"Essential reading"

Carlos Rule

Nikolai Ostrovsky's How the Steel Was Tempered is one of 
the most renowned novels of the 20th century.

It may have never gained acceptance amongst cynical bourgeois 
critics; it may be too "simple", too "real" (and hence, 
apparently, lacking in imagination) for the 21st century patron 
of all that is abstract, but the fact remains that it has 
appeared in over 450 editions in over 110 languages in over 40 
countries.

The enduring popularity of this book, especially in lands where 
the masses had taken control of their own destinies, and among 
people fighting for liberation from the world's great oppressor -
- imperialism — is testimony to its deep roots in the masses of 
the people.

This is NOT bourgeois art. This is not an abstract form, shallow 
in content, designed to be incomprehensible to the "lower" 
classes.

This is, rather, people's art, socialist art, at its very best. 
"Art belongs to the people, its roots should penetrate deeply 
into the very thick of the masses of the people. It should be 
comprehensible to these masses and loved by them. It should unite 
the emotions, thoughts and will of these masses and arouse them" 
— Lenin.

Reading a book such as How the Steel Was Tempered, written 
about the Soviet Union from its inception to the early 1930s, 
gives the reader a feel for what life was like in that situation.

The story is by no means sugar-coated, the book does not portray 
the young USSR as an ideal paradise for workers and peasants. It 
deals with the harsh realities of destroying the old order and 
building a new one in the middle of a hostile world and with 
hostile elements constantly at work.

There are wreckers and saboteurs, there is indolence and apathy, 
but over time those who are working for the future become 
stronger and stronger, and those who are fighting for the past 
become weaker and weaker.

It is truly an inspiring story, and by writing it Nikolai 
Ostrovsky, although he died a cripple, unable to engage in 
physical work for the last years of his short life (he died at 
the age of 32), has played an important and memorable role in the 
movement of the billions of oppressed people to emancipate 
themselves from mental and physical slavery.

When I bought my copy of How the Steel Was Tempered, at a 
Marx Memorial Library [London] book sale, the lady behind the 
counter looked at it and happily told me "in the old days this 
was essential reading for youngsters". For good reason. This 
outstanding novel/autobiography has served to inspire millions 
over the last 70 years.

Who cannot be motivated by Pavel's courage and self-sacrificing 
spirit? Who cannot feel heartened by the stories of overcoming 
tremendous obstacles to build a society free from exploitation? 
Who cannot feel compelled to work harder for revolution when they 
read about how valiantly the Soviet people fought and worked?

How the Steel Was Tempered is still essential reading.

* * *

Abridged from a review in Spark, the newspaper of the 
Socialist Labour Party Youth of Britain.