Gulag Archipelago: best translation?

[Starlight]

I’m just finishing “Meditiations” by Marcus Arelius (Hays’ translation which I really enjoyed) and am starting to plot my next literary adventure. I’ve read a lot about “Gulag Archipelago” and I am very interested in taking on this behemoth, partly for personal reasons (my great-grandparents died in Soviet labor camps—they were Volga Germans) and for its current relevance.

For those of you who have read it:
-Is there a best translation? I don’t mind heavy/complex reading but I also know that (in my experience) more literal or older translations sometimes don’t convey the author’s ideas/intent as well (in Modern English, anyway).

-Abridged vs Unabridged??? Is the abridged version sufficient? Or is reading the entirety of the work the best way to take it on?

I’m curious about any of your thoughts.
Thank you!

 

[Ah_Tibor]

I don't think all the volumes are available in English (edit: what I mean by this is that whatever you're reading will be abridged, I think "abridged" versions are just edited for flow). I read the first two that were published in the 60s and it was worthwhile. Any Russian translation to English tends to miss some points. I think the one that comes up on Amazon first is pretty good.

I remember when I was a kid a lot of people I knew had met or knew Solzhenitsyn in some capacity. He didn't take to exile too well and I think a lot of Americans gave him shade for it. Others just thought he was a reactionary. It's strange to think he didn't die that long ago.

I feel like a lot of people are reading it nowadays as a blueprint for what's to come and while this is valid, our future is inspired by the same goofiness that inspired the communists, ours is going to look different because of the culture and technology.

I really like Varlam Shalamov too, do recommend

 

[Starlight]

I don't think all the volumes are available in English (edit: what I mean by this is that whatever you're reading will be abridged, I think "abridged" versions are just edited for flow). I read the first two that were published in the 60s and it was worthwhile. Any Russian translation to English tends to miss some points. I think the one that comes up on Amazon first is pretty good.

Ok, thank you for this information. I’m familiar with the work superficially and I’m trying to figure out which version to get. It seems like the editions are pretty limited so far, which is surprising to me.

 

[dragonfire00]

I have the one that's one book all together abridged but I don't have anything else to compare to. One of my great grandparents is also a gulag survivor.