November 1916: A Novel: The Red Wheel II

n nIn time for the centenary of the beginning of the Russian Revolution, a new edition of the Russian Nobelist's major workn nThe month of November 1916 in Russia was outwardly quiet--the proverbial calm before the storm--but beneath the placid surface, society seethed fiercely. n In Petrograd, as St. Petersburg was then known, luxury-store windows are still brightly lit; the Duma debates the monarchy, the course of war, and clashing paths to reform; the workers in the miserable munitions factories veer toward sedition. n At the front, all is stalemate, while in the countryside sullen anxiety among hard-pressed farmers is rapidly replacing patriotism. n In Zurich, Lenin, with the smallest of all revolutionary groups, plots his sinister logistical miracle. n With masterly and moving empathy, through the eyes of both historical and fictional protagonists, Solzhenitsyn unforgettably transports us to that time and place--the last of pre-Soviet Russia. n November 1916 is the second volume in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's multipart work, The Red Wheel. This volume concentrates on a historical turning point, or knot, as the wheel rolls inexorably toward revolution.n