Although the book is fiction, it follows in the tradition of other accounts of horror at the hands of totalitarian governments, like Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. In fact the eerie way it is written, almost disembodied, is also found in Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.
The main character is Rubashov, a true believer in Marxism and the Communist ideals. The novel begins with this arrest. As a good party man, he expected it, and believes all this is necessary to achieve the final utopian vision of the Party.
At first he is unwilling to "confess," but over time, and with increasing disillusionment, decides that is his only choice. And whatever the punishment, he comes to believe it is inevitable. He might even deserve it.
The book ends with his execution.
It is a great book, and I highly recommend reading it to get a fictional flavor for a very real time in history.
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