The Monastery

More about the book

Set in the late 1920s, the story follows Artiom Goriainov, a man wrongfully convicted of patricide and imprisoned in the brutal Soviet camps of the Solovki Archipelago. As he endures the harsh realities of camp life—hunger, betrayal, and the loss of friends—Artiom remains an everyman without strong political beliefs, driven solely by the instinct to survive. His narrative unfolds like a witness to the chaos around him, capturing both the brutality of the environment and a poignant love affair amidst despair.