The People's Act of Love

1919 Siberia.

In the outer reaches of a country recently torn apart by civil war lives a small Christian sect and its enigmatic leader, Balashov. Stationed in their midst is a company of Czech soldiers, on the losing side of the recent conflict and desperate to get home.

Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia’s northernmost prison. His arrival intrigues many of the locals, including Anna Petrovna, a beautiful young war widow. But when the local shaman is found dead, suspicion and terror engulf the little town…

Praise for The People's Act of Love:

‘A quite extraordinary novel. The language is so fresh and crisp and sparkling. And what a narrative! What a story! There’s a majestic disdain for littleness in this book—for littleness of ambition, for narrowness of sympathy, for pettiness of imaginative scope. I admire it enormously.’

Philip Pullman

‘This is historical fiction that transcends the genre—as intense as a thriller, imagined on an epic scale.’

The Times

‘The literary event of this year.’

Irvine Welsh

‘The book’s most striking feature is the whirling, pungent, sinister atmosphere, which Meek conjures with dazzling assurance. He has created a unique story, distinctively Russian, leaving behind his research on the cutting room floor (yes, one can imagine a film) as well as his reading of the classics. His book is a humdinger; brace yourself for a shock or two, but be sure to read The People’s Act of Love’.

Spectator