Kolyma Stories vs Gulag: A History
Buy Kolyma Stories if you want literature: Shalamov's linked stories are fiction drawn from his own fifteen years in the camps, and the NYRB Classics edition is the first complete English translation, 768 pages, at $25.44 at Walmart as of November 3, 2026. Buy Gulag: A History if you want the documented history: Applebaum's Pulitzer-winning account covers the camps from the Revolution to glasnost, and it is far cheaper at $5.75 at eBay as of November 3, 2026. They are not substitutes. One is a witness's art, the other is a scholar's record.
Today the Gulag: A History costs $19.69 less at its best price.
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Kolyma Stories
$25.44at WalmartObserved at 10:48 PM
Choose the Kolyma Stories if you read for voice and image and want the gulag as one survivor rendered it, and you don't mind paying about $20 more.
Pros
- Fiction of the first rank, not testimony dressed as story
- First complete English translation, based on the authorized Russian text
- Translator's note included
- NYRB Classics edition, sturdy paperback
Cons
- $25.44 at Walmart as of November 3, 2026, about four times the price of Gulag
- Only 2 stores price it new
- No index or scholarly apparatus; it is literature, not reference
What separates them
| Kolyma Stories | Gulag: A History | |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of book | Short fiction in cycles, based on the author's camp years | Narrative history with documentation and sources |
| Author's relation to the camps | Shalamov served about fifteen years, six in the Kolyma gold mines | Applebaum is a historian who never was a prisoner |
| Scope | Camp life in Kolyma, in close-up, story by story | The whole Gulag, from the Russian Revolution to glasnost |
| Recognition | Acclaimed as a classic of 20th-century Russian literature | Pulitzer Prize winner; Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book of the Century |
| Length and format | 768 pages, paperback, about 12.45 x 3.99 x 20.07 cm, 760 g | One-volume history, widely available in paperback |
| Translation | First complete English translation, from the authorized Russian text, with translator's note | Written in English |
| Price and availability | $25.44 at Walmart as of November 3, 2026; 2 stores price it new |
Price history
- Kolyma Stories: lowest $24.19 on Nov 3 at Walmart.
- Gulag: A History: lowest $5.75 on Nov 3 at eBay.
Prices at every store
Kolyma Stories
- WalmartNew
In stockSold by newbookdeals
$25.44Free shippingObserved at 10:48 PM - AmazonNew
Availability unknown
$27.95Observed at 10:48 PM
Gulag: A History
- eBayNew
In stock
$5.75Observed at 10:48 PM - TargetNew
In stock
$12.17+ $5.99 shippingObserved at 10:48 PM - WalmartNew
In stock
$12.17+ $6.99 shippingObserved at 1:01 AM - AmazonNew
Availability unknown
$12.17Observed at 10:48 PM
Also available at
- WalmartCheck price at Walmart
- Bookshop.orgCheck price at Bookshop.org
Specs compared
| Spec | Kolyma Stories | Gulag: A History |
|---|---|---|
| Author Name | Varlam Shalamov | — |
| Binding Type | Paperback | — |
| Book Format Type | — | |
| Digital Format | ebook | — |
| Main Genre | Fiction & Literature | — |
| Subgenre | Literature, Fiction | — |
| Book Author | Varlam Shalamov | — |
| Book Title | Kolyma Stories | — |
| Book Language | English | — |
| Book Publisher | NYRB Classics | — |
| Book Dimensions |
Questions and answers
- Which should I read first?
- Start with Gulag: A History for the framework, then read Kolyma Stories for what the system felt like from inside. If you only want one, pick by appetite: history or fiction.
- Is Kolyma Stories worth $25.44 when Gulag costs $5.75?
- They are different books, so the price gap buys a different experience, not a better one. If you want the definitive history, Gulag at $5.75 at eBay as of November 3, 2026 is the better value. If you want a literary masterpiece, the $25.44 at Walmart as of November 3, 2026 is fair for 768 pages.
- Does Kolyma Stories cover the whole Gulag?
- No. It concentrates on Kolyma and on Shalamov's own camp years. Gulag: A History covers the whole system across the Soviet period.
- Is Gulag: A History too academic for general readers?
- No. It won the Pulitzer and is written for a broad audience, though it is long. It reads as narrative history, not as a monograph.
- Which is better for a book club?
- Kolyma Stories gives short, self-contained stories that spark discussion of individual moral choices. Gulag gives shared factual ground. Many groups pair one or two stories with a chapter of the history.
- Are these books suitable for younger readers?
- Both describe starvation, cold, and death in the camps. Kolyma Stories is listed for adults. Gulag is history but no lighter in subject.
