{"product_id":"9780060501396","title":"Commissariat of Enlightenment","description":"\u003cp\u003e Russia, 1910. Leo Tolstoy lies dying in Astapovo, a remote railway station. Members of the press from around the world have descended upon this sleepy hamlet to record his passing for a public suddenly ravenous for celebrity news. They have been joined by a film company whose cinematographer, Nikolai Gribshin, is capturing the extraordinary scene and learning how to wield his camera as a political tool. At this historic moment he comes across two men — the scientist, Professor Vorobev, and the revolutionist, Joseph Stalin — who have radical, mysterious plans for the future. Soon they will accompany him on a long, cold march through an era of brutality and absurdity. \u003ci\u003eThe Commissariat of Enlightenment\u003c\/i\u003e is a mesmerizing novel of ideas that brilliantly links the tragedy and comedy of the Russian Revolution with the global empire of images that occupies our imaginations today. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKen Kalfus was born in New York and has lived in Paris, Dublin, Belgrade, and Moscow. He is the author of the short story collections Thirst and Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies, both of which were \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Books. A finalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award and a winner of the Salon Book Award and the Pushcart Prize, he has written for \u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBomb\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNorth American Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eVoice Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter.\u003c\/p\u003e  ","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47013612650736,"sku":"9780060501396","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780060501396_p0.jpg?v=1763618989","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780060501396","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}