Sententious Summary

The narrator is near death. He barely feels warmth from the person lying next to him. Then this bitter feeling of death eases, as the narrator recovers a bit. His conditions have improved because he is no longer a prisoner of the camps at Kolyma. He is in a camp, but it is some sort of internal exile camp for non-inmates. The narrator has an easy job chopping wood and boiling water. He is an ex-convict. People in his tent can shoot birds for food and there are guns always available. It is still winter and the narrator is in a big tent with others. He is not beaten and begins to gain weight. He begins to notice things, like men breathing at night, and the noises they make in their sleep. The narrator has new feelings, like concern for animals, and stops...