James Meek 
People’s Act of Love 
A Novel

“Doctor Zhivago . . . Anna Karenina . . . A Hero of Our Time . . . The People’s Act of Love will remind you of all these books . . . Magnificent” (The Washington Post Book World).   Set in a time of great social upheaval, warfare, and terrorism, and against a stark, lawless Siberia at the end of the Russian Revolution, The People’s Act of Love portrays the fragile coexistence of a beautiful, independent mother raising her son alone, a megalomaniac Czech captain and his restless regiment, and a mystical separatist Christian sect. When a mysterious, charismatic stranger trudges into their snowy village with a frighteningly outlandish story to tell, its balance is shaken to the core.   “The narrative drive is amazing. So is the cold clarity of Meek’s imagination.” —Stephen King   “Meeks builds multiple narratives to a bloody, satisfying, yet unsettling conclusion. People’s Act of Love stands not only as a keenly observed historical thriller but as a resonant tale of how one man’s moral fervor can turn to horror.” —Entertainment Weekly   “Meek expertly renders each man’s devotion to the task of securing paradise on earth, and exposes the unsettling affinity between the devout servant of God and the cold, calculating murderer.” —The New Yorker   “Set during the waning days of the Russian revolution, Meek’s utterly absorbing novel captivates with its depiction of human nature in all its wartime extremes.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “This ingenious, intricate novel, a meditation on grand ideas that is also a suspenseful page turner, avoids that too-easy wonder Russia often inspires in its admirers.” —The New York Times Book Review