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The People's Train
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The People's Train
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See moreArtem Samsurov reaches sanctuary in Australia after escaping his Siberian labour camp and making a perilous journey via Japan. But Brisbane in 1911 turns out not to be the workers' paradise he was expecting, or the bickering local Russian emigres a model of brotherhood. When the revolution dawns and he returns to Russia, will his ideals hold true?
'Thomas Keneally is one of the historical novel's most expert practitioners, and his new book sees him back on the form that produced Schindler's Ark. Giles Foden, Guardian
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Description
Artem Samsurov, a charismatic protégé of Lenin and an ardent socialist, reaches sanctuary in Australia after escaping his Siberian labour camp and making a long, perilous journey via Japan. But Brisbane in 1911 turns out not to be quite the workers' paradise he was expecting, or the bickering local Russian émigrés a model of brotherhood.
As Artem helps organise a strike and gets dangerously entangled in the death of another exile, he discovers that corruption, repression, and injustice are almost as prevalent in Brisbane as at home. Yet he finds fellow spirits in a fiery old suffragette and a distractingly attractive married woman, who undermines his belief that a revolutionary cannot spare the time for relationships.
When the revolution dawns and he returns to Russia, will his ideals hold true? Based on a true story, The People's Train brings the past alive and makes it resonate in the present. Tom Keneally takes us to the heart of the Russian Revolution through the dramatic life of an unknown, inspiring figure.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781741667455
Publisher: Random House Australia
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 July 2010
Country: Australia
Imprint: Vintage (Australia)
Edition: 3rd edition
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 27.0mm
Width: 127.0mm
Height: 194.0mm
Weight: 326g
Pages: 416
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About the Author
Thomas Keneally won the Booker Prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark, later made into the Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List. He has written ten works of non-fiction, including his recent memoir Searching for Schindler, and the histories The Commonwealth of Thieves, The Great Shame and American Scoundrel, and 28 works of fiction, including The Widow and Her Hero (shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award), An Angel in Australia and Bettany's Book. His novels The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest, and Confederates were all shortlisted for the Booker Prize, while Bring Larks and Heroes and Three Cheers for the Paraclete won the Miles Franklin Award.
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