October

The Story of the Russian Revolution

By: China Mieville

Narrated by: John Banks

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The renowned fantasy and science fiction writer China Mieville has long been inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution, and here, on the centenary of the revolution, he provides his own distinctive take on its history.

In February 1917, in the midst of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months later it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions?

This is the story of the extraordinary months between those upheavals, in February and October, of the forces and individuals who made 1917 so epochal a year, of their intrigues, negotiations, conflicts and catastrophes. From familiar names like Lenin and Trotsky to their opponents Kornilov and Kerensky; from the byzantine squabbles of urban activists to the remotest villages of a sprawling empire; from the revolutionary railroad Sublime to the ciphers and static of coup by telegram; from grand sweep to forgotten detail.

Historians have debated the revolution for 100 years, its portents and possibilities: the mass of literature can be daunting. But here is a book for those new to the events, told not only in their historical import but in all their passion and drama and strangeness. Because as well as a political event of profound and ongoing consequence, Mieville reveals the Russian Revolution as a breathtaking story.

©2017 China Mieville (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Even when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension...Mieville is dazzling." ( The New York Times)

Revolution is not a one day affair

China Mieville, a master science fiction writer has woven tigether the critical months of the 1917 Russian revolution into a narrative that brings the revolution and the many players to life, and the difficult struggle to find the path to change the old order The book has excited my curiosity about that year and the many years of strugglre afterwards

An honest portrayal of the revolution and it's aftermath from a leftist's perspective

Nearly the entire book except for the last 30 minutes are focused soley on the events of 1917, but China did lay out the mayhem that Stalin created following Lenin's death

Good Stuff off of Mr. Mieville's usual path.

If you bought this because you are a fan of his other work and don't know much background on the topic, it's a bit tough to get into. I went and watched an hour's worth of YouTube histories about the revolution and was able to appreciate what he was going for much better. That being said, I enjoyed it very much.

Valueable resource but..

it's more than I want to know - and lots of names that it's difficult to hang on to. lots of info I didn't know.

Excellent Summary

I found this book to be an extremely insightful and inspiring summary of the events of the russian revolution.

Mind-Numbing

Far too many bullet-point details without an enclosing, clear, storyline; to keep this from becoming an endless jumble of facts. YES, I realize that this is History, not a Fiction Novel; but I have listened to dozens of historical non-fiction books that have succeeded in pulling all of the important facts and figures together in a manner that doesn't put you to sleep.

Define the political factions and their motivations. Let the history flow like a novel; spend time following the perspective / actions of one group or faction; then the next. There will be some repetition of material, as seen by each group; but the almost 100% chronological presentation makes this impossible to follow, unless you go off into a secluded area and are able to dedicate 100% of your attention to the book, and nothing else.

Constantly switching back and forth between individuals / factions in the narrative; requires you to constantly replay sections, to verify who was taking a specific action.

I tend to listen to Audiobooks; throughout the day and this is not a book that one can "casually" listen to. Both of my grandparents, on my Mother's side of the family, escaped Russia, during the Bolshevik Revolution and I had hoped that this would provide some insight into the chaos and upheaval of that period. It just didn't work for me and I gave up listening.

If you are someone who does like to set aside some uninterrupted time to listen to books and are able to focus, without being interrupted; this book may work for you. My life is too chaotic and busy; so this was not for me.

Narrator can't even look up Russian pronunciation?

Beautifully written, incredibly balanced yet concise account of the revolution. Yet it's almost impossible to listen to because the narrator so badly butchers every single Russian name and word. Those who don't know better presumably listen out of interest in the subject and aren't served by hearing every term read completely wrong. What's the point of putting this much effort into a narration without even looking up even the Anglicized pronunciations? I'm not expecting a Russian accent, but this narrator puts the stress on the wrong syllable of every word, it's like nails on a chalkboard and needlessly hard to follow.

The 20th Century's New Weird History

A nice narrative history of the Russian Revolution in 1917. This isn't an academic book. This, by design, is meant to be a nonintimidating book of history for the curious. As we look back on the last 100 years, the Communist Revolution still has much to teach us. Hell, Steve Bannon is a self-described Leninist. We might want to pay CLOSE attention to the trains of the past.

I'm still trying to sort out exactly what I thought of this book. On one level it was well-written and paced (Miéville is a gifted story teller, obviously). He even makes the bureaucratic, committee-heavy, infighting of 1917 seem exciting. But while his approach is similar to others who have approached history or biography from a novelistic approach, it doesn't quite hit the level of literature (not quite Mailer or Capote) I was hoping for. Next to Miéville's own books, it doesn't rise to the top.

China Miéville is well-versed in political philosophy. Dude has a PhD in it (technically in Marxism and International Law). His own leftist politics is felt from the first to the last pages. That is where the book gets a bit messy for me. This is Red October told by a New Weird SF/Fantasy writer who also happens to be strongly involved in International Socialist causes. This is a bit like having Orson Scott Card write about Mormonism or having Ayn Rand write about Adam Smith. Sometimes gifted people who are "true believers" aren't going to be the best/fairest critics of things they love. To be fair, Miéville spends a bit of the last few pages discussing how the 'revolution' went off the rails. But, he does't dwell too much on it. It is uncomfortable to dwell too long on purges, gulags, and Stalin.

He also doesn't have enough room here to properly examine most of the characters that appear. I would have loved to read more about Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, (plus the women), etc. Instead, this novel (constrained by an already large topic) passes over some crazy characters like eyes over an active chess board.

Anyway, I liked it (probably 3.5 tsars). Enjoyed it even. Like Red October, however, it was boring in parts and seemed constrianed by a leftist genius who at times seemed blind to the dangers of his own ideology.

Not great storytelling

I've read/listened to all of CM's major books, some a few times. I'm a fan. However, this is not a good audiobook. It is dense, and hard to follow and digest in this format. Maybe the print version has section breaks or graphics that indicate different sections, I don't know. But in audio, there is no sense of this; the chapters are long and, as read, often feel like unending paragraphs. As a fan, I'm reluctant to say that it might be a structural problem with the narrative. I appreciate the author's reluctance to dumb things down, and erudition is part of CM's appeal, but I think you need a prior course or primer on the Revolution. I thought this book was going to be that introduction.

On the upside, I did learn very relevant things about Russia and Russian "democracy" (or lack thereof) today, not just the Revolution, and the book got me wanting to learn more.

A love letter to a better world and a testament to the capacity that a popular history can be detailed, accurate and compelling

China Mieville is first and foremost a fantastic author and historian. His vast body of knowledge on and passion for the October revolution are clear in this book. I am a History major who has a particular interest in revolutionary Russia and this is the premiere text on the period between the revolutions in February and October as it pertains to politics in Petrograd.