"Fictionless" is not the first book by Lev Razgon. And yet only “Fictionless,” like his last book “Yesterday and Today,” gave their author the status of a significant writer. Note that these books were published much later than Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and Shalamov’s “Kolyma Tales.” After such truly great books on camp subjects, it seemed implausible that another book would be noticed, become relevant. Any new narrative on camp themes could turn out to be if not a repetition, then an imitation—and as is well known, literary imitation is suicide. I’m sure Lev Razgon understood all that. Still, in an advanced age—and after seventeen years in Stalin’s camps—he dared and offered readers “Fictionless.”"
Matvey Geizer