Siberia: In Siberia [Paperback]

Product Details

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 26, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006095373X
ISBN-13: 978-0060953737
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Colin Thubron
Price : $11.98
You Save : $3.01 (20%)

In Siberia [Paperback]

Consumer Evaluations

Russia metamorphosed in the 20th century assuming and shedding identities as typically as it did heads of state. Finding an examination of the history of these events that maintains some semblance of neutrality and pure observation seemed unlikely - until now. IN SIBERIA is a rare mixture study of geography, economics, political science, sociology, and background in a format of conversations with the folks who reside there. Author Thubron is a contemporary day Richard Halliburton (recall him?), a man brave adequate to singly discover the vastness of Siberia in search of the identity of its folks. What he gives us is a lushly detailed panorama of physical grandeur and a near clinical insight into the psyches of the individuals he meets along his journey. His characters are so effectively reported that they seem to inhabit a fine fiction/background novel. But the sweep of his conversations with these time worn people is so honestly presented that the reader feels privy to shrouded secrets of the past and intimations of the future of a a lot maligned and misunderstood country.
Thubron appears intent on discovering the sustaining spirit of his acquaintances we encounter myriad variations of Russian Orthodox /Buddhist/atheist religion. We hear private accounts of the labor camps of Stalin and Kruschchev that surpass even Solzhenisyn's descriptions. But much more very important we are introduced to the ordinary many people of this vast country and Thubron shares these characters with insight and intelligent reportage that tends to make us feel as though we journeyed with him.
And this is supposed to be a Travel Book? I feel not. This is a volume of very first-hand information and facts that leaves the reader enriched and empathetic.......an enormously fine read!

This is one of the few books that I've wanted to read again the moment I completed it. It's like a cross in between Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Kosinski's The Painted Bird with one particular crucial distinction - it is not fiction.
The surreal and tragic effect of this book builds relentlessly as it goes along. By the end, I felt like I had a sense of a location that went nicely beyond a familiarity with look, to a a lot a great deal more essential (and complicated for an author to convey) sense of what it feels like. The unspeakable tragedy of this land - centered around the hideous legacy of the Stalinist years - is conveyed in a thorough, convincing and compelling way. You can't read this book and stay untouched by it - it is highly effective stuff.
A distinctive feature is the author's language and style, which is typically extremely poetic. The juxtaposition of the fine writing with the frequently macabre and disturbing topic matter tends to make for a powerful effect.
I haven't read any other books by this author, but I will prior to long. This is an superb, and very memorable piece of work. Highly suggested.