A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto

Miéville has an absurd talent in leading the reader through difficult, (in his fiction, typically surreal) terrain, but keeping them not only interested but invested.

He plied the same trade with his novelised history of the Russian revolution, in "October". Here, a commentary and introduction to Marx & Engel's seminal Manifesto. It's a relatively brief tour through various aspects of the text - the genre of manifesto, common criticisms and their weaknesses, stronger criticisms and weaknesses in the text. I'm left with a much more nuanced, rich, and inspiring notion of communism than I had (I didn't know much), but without any sense of naivete about work, effort, or vigilance involved in it.

If you are at all curious, and certainly if you're invested in social justice, and the problems of contemporary society, it is highly recommended.

Weirdly timely. There are so many reasons to question capitalism. And we all “know” communism isn’t better. Can’t work. But why? Why not? I already want to reread this.

A book about how to read, and a wonderful demonstration of the method. This is about the Manifesto, it's history, its debates, its import, but it's also just about how to read generously and rigorously:

“The only reasonable way to read the Manifesto - or anything - is to be as flexible as the text itself.”

“We should strive to read as generously as possible - and to read ruthlessly beyond that generosity’s limits.”

One of the best books I've read, full stop. It made me want to dig back into Miéville's fiction, especially since The City and The City is another favorite of mine.

I tried and failed to read the manifesto itself a while back, so I thought this would work better. Despite Mieville saying the book is written for someone with no prior knowledge, I quickly found it pretty inaccessible. Apparently I need something even more basic.