![]() His parents lives consisted of meetings, demos and their whole lives were consumed by their politics. The Soviet Union under Stalin was paradise, the United States devilish capitalists. The young David's heroes were Yuri Gagarin and Lenin, rather than the Beatles or Elvis, he was not allowed to join the Cub Scouts (too imperialistic), or read the Beano comic (published by a firm that would not allow trade unions). This was similar to being born into a religious sect - a strict viewpoint and a way of being separate to the world around him. Both parents were long standing members of the small Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and his father Sam was a leading member. This is a fascinating biography of a man making sense of an unconventional background. And the elements that shape our fondest beliefs. Only then did he begin to understand what had come before – both the obstinate heroism and the monstrous cowardice. He found himself studying the old secret service files, uncovering the unspoken shame and fears that provided the unconscious background to his own existence as a party animal. ![]() Who wanted American TV when you could have Russian movies?Ī memoir of early life among communists, Party Animals first took David Aaronovitch back through his own memories of belief and action. Where others went to church they went to Socialist Sunday School, society’s up was their down and its heroes were their villains. ![]() Rowling's world, they lived secretly with and parallel to the non-communist majority, sometimes persecuted, sometimes ignored, but carrying on their own ways and traditions. The Russian cosmonaut was everything the Aaronovitch family wished for - a popular and handsome embodiment of modern communism.īut who were they, these ever hopeful, defiant and (had they but known it) historically doomed people? Like a non-magical version of the wizards of J. In July 1961, just before David Aaronovitch's seventh birthday, Yuri Gagarin came to London. ![]()
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