The Commissariat of Enlightenment by Ken Kalfus

You can judge a book by it's cover -it may not be accurate, but I was spot on with this one.

I picked this book up at a bookstore based on the cover and I was absolutely thrilled with my selection.

The writing style wasn't anything too great, but the story was fantastic. Multiple protagonists mixed up in the Russian revolution. None with any particularly strong role in the revolution, but each depicting important aspects of the time.

The part of this book that stuck with me is the embalming of Lenin. Sounds odd, but Lenin was an important symbol for the revolution and the true story behind the body is magical and bizarre.

Worth a read.