# Condensed Milk

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/varlam-shalamov/condensed-milk/9780718196462

JSON version (same data): https://www.bookquiver.com/varlam-shalamov/condensed-milk/9780718196462.json

![Condensed Milk](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin/varlam-shalamov/condensed-milk_978-07-1819-646-2-c93f60f1.webp?v=2026-10-17%2002%3A53%3A29)

- Book: [Condensed Milk](https://www.bookquiver.com/varlam-shalamov/condensed-milk) ([Condensed Milk.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/varlam-shalamov/condensed-milk.md))
- Authors: [Varlam Shalamov](https://www.bookquiver.com/varlam-shalamov)
- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-07-1819-646-2
- Published: 2014-03-06
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

Narrated in the first person, this short story is one episode in the life of a Russian labour-camp inmate. Written by Varlam Shalamov after his own experiences at a gulag, it describes the apathy of prisoners as they steadily approach death, the assuredness of betrayal and duplicity, and the constant craving for material satisfaction to lessen the empty, scorched feeling inside. When an old acquaintance lays out an escape plan, that satisfaction is offered in the form of condensed milk: a sweet, delicious extravagance - a small element of joy in the midst of impending death.