Why aren't more Tolkien fans into Solzhenitsyn?

[Steve]

It just occured to me to wonder this the other day. There ought to be a certain amount of overlap -- both write long books with many characters with odd sounding names.

People who master Earendil, Eowyn, Eomer and Elbereth and Gilthoniel shouldn't be confused by Glev Vikentych and Kuznetsky Most and Ivan Denisovich, should they?

[magpie]

[Steve]

[hammurabi2000]

The names come from a common origin; not sure about the stories though.

[A#minor]

[Karen]

[Adam Linton]

A# minor, if you haven't read Solzhenitsyn, yet, I would recommend starting with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

And speaking of S., Karen, I suspect that you have read his commencement address given at Harvard in the late 70s. Much worth the read.

[A#minor]

Ah, yes, I had heard of the book The Gulag Archipelago, but didn't recognize the author's name. Perhaps I'll put him on my list of rainy-day reads.

[Steve]

[Boyd Britton]

To quote "Fats" Waller, if you don't know by now, don't mess with it!

Long books with complicated character names? If that's a criterion or common ground, try the Bangkok phone directory.

Aleksandr did not, alas, have to invent his world. I read Tolkien to escape mine.

[journey]

It's one thing having lots of unpronounceable russian names. It's another thing having 3 or 4 different names for each character, like in Dostovosky's Crime and Punishment. If thats the case count me out

[Theo]