Cement (European Classics) - Tapa dura

"The result is unnerving, fascinating, and in its unflinching way, magnificent. It is a fierce modern epic, born in troubled times, but it breathes with an immense energy." --Spectator "Written with push and power, its action develops quickly and effectively, at times with real dramatic swing . . . Gladkov describes the life and customs of the Communist milieu with perfect realism and without idealization." --New York Times

A classic of socialist realism, Cement became a model for Soviet fiction in the decades following its publication in the early 1920s. Gleb, a soldier hero, returns from the revolution to a world in transition, as demonstrated by the reorganization of the local cement factory for the massive national effort. His wife, Dasha, is now a leader of the Women's Section of the Communist Pary, an activist in a society where women are suddenly men's equals. Gleb finds that he cannot easily pick up the threads of their old relationship or adjust to this new social order.