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jeffburns's review
challenging
medium-paced
4.0
This book confuses me so much. Even the author in his introduction states that it is simultaneously fiction and non-fiction. I even read a review calling it science fiction. There are real historical figures, characters inspired by real historical figures, characters that are composites of real people, and totally fictional characters. I don't know what it is exactly, but it was an enjoyable read, and seems like a plausible "history" of the USSR during and just after the rule of Nikita Khrushchev from the mid 1950s through the early 1970s. This period was an incredible transition in Soviet history from the harsh rule of Stalin and its climate of fear and persecution, forced collectivization, and the organized use of famine as a means of genocide to a more open society with an economy growing at a staggering rate (of course, the starting point was extremely low, so any advance is significant) . Khrushchev promised that the USSR would surpass its capitalist rivals, and Soviet citizens would live in a world of plenty.
This book is a collection of vignettes, like a collection of short stories, following the lives of multiple characters dealing with the Soviet system, from Krushchev and high ranking party officials to managers and bureaucrats to scientists, students, and black marketeers. The stories aren't really related, but each one describes the Soviet struggle of trying to deal with an impossible duality: achieving a true workers' paradise and land of plenty despite staggering corruption, brutality, greed, and stupidity. After reading the bigger book, I had a greater knowledge and understanding of Soviet history and the Cold War, but I still don't really know how to describe it or to encourage others to read it.
This book is a collection of vignettes, like a collection of short stories, following the lives of multiple characters dealing with the Soviet system, from Krushchev and high ranking party officials to managers and bureaucrats to scientists, students, and black marketeers. The stories aren't really related, but each one describes the Soviet struggle of trying to deal with an impossible duality: achieving a true workers' paradise and land of plenty despite staggering corruption, brutality, greed, and stupidity. After reading the bigger book, I had a greater knowledge and understanding of Soviet history and the Cold War, but I still don't really know how to describe it or to encourage others to read it.
rustycox's review
2.0
Realized I can’t get into novels. I was pretty disappointed in this book. I was interested in the idea of what if the USSR achieved its goals and ideal society but honestly I don’t think the book ever even got to that part. It was mostly small stories over different time periods and different people that I never got into. Also they just quote all the western propaganda about the evils of the soviets and never even acknowledges WW2 even happened or it’s effects on their society. I guess I give it a couple stars because what the book claims to be was a good idea
jayisthebird's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
merv_d's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
waqasmhd's review
1.0
something is wrong (with me)
my first francis spufford's book (golden hill) had less than 4 stars rating but i loved that book and i gave it 5 stars unashamedly. yet this one, it has 4 plus rating and i struggle to like it.
to be fair with the book, it started really well and i assumed (too soon) that its going to be another great one.
the problem i found with this book was that it did not feel cohesive. problem is with the structure of the book. every chapter with new person's perspective is too much especially when the stories of each person do not connect. some perspectives were repeated but not enough to bring the story together for me.
some chapters felt too theoretical, like reading a research-paper. overall it just felt bloated.
people apparantly find it interesting to read hence the rating but i am not here for this.
i just wish it had stayed the way it started or had fewer perspectives (it has 13 in total, i just counted to finish this review) or some meaningful connection between these chapters.
now wondering which under-rated book of his should i read next.
my first francis spufford's book (golden hill) had less than 4 stars rating but i loved that book and i gave it 5 stars unashamedly. yet this one, it has 4 plus rating and i struggle to like it.
to be fair with the book, it started really well and i assumed (too soon) that its going to be another great one.
the problem i found with this book was that it did not feel cohesive. problem is with the structure of the book. every chapter with new person's perspective is too much especially when the stories of each person do not connect. some perspectives were repeated but not enough to bring the story together for me.
some chapters felt too theoretical, like reading a research-paper. overall it just felt bloated.
people apparantly find it interesting to read hence the rating but i am not here for this.
i just wish it had stayed the way it started or had fewer perspectives (it has 13 in total, i just counted to finish this review) or some meaningful connection between these chapters.
now wondering which under-rated book of his should i read next.
kingarooski's review
5.0
The Soviet economy did not move on from coal and steel and cement to plastics and microelectronics and software design, except in a very few military applications...It continued to suck resources and human labour in vast quantities into a heavy-industrial sector which had once
been intended to exist as a springboard for something else, but which by now had become its own justification. Soviet industry in its last decades existed because it existed, an empire of inertia expanding ever more slowly...Every year it produced goods that less and less corresponded to human needs, and whatever it once started producing, it tended to go on producing ad infinitum...
Francis Spufford's book on life in Soviet Russia in the 50s and early 60s is an unusual mix of genres: part fiction, part historical account. I found this to be a fascinating read as each section of the book was prefaced by an accurate description of the economic and social situation at the time. This was followed by three to four short stories, fictional but based on things that did happen or could have happened. Most of the "characters" in the stories were historical figures in Soviet Russia. Some stories allow us to re-visit the character a few years down the line to find out how their life develops. This is a wonderful book and one I would love to read again in the future.
been intended to exist as a springboard for something else, but which by now had become its own justification. Soviet industry in its last decades existed because it existed, an empire of inertia expanding ever more slowly...Every year it produced goods that less and less corresponded to human needs, and whatever it once started producing, it tended to go on producing ad infinitum...
Francis Spufford's book on life in Soviet Russia in the 50s and early 60s is an unusual mix of genres: part fiction, part historical account. I found this to be a fascinating read as each section of the book was prefaced by an accurate description of the economic and social situation at the time. This was followed by three to four short stories, fictional but based on things that did happen or could have happened. Most of the "characters" in the stories were historical figures in Soviet Russia. Some stories allow us to re-visit the character a few years down the line to find out how their life develops. This is a wonderful book and one I would love to read again in the future.
whyareyouasking's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5