description Cancer Ward Overview
Cancer Ward is a novel by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in Russian in 1966. Set mainly in a hospital ward in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic after the Stalin era, it follows patients and medical staff whose illnesses and personal histories expose different responses to fear, authority, and mortality. The hospital becomes a setting for examining political repression, moral responsibility, and the possibility of personal change.
help Cancer Ward FAQ
When was Cancer Ward published?
Cancer Ward was published in 1966 by Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It is a semi-autobiographical novel set in a Soviet hospital.
Where does Cancer Ward take place?
The story centers on a cancer ward in the Soviet Union, drawing on Solzhenitsyn's own experience with cancer treatment. The hospital brings patients from different social and political backgrounds into the same confined setting.
Who is the main character in Cancer Ward?
Oleg Kostoglotov is the central patient and a former exile whose experiences shape much of the novel. His conversations with other patients expose the personal consequences of Soviet political repression.
How does Cancer Ward criticize the Soviet police state?
The hospital functions as a miniature society where patients carry the effects of official power, fear, and inequality. Solzhenitsyn uses the 1966 novel to question whether physical illness can be separated from political and moral sickness.
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