In Siberia

Starred review from January 3, 2000
Many adventurers plunge into Siberia in search of untrammeled roads or unspoiled grandeur; only a handful bring with them a significant knowledge of the land's history, geology and wildlife. Even rarer are those who relay the experience as magically as does this award-winning author. Thubron (The Lost Heart of Asia) recounts a journey studded with fantastic encounters: in Pokrovskoye, a peasant who claims to be a descendant of Rasputin wrestles with his own identity as he nears the age of the infamous holy man's death; in Omsk, wizened grandmothers talk of skinny-dipping in holy water; in the Pazyryk valley, excavators remove a prince, his concubine and a team of stallions from two and a half millennia of frozen slumber; in Kyzyl, a local shaman places an order for Scottish walrus tusks. The author marvels: "wherever I stopped seemed atypical, as if the essential Siberia could exist only in my absence." In fact, that phantom essence pervades Thubron's journey, which stretches from the site of the grisly murder of the Romanovs to the Far Eastern epicenter of the brutal penal camp system that killed millions of Soviet citizens. More than a report of an inquisitive traveler's adventures, Thubron's account doubles as a haunting elegy to the victims of the bloodshed and hardship that are Siberia's most lasting legacy. Only his tender treatment of Siberia's enchanting characters and extraordinary natural beauty brighten what would be an otherwise dark and desolate path. 4-city Author tour.

Starred review from January 1, 2000
No single book can capture the enormity or the "otherness" of Siberia, but this one comes close. Thubron's travel books and novels have been widely appreciated for years in Britain, and it's easy to see why. Through language that is alternately exuberant, poetic, and mournful, Thubron evokes the natural beauty of Siberia as well as its despoliation. Equally powerful is his ability to capture on paper the personalities of the many people whom he meets during his sojourn, including a man claiming to be a descendant (illegitimate) of Rasputin. The people Thubron encounters are sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, often a little of both. Many harbor hopes to leave Siberia; others simply desire a better life in their homeland. Thubron's own natural curiosity regarding people and places--the latter given added dimension with passages of historical background--propels one's excitement in reading this book, but the whole notion of Siberia that slowly seeps into one's consciousness is what makes this an outstanding adventure story. For in the end, the major cities he visits, and especially the small towns and villages, all seem as outposts in what is probably the earth's last extended frontier. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

Starred review from February 1, 2000
In this powerful, final volume of his trilogy on the Asian continent (Where Nights Are Longest, The Lost Heart of Asia), veteran travel writer Thubron traverses all points of the compass in Russia's vast, sparsely settled Wild East. Thubron journeys into what "seems less a country than a region in people's minds," encountering people in search of explanations for past atrocities and ways to live through current hardships--all the while finding solace in science or religion. In Novosibirsk, Thubron visits the scientific center of Russia, Akademgorodok, a place where funding has been severed and brilliant minds live isolated in laboratories without electricity. Several weeks and worlds away, Thubron reaches the far-eastern city of Khabarovsk. From there he flies to the eerie skeletal structures of Siberia's most famous gulag, Kolyma, where up to two million prisoners died. Thubron's well-researched, moving account is a testament to the hardships endured by Siberia's people and their ability to turn their backs on history, look to the future, and whistle a hopeful tune. Readers who enjoyed Jeffrey Taylor's Siberian Dawn (LJ 2/15/99) will appreciate Thubron's deeper, meditated exploration of Siberian life. Highly recommended for all libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/99.]--Mark Rotella, Brooklyn, NY

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 1999
From a British travel writer who wins awards and sells lots of books.

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.