The Silent Prophet

The renowned author of The Radetzky March examines the mind of a Russian Revolutionary and the limitations of ideology in this classic n ovel.

Based on his own observations during an extended stay in Moscow in the winter of 1926, The Silent Prophet is Joseph Roth’s vivid attempt to explain the Russian Revolution and its betrayal by exposing the personal motivations of its leaders. Written at the height of speculation about the fate of Marxist Revolutionary Leon Trotsky, it is a brilliant portrayal of revolutionary idealism-turned-cynicism.

The illegitimate and rootless Friedrich Kargan—the Trotsky figure—becomes a leader of the Red Army during the civil war. But he soon realizes that the ideals he fought for were already lost. after openly defying the coldly amoral Savelli—the novel’s Stalin figure—Kargan is sent into exile in Siberia.