Review: Beguiling Charm and Fascinating History
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 9, 2013
Comrade Fox is the story of Archie Fox, a happy-go-lucky Englishman who has deserted from World War One and fled to Russia for reasons of lust, greed and needing somewhere cheap to hide. He tumbles headlong into the wild, Revolutionary year of 1917.The premise tells you it's going to be fun but it is a surprisingly realistic book; intensely atmospheric and full of telling details about the history of the time. It features many real characters; Lenin, his former mistress, various revolutionaries, the deposed tsar (one of the funniest scenes in the book) and some other people who may or may not have existed. The whole book has a strong feeling of `well, it could have happened' despite Fox coincidentally showing up at most of the pivotal moments in the history of the Revolution.This novel is a remarkable achievement, and definitely one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. But in retrospect it seems quite bizarre, even though it felt like a straightforward easy read at the time. When I sat to write this review I didn't know what to say. So I read the other reviews and I think Penelope J and Alysso Cupo say it all very well between them. This is a sweeping epic, an intimate drama, a laugh-out-loud comedy, a horror show and a very informative history of the Russian Revolution.  And it is quite seamless, all told in the consistent and consistently engaging voice of Archie Fox.It's a minor thing but the two aforementioned reviewers disagree about the end; one says it's too long and the other too short. I would probably side with Alysso; too short. I like epics and at about 150,000 words it's quite short for an epic though long for a novel. It felt like it cut off too soon after the Bolsheviks have seized power in October 1917, when Russia is in absolute chaos. You are left wondering how on Earth they survived to the early 1920s, never mind the reality of them remaining in power until the early 1990s.A word of warning: whether or not you love or hate this novel might depend on whether you enjoy the company of Fox.  I was mesmerized by the insights and wit of his diary (the book is written as a diary) but there are a few negative reviews which suggest to me that some people did not respond well to Fox; and I think this is understandable, since he is arrogant, racist, sexist, duplicitous, amoral, self-indulgent and avaricious. Before embarking on this excellent piece of writing, be sure you are the sort of person who can be seduced by a witty rogue.