Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life

With Michael Scammell's superb 1984 biography, Solzhenitsyn, out of print, as well as the Russian author's memoir, The Oak and the Calf (1980), devotees of Solzhenitsyn will have to be content with British poet Thomas's derivative book, which at least has the advantage of timeliness in covering the family's leave-taking from Cavendish, Vt., and return to Russia in 1994. Although Solzhenitsyn's life in the former Soviet Union was well covered by the international press, as was his expulsion in 1974, readers will be stirred anew by the recap of his defiance of the repressive Communist government. Thomas, to whom Solzhenitsyn refused an interview (he had granted one to his earlier biographer), is admiring of Solzhenitsyn's books, which he discusses at length; he becomes cloying, however, in excusing Solzhenitsyn's frequent displays of arrogance. The Cavendish period is interestingly rendered, even though, as Thomas notes, the tranquillity of those 17 years impeded Solzhenitsyn's art. Thomas credits the Russian writer with a strong sense of selfhood and argues that many of his literary creations are embodiments of himself, from Ivan Denisovich to Lenin, whom Thomas describes as ""the dark side of [Solzhenitsyn's] own heart."" We're told little of the author's three sons, though his wife, Alya, emerges as her husband's selfless handmaiden. One senses that Thomas's lack of authority in this book may stem from his admitted apprehension at writing his first biography. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)