I’m used to fiction where one character is always at the focus.
PDFs and audio would help. I not good at finding them.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X is precisely what you’re asking for. It’s an important read but also just a fantastic read…like it’s genuinely very entertaining. It’s written verbatim from recording made by the transcriber within like a month of his death and it’s a full life story and although it’s a direct transcript, it’s very novelist anyway
Edit: strictly speaking though, no. There are biographical works that will involve theory and teach some. But strictly speaking, you’re not reading theory, you’re reading a biography. A text of political theory is the kind of text that doesn’t really have any characters. It’s kinda like asking for a math textbook with a main character.
and it’s performed by laurence fishburne no less; i just prioritized this to the top my “reading” list and thank you for making me aware!
Damn! That’s a great choice
It’s not exactly what you’re asking for, since it doesn’t have a main character and it’s not theory, but Mieville’s October reads like a novel and it tells the story of the Russian revolution. Worth a read since it’s educational and a fun read. Aside from some lame anti-Stalinism at the end it’s solid imo.
Ten Days That Shook The World covers it too, as a personal account.
Grapes of wrath has interlude chapters which describes marxist concepts. I think the archive of marxist texts online has a few excerpts saved there.
Here’s a PDF
I want to read Grapes of Wrath but worry how deeply it would wrench my heart. Not sure how I’d cope after reading an expert.
It’s gut wrenching but also uplifting. Well worth your time and famous for good reason.
the first that comes to mind is chernyshevsky’s “what is to be done”
Though I haven’t read it yet, the fact that Lenin, Plekhanov, Kropotkin, Kollontay, Luxemburg, and Emma Goldman have read and were influenced by it speaks volumes to its value as literature.
Does “The Motorcycle Diaries” count?
Bullshit Jobs by Graeber has a very distinct voice, with it either being Graebers reflections on his own life, or him responding to letters people have sent him about their experiences.
The Michael Parenti lectures are great too. All free on YouTube. Usually he’s speaking at a lecture and reading some excerpts from his new book. His signature is that he always has a problem with the mic and complains about it in very Italian American fashion. Very witty and spirited. I find Parenti endlessly charming. I kind of love that man. Just pick a lecture you like the sound of, and have a watch/listen. They’re reposted unofficially on Spotify under ‘Not Michael Parenti’. I’d recommend the ones where he talks about movies and media to start with - they’re the most joke filled, and pop-cultureish, which makes for easier listening.
Youtube channel “Chemical Mind” has taken a few of the lectures and ran them through audio software to improve audio quality
Kropotkin’s “the conquest of bread” reads super easily, it’s super inflammatory, and has some very good points of theory. It’s on YouTube on audio format
Ever heard the one about the coat maker and the ten yards of linen?
No. What’s it about? What’s it called?
The Jungle
In Dubious Battle by Steinbeck is a novel about someone becoming radicalized by the cruelty of the owners to become a communist organizer.
Quite dry but a lot of Engels early work is done sort of like an account, where he visits a place and reports the facts and how he felt:
You could title this ‘Engels goes to England!’
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/ch08.htm
‘Ten Days That Shook The World’ is good too - an account of the Russian Revolution from an American socialist who watched it all happen.
‘Ten Days That Shook The World’ is good too
I got the BBC dramatisation of that here on TankieTube if you really want to make it feel like a story
Nice, got a big train journey coming up, excited to listen. Cheers.
There’s a comic called Red Rosa which is a pretty good summary of Rosa Luxemburg’s life, it’s not particularly theory dense, but it is Marxist and goes into some stuff lightly.
Read the manifesto comrade. The characters are the different classes in the progress of history.
how has no one mentioned “10 days that shook the world” by john reed??? Absolute page turner
