China Mieville: Why Does the Russian Revolution Matter?

[Robert Mahnke]

I read it, and would be curious to hear what others made of it.  I have really liked everything I’ve ever read by Mieville, which is three novels (and not enough), but I didn’t love this.  In the novels, Mieville creates worlds that are rich and compelling and different from our own.  With revolutionary Russia, he launches into a world that is those things before he picks up a pen, but it didn’t always come through.  The recitation of political developments can get dry, and untethered to the lives of actual Russian people.  Which is a shame, because Mieville definitely wants to recapture a sense of possibility, that the Revolution didn’t have to turn out as it did.  I respect that, and it’s certainly not a bad book.  I guess I wish it had more a novel’s strength of storytelling and depiction. 


> On May 21, 2017, at 3:25 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Book is 50% off at the moment at the Verso Books' site. 
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On May 7, 2017, at 11:10 AM, Becky Lindroos <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks Laura!   
>> 
>> The quote is from China Meville’s  "October: The Story of the Russian Revolution”  which will be released on Tuesday.  I’m going to have to look into that. 
>> 
>> "Without hope, ... there's no drive to overturn an ugly world."
>> 
>> Becky 
>> https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com
>> 
>>> On May 7, 2017, at 7:41 AM, Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> "Without hope, ... there's no drive to overturn an ugly world."
>>> 
>>> https://portside.org/print/2017-05-06/why-does-russian-revolution-matter
>>> 
>>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
>> 
>> -
>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l

-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l