The Gates of November [Paperback]

For purposes of this family history, this belief comes to a head when he, for all purposes, disowns his son, Volodya, for wanting to emigrate out of the U.S.S.R. to Israel.

The government, using as an excuse that Volodya has worked in a field where he "knows secrets," refuses him permission to leave. Volodya and his wife, Masha, become activists, working on behalf of those Jews refused permission to emigrate. Because of these activities, Volodya loses one job after another, is exiled to an unliveable part of Siberia for five years, and is frequently imprisoned. All of this does serious damage to his health, but he perseveres. By these actions, he gains international fame and is partially responsible for thousands of other Jews being allowed to exit, even though he is still denied an exit visa.

Potok's book vividly describes the horrors of these years, and serves as both a family chronicle and a history of the Jewish people in Russia, ranging from the horrors suffered under the Tsars, to the further horrors suffered under the followers of Lenin.

In many ways this book is a history of the abuses that accompany absolute power and those that go along with rule by zealots of any persuasion.

As an aside, _THE GATES OF NOVEMBER_ does end on a high note. Volodya and Masha are finally allowed to leave, and do live out their lives in freedom.

In this instance, the author met the second generation of the Slepak family. The first generation was an old Bolshevik who commanded a division of the Red Army in the Far East during the Russian Civil War, and often met Stalin for press briefings in the 30ï¿s. By then he spoke 11 languages, 8 of them fluently, and so translated newspapers and magazines for Stalin. He was almost purged in the late thirties, wound up retiring early in the mid 40ï¿s, and lived to be an old man. He was also Jewish, though completely assimilated and non-religious. He had a family, including a son who turned out very different from the father.

The son became a refusenik in the seventies, trying to leave the country when it became apparent that anti-Semitism reared its ugly head in the period after WW2. He was one of the leaders of the group, and was quite prominent. He and his wife were able, finally, to move to Israel. The father was alive for the early part of the refusenik movement, and was mystified that his son wanted to go to Israel.

All in all this is an interesting book. I do think that his prose works better in fiction than it does in non-fiction. That being said, this is still a very good book.

Knowing that the Russian Revolution played a large role in the plot of this book, I was a little cautious as I began reading. However, as I delved further into it, I realized that not only was it quite interesting, I was learning a lot of history. This book kept my attention throughout and brought what I previously thought was dry, to life.

I highly recommend you read this book.