GENERAL B. O.: A novel of the Russian Terror. Translated
by L. Zarine. Preface by Stephen Graham. (Benn. 8s. 6d.).—If General B. 0. fails to succeed quickly, part of the blame will be due to its obscure title. It is sure of ultimate recognition, for it is a vivid reconstruction of one of the vital phases of modern history, and no thriller can surpass the truth about Azef in the description of con- spiratorial genius. Azef was the great General B. 0.—that is, the supreme head of the militant section of the social revolutionaries in the early nineteen-hundreds—the time of such spectacular assassinations as those of Plehve and the Grand Duke Serge. The success of his assassinations earned the perfect confidence of the revolutionaries, and at the same time he kept the support of the police by betraying less important accomplices to them. In the portrayal of this monster Roman Gul shows himself a master of historical fiction. All the facts that can be known about Azef are connected and amplified with an imagination that only fulfils his scoundrelly style of life in detail : the arch- provocateur remains a credible human being, even with a loathsome greatness about him. The whole work is distinguished by its detached and amoral standpoint. This is a writer whose aim is pure narrative, objective and dramatic. Thoughts passing through the minds of the characters are links in the story and not reflections. Everything is seen from the outside, lit with a clear, crisp light in which each detail sparkles with significance. By its very impersonality this picture of th&Terrar in Russia foiths a valuable comment upon political assassination as the weapon of the- weaker side. In practice such methods are almost impossible without the employment of persons who are anti-social in a professional sense. They generate an atmosphere, moreover, in which even the sincerer spirits degenerate, as this story shows in the case of Savinkof, the central figure of the novel.
Previous page
