Marvellously written account - Rated 
An absorbing and excellently written account of the author's travels throughout the western Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1980s, chronicling his fascination and exasperation with the people he meets and the experiences he undergoes. The quality of writing makes this a joy to read.
Stand Up the Real Colin Thubron! - Rated 
I wondered, when ordering "Among the Russians", whether the fact that it had been written a quarter of a century ago, about a world that had apparently disappeared, would detract from the impact of the journey. I need not have worried as it has the immediacy of a trip completed yesterday.
The book perhaps - and understandably so - does not quite have the fine polish of the recent "Shadow of the Silk Road", my first experience of Thubron, but is none the less beautifully written and absolutely fascinating. The combination of the unorthodox travel arrangements for the time (a car), the poetic and precise (I checked Google Images while reading "Shadow of the Silk Road"!) descriptions of places, the intimate and thoughtful portraits of people and, particularly impressive, the provision of a detailed historical context, make for a compelling read. Extra thrills, including a dramatic conclusion to the book, were thoughtfully provided by the KGB.
With all this it might seem unnecessarily querulous to ask for more. But in both these books we are left with a feeling that the author has, perhaps unconsciously, fenced off a part of his personality and his activities. In this age of "letting it all hang out" we are sometimes left with unanswered questions, sometimes on simple practical matters.
On the one hand, a voyage, especially a solitary one, involves constant and often stressful interaction between the traveler and his surroundings. We do see a lot of this but are often left trying to imagine details. On the other, it is often marked by long periods of silence when the traveler, a long way from home, will reflect on his life, loves, beliefs and hopes. Aside from a few memorable incidents, we do not see very much of this.
A writer is fully entitled to reveal, or to hide, as much as himself as he chooses. But a bit more of Colin Thubron, the man, would give his travel books an additional vital dimension. Perhaps - after reading "In Siberia" - I should try his novels!
The best single volume book about Russia - Rated
Don't be put off by the fact that this was written before the fall of the Berlin Wall - the Russia it writes about is still so recognisable that if you have been there it gives you a lump in the throat to read about it. Unlike Van der Post's Journey into Russia, Thubron writes more about the individuals he meets than the system itself, and in the process manages to paint a portrait of an entire nation. What sets this book above over travel books on Russia is Thubron's ability somehow to put all of Russian literature into the book, with chapters that evoke Pushkin, or Tolstoy, or Chekhov. It is hard-nosed but lyrical, and full of beautiful images, juxtaposed with one another and allowing you to feel the experience as well as just reading about it. Some of the characters are so well evoked you somehow feel afterwards that the encounters are not Thubron's but your own. The pace and power of the book do not slacken until the final line, which packs a punch all of its own. If you are going to Russia, or to the Caucasus, or even to Central Europe, make sure you read this first. It may only be 212 pages long, but it has an epic quality that many books twice the size lack. Recommended without reservation.
|
