A stunning book which switches between Trotsky's final years in Mexico and life and death in Russia under Stalin. As with any novel based on history, there is a relentless inevitability as the story unfolds but by concentrating on personal events in the leaders' lives a chilling light is shed on the horrors inflicted on individuals as well as the whole nation ruled by a megalomaniac driven by paranoia.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 16 December 2002 ) |
