"The Revolutionist" introduces the reader to two central characters, both American immigrants: Atticus Orso Tuohy, a Irish/Russian known for composing his own epitaphs; and his friend, Alexander Til, grandson of "The Til," a famous revolutionist hero. These two young men represent the yin and yang of the Russian Revolution and we follow them from its inception until the death of Joseph Stalin. We also follow the real revolutionists: Trotsky, Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, Molotov, Krupskaya, Inessa Armand, Lenin, and Berra.
Robert Littell's writing is intensely powerful and moving: this is one of his best.