{"product_id":"the-commissariat-of-enlightenment-9780060501396","title":"The Commissariat of Enlightenment","description":"\u003cp\u003eRussia, 1910. Leo Tolstoy lies dying in Astapovo, a remote railway station. Members of the press from around the world have descended upon this sleepy hamlet to record his passing for a public suddenly ravenous for celebrity news. They have been joined by a film company whose cinematographer, Nikolai Gribshin, is capturing the extraordinary scene and learning how to wield his camera as a political tool. At this historic moment he comes across two men -- the scientist, Professor Vorobev, and the revolutionist, Joseph Stalin -- who have radical, mysterious plans for the future. Soon they will accompany him on a long, cold march through an era of brutality and absurdity. \u003cem\u003eThe Commissariat of Enlightenment\u003c\/em\u003e is a mesmerizing novel of ideas that brilliantly links the tragedy and comedy of the Russian Revolution with the global empire of images that occupies our imaginations today. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKalfus, Ken:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eken kalfus is the author of a novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Commissariat of Enlightenment\u003c\/em\u003e, and the short story collections \u003cem\u003eThirst\u003c\/em\u003e, which won the Salon Book Award, and Pu-239 and \u003cem\u003eOther Russian Fantasies\u003c\/em\u003e, which was a finalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50317790183698,"sku":"9780060501396","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4c127ed1-c148-4926-af2c-c2497a9ae883.jpg?v=1727540409","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-commissariat-of-enlightenment-9780060501396","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}