Read & Riot

Starred review from July 16, 2018
Tolokonnikova, a founding member of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot, relates both personal stories and best practices for effecting change in this cogent activist’s guide. In chapters titled as rules for resistance—e.g., “Rule No. 2: Do It Yourself”—Tolokonnikova recalls her participation in public demonstrations, including welding shut the door of a restaurant owned by a pro-Putin journalist and the Pussy Riot performance that led to her arrest. Awaiting sentencing, she learned that a simple smile directed at a prison guard was a liberating act of resistance (“Rule No 3: Take Back the Joy”). Later, while serving her two-year prison sentence for hooliganism, Tolokonnikova organized several hunger strikes to protest the inhumane conditions of Russian prisons (“Rule No. 7: Don’t Give Up Easy. Resist. Organize”), a cause she has taken up since her release through founding a prison reform organization (“Rule No. 9: Create Alternatives”). Gleaning insight from Diogenes, Michel Foucault, and Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan, among others, Tolokonnikova fills her book with passion and political acumen: “The non linear logic of social movements requires activists to be attentive, sensitive, grateful, and open-minded creatures,” she writes. With its stellar mix of personal experience and hard-won advice, Tolokonnikova’s guide is sure to fuel social movements for years to come.

September 1, 2018
A raucous fusion of memoir and action guide by a founding member of Vladimir Putin's least favorite band, Pussy Riot.In her debut, Tolokonnikova writes with an uncompromising mixture of fervor and humor, reflecting on her own hardscrabble life and the artistic development of her beloved band of provocateurs, who gained notoriety for critiques of post-communist Russia's descent into an authoritarian oligarchy, culminating in the band's 2012 prison sentence. As musician Kim Gordon says in her afterword, the book "is serious but has the playful feel of a Mission Impossible show." Still, Tolokonnikova establishes high stakes, noting that "prison terms for political activists are seen as normal in public consciousness. When nightmares happen every day, people stop reacting to them." The book has a sprawling yet regimented structure. While each chapter focuses on a precept for direct action as related to the Pussy Riot ethos--e.g., "Take Back the Joy" and "Make Your Government Shit Its Pants"--each also contains the author's reflections on her formative experiences and readings of other thinkers and activists from whom she drew strength, especially during her unpleasant experiences as a prisoner following an unauthorized concert in the Russian Orthodox Church's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. She notes that their "punk prayer" and subsequent prosecution "exposed the brutal and cruel side of the government, but we didn't do anything illegal. It's not illegal to sing and say what you think." Her stay in prison only amplified her rebellious determination, since she felt it linked her to mass incarceration and other political prisoners worldwide. In each chapter, the author urges readers to take concrete steps toward their own resistance. Though the writing can be abstruse--"we're more than atoms, separated and frightened by TV and mutual distrust"--the book follows its own inner logic, code-switching between political idealism and gritty, sensory experience, seeding appeal for millennial readers.A chaotic, irreverent testimonial ideal for frustrated progressives in this turbulent political moment.

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September 1, 2018
Tolokonnikova made global headlines when she was arrested in 2012 for singing an anti-Putin song with her punk band, Pussy Riot, in a Russian church. After spending 18 months in prison, Tolokonnikova reentered society emboldened by her torment and scrappier than ever. Her new book is an ultimate how-to guide for budding activists looking to boost their radical prowess. Amid her wise tips for everyday gauntlet-picking-up, Tolokonnikova shares keen observations about the similarities between modern world leaders from Putin to Trump to Marion Le Pen. Her instructions for changing the world are simple but will wield enormous influence. She encourages readers to vote with their wallets by shopping at establishments with positive economic and environmental practices. She dares her audience to challenge abuses of power by any authority figure, not just those in the public eye. Most importantly, she reminds readers to infuse joy into everything they do. As Tolokonnikova points out, nothing crumbles tyranny quite like genuine laughter. Whip-smart, playful, and unapologetic, Tolokonnikova's book is an inimitable guide to civil disobedience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)