I just finished reading October: The Story of the Russian Revolution
by China Mieville.

This is my first serious foray into Mieville's non-fiction writing (I've skimmed some of his articles online, before), though he is probably my all time favourite author, and the first time I've read a whole book on history, so, despite the material, I'm unlikely to sound very erudite about this. Nonetheless, I found this book engaging, fascinating and challenging in many ways.

Mieville presents history as narrative, but writes much of it in a very straightforward, even dry manner, saving his trademark efficient, yet beautifully poetic prose for moments of particular impact or where the imagery available is almost too convenient. He announces at the outset his own potential for bias (he is a staunch socialist) and his intent to avoid it as much as possible and, for the most part, the text seems to hold up in this light, but not always. In his epilogue Mieville attempts to address the questions of where October led and how this might impact (or might not) our interpretations of the revolution itself. He strongly favours a sympathetic and optimistic view of the revolution, whilst acknowledging the decisions and mistakes that led to the Stalinist regime (and even the horrors before that), but even so I feel he skirts the issue a lot in comparison with his description of the Tsar's regime and he mentions the murders of the Romanov's not at all.

In the end, I think my own view is still somewhat sympathetic to the Bolsheviks, at least with regard to their intentions, and Mieville has gone a long way towards helping me choose that position. October is a truly thought-provoking book and I hope it will form an important part of the discussion around the events of a century ago as we approach the anniversary in early November (stupid, confusing Julian calendar!)

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