My translation of this novel is the Signet Classics paperback, with a Foreword by Alexander Tvardovsky. Although this foreword is written in a pompous and pedantic style, I re-read it, and the Yevtushenko introduction to this edition after reading some of the messages from those who do not value this work as much as I do. I am still convinced that Solzhenitsyn is the greatest author of the century. This is a multi-part message in MIME format. Since joining last June, I have become very aware that books that people tend to really like or really dislike do not necessarily make the best selections for discussion.
Some books just seem to provoke more discussion than others.
I always nominate books from my TBR book case but starting with the last nominations, I tried to nominate something that I thought would make for good discussion. During the next two weeks, I will learn whether I succeeded. I think an important factor in a good discussion is the number of people who have read the book. The more people, the more opinions, the more likely that people are going to join in the discussion. Certainly not the only factor, but one to be considered.