. April 27th, 2009 / 8:36 pm Matthew Simmons—

      NOTES ON THIS POST

      Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist who was imprisoned in a labor camp. He wrote a book called The Gulag Archipelago.

      Keith Gessen is an American novelist. He was arrested in Russia, and spent a couple of hours in custody.

      Keith Gessen wrote a book called All the Sad Young Literary Men. The title refers to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book of stories All the Sad Young Men.

      Gessen’s book begins:

      “In New York, they saved.

      “They saved on orange juice, sliced bread, they saved on coffee. On movies, magazines, museum admission (on Friday nights). Train fare, subway fare, their apartment out in Queens. It was a principle, of sorts, and they stuck to it. Mark and Sasha lived on the 7 train that year and when they got out, out in Queens, Mark would follow Sasha like a little boy as she checked the prices at the Korean grocers, and cross-checked them, so they could save on fruits and vegetables and little Korean treats. They saved on clothes.

      “It was 1998 and they were in love.”

      I’m working this shit on some other level shit.

  4. April 27th, 2009 / 4:36 pm Matthew Simmons—

      NOTES ON THIS POST

      Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist who was imprisoned in a labor camp. He wrote a book called The Gulag Archipelago.

      Keith Gessen is an American novelist. He was arrested in Russia, and spent a couple of hours in custody.

      Keith Gessen wrote a book called All the Sad Young Literary Men. The title refers to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book of stories All the Sad Young Men.

      Gessen’s book begins:

      “In New York, they saved.

      “They saved on orange juice, sliced bread, they saved on coffee. On movies, magazines, museum admission (on Friday nights). Train fare, subway fare, their apartment out in Queens. It was a principle, of sorts, and they stuck to it. Mark and Sasha lived on the 7 train that year and when they got out, out in Queens, Mark would follow Sasha like a little boy as she checked the prices at the Korean grocers, and cross-checked them, so they could save on fruits and vegetables and little Korean treats. They saved on clothes.

      “It was 1998 and they were in love.”

      I’m working this shit on some other level shit.

  5. April 27th, 2009 / 4:59 pm pr—

      Matthew- thanks for explaining this to me. I like your other level shit.

      Did you read that Gessen book in it’s entirety?

  6. April 27th, 2009 / 9:22 pm Matthew Simmons—

      I didn’t. I’ve been a little put-off by him.

      I should probably open my mind up to him a little.

  7. April 27th, 2009 / 5:22 pm Matthew Simmons—

      I didn’t. I’ve been a little put-off by him.

      I should probably open my mind up to him a little.

  8. April 27th, 2009 / 5:34 pm pr—

      Really really bad title and um, yeah.
      I like F Scott a lot, though. I’m reading this F. Scott thing in the latest Tyrant. It’s wonderful.