The People's Act of Love: A Novel
Dec 2007 · Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
4.7star
3 reviews
Ebook
400
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
“Doctor Zhivago . . . Anna Karenina . . . A Hero of Our Time . . . The People’s Act of Love will remind you of all these books . . . Magnificent” (The Washington Post Book World).
Set in a time of great social upheaval, warfare, and terrorism, and against a stark, lawless Siberia at the end of the Russian Revolution, The People’s Act of Love portrays the fragile coexistence of a beautiful, independent mother raising her son alone, a megalomaniac Czech captain and his restless regiment, and a mystical separatist Christian sect. When a mysterious, charismatic stranger trudges into their snowy village with a frighteningly outlandish story to tell, its balance is shaken to the core.
“The narrative drive is amazing. So is the cold clarity of Meek’s imagination.” —Stephen King
“Meeks builds multiple narratives to a bloody, satisfying, yet unsettling conclusion. People’s Act of Love stands not only as a keenly observed historical thriller but as a resonant tale of how one man’s moral fervor can turn to horror.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Meek expertly renders each man’s devotion to the task of securing paradise on earth, and exposes the unsettling affinity between the devout servant of God and the cold, calculating murderer.” —The New Yorker
“Set during the waning days of the Russian revolution, Meek’s utterly absorbing novel captivates with its depiction of human nature in all its wartime extremes.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This ingenious, intricate novel, a meditation on grand ideas that is also a suspenseful page turner, avoids that too-easy wonder Russia often inspires in its admirers.” —The New York Times Book Review
Set in a time of great social upheaval, warfare, and terrorism, and against a stark, lawless Siberia at the end of the Russian Revolution, The People’s Act of Love portrays the fragile coexistence of a beautiful, independent mother raising her son alone, a megalomaniac Czech captain and his restless regiment, and a mystical separatist Christian sect. When a mysterious, charismatic stranger trudges into their snowy village with a frighteningly outlandish story to tell, its balance is shaken to the core.
“The narrative drive is amazing. So is the cold clarity of Meek’s imagination.” —Stephen King
“Meeks builds multiple narratives to a bloody, satisfying, yet unsettling conclusion. People’s Act of Love stands not only as a keenly observed historical thriller but as a resonant tale of how one man’s moral fervor can turn to horror.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Meek expertly renders each man’s devotion to the task of securing paradise on earth, and exposes the unsettling affinity between the devout servant of God and the cold, calculating murderer.” —The New Yorker
“Set during the waning days of the Russian revolution, Meek’s utterly absorbing novel captivates with its depiction of human nature in all its wartime extremes.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This ingenious, intricate novel, a meditation on grand ideas that is also a suspenseful page turner, avoids that too-easy wonder Russia often inspires in its admirers.” —The New York Times Book Review
Ratings and reviews
4.7
3 reviews
Ian Slutz
- Flag inappropriate
February 23, 2015
The kelp forest at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a beautiful slice of the natural world. Everything the viewer sees comes from the bay outside. The only difference is that life in the tank is far more dense than it would be in a natural setting. The People’s Act of Love by James Meek is like that. In a Siberian village he has placed cultists, revolutionaries, mystics, a lost regiment, a widow, and a cannibal. They are all true to life but the space is smaller. As they collide beyond the edge of civilization it forms the Russian civil war in miniature. The rage and hopes and disillusionment of revolution is there on an intimate stage and like an aquarium it is beautiful and alive.
About the author
James Meek is the author of six novels including The People's Act of Love which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won both the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Scottish Arts Council Award. It has been published in more than thirty countries. Meek's last novel The Heart Broke In was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and he has also written two collections of short stories and a book of non-fiction, Private Island, which won the 2015 Orwell Prize. He is a Contributing Editor to the London Review of Books and writes regularly for the Guardian and New York Times. He lives in London.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
