Words Will Break Cement

Lively and sympathetic... A vivid account of the three women's arrest and then the harrowing absurdity of their trial that summer... Keenly observed and often moving -- Tony Wood * Guardian *
Powerful... This is scrupulous and sensitive journalism -- AD Miller * Daily Telegraph **** *
Immensely readable... It brilliantly traces the evolution of Pussy Riot -- Angus Roxburgh * Mail on Sunday ***** *
Gessen's sharp pen draws a caustic picture of the show trials in the summer of 2012 [and] prison correspondence provides a vivid picture of the continuing awfulness of the Russian penal system... Valuable * Economist *
Powerful... this is a hotly anticipated book by one of Russia's most influential opposition journalists. It's a pacy telling of what is an extraordinary story -- Carole Cadwalladr * Observer *
A fine, full, deeply sympathetic portrait of a particular kind of courage, a punk dissidence that is at once frail and mighty -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *
A powerful indictment of the return to Soviet-era tactics to silence dissent... Enlightening [and] poignant -- Lucy Popescu * Tablet *
Thorough... Much here will be new to the reader. All of it is infuriating * New York Times *
[It] is written in a dry, raised-eyebrow deadpan, which allows post-Soviet repression to indict itself and adeptly captures the bluster and headiness of activist idealism.... Moving * LA Times *
[An] angry, clear and intimate look at the women behind Pussy Riot. Gessen's portraits are touching and a little sad -- Ben Judah * Sunday Times *
Gessen pulls together a psychological portrait of the three ring-leaders -- Arifa Akbar * Independent *
Gripping... a lucid account of the history of the group and their aims -- Andrzej Lukowski * Metro *
Gessen's clinical and thorough depiction of Pussy Riot is as personal as it is political -- Una Mullally * Irish Times *
Vividly told -- Maria Alekhina * Sunday Herald *
You really need to read this in-depth look at what it means be young, fearless and angry in the new Russia * Twin Factory *
A solid piece of journalism... It reveals [Pussy Riot] as clever, funny, brave and idealistic. And it reveals Russia as a country still held back by a giant anchor dug into its Soviet past -- Giles Whittel * The Times *
Gessen makes a forceful case for Pussy Riot... As a Russian-American steeped in the same ideas that inspired Pussy Riot, [she] is a useful guide -- Daniel Trilling * New Statesman *
[This] offers an engaging and thoughtful exegesis of the events and personalities behind Pussy Riot. It is a lively addition to the canon of Russian prison literature. Gessen presents a scathing portrait of Putin-era judicial system -- Fernanda Eberstadt * TLS *