Cement

Synopsis

A classic of socialist realism. Cement was the first novel to delineate the life of the people in relation to the economic policies of the Soviet state. Gleb, a heroic soldier, comes home from the revolution's wars to a world in transition as demonstrated by the reorganization of the local cement factory for the massive national effort. His wife, Dasha, is now a leader of the Women's Section of the Communist Party, an activist in a society where women are suddenly men's equals. Gleb finds that he cannot easily pick up the threads of their old relationship or adjust to this new social order.