On February 19, 1929, I was arrested. On that day and at that hour, I see the beginning of my social life - the first true test under harsh conditions. Warlam Shalamov is not yet 22 years old, determined to dedicate his life to his political ideals when he is arrested and has to spend one and a half months in solitary confinement in Butyrka prison. "Vishera" is the memoirs that Shalamov refers to as an 'anti-novel', recounting his first arrest and the forced labor camp on the Vishera River in the Northern Urals, where he spent three years. These are the 'apprenticeship years' of a writer who uniquely portrayed the Stalinist camp system through literary means. Alongside the stories from Kolyma, this unfinished autobiographical book particularly demonstrates his principled rejection of the novel form based on his experiences.