I've always been a little wary about travel writing, sneering at the memoirs of someone on holiday, but this is less an account of the writers journey than it is a portrait of the bewildering and complex character that is Siberia.
For the most part, he reserves judgement on the people he meets and the places he visits. This apparent absence of an author entrenches the reader deeper into the dreamlike vastness of this morbidly optimistic country.
He is also careful to avoid disturbing the balance of what he finds - in several instances he is placed in situations where his own culture demands that he acts in a certain way. However, he is all too aware of the position he is in, a lone traveller in a nation that was once at war with the west, albeit cold. Naturally, his prejudices shine through occasionally, and it's interesting to see him both blunder helplessly into and eruditely avoid conflict.
Thubron is a powerful writer, able to seamlessly weave thousands of years of history into characters and places with just a few sentences. Resurgent faith, deep cynicism, earthy vitality, the horrors of this century and thousands before it are succinctly presented. I recommend this to anybody.
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