Enjoy Among The Russians Compiled By Colin Thubron Visible In Textbook

is a fresh perspective on the last tumultuous years of the Soviet Union and an exquisitely poetic travelogue, With a keen grasp of Russia's history, a deep appreciation for its architecture and iconography, and an inexhaustible enthusiasm for its people and its culture, Colin Thubron is the perfect guide to a country most of us will never get to know firsthand.
Here, we can walk down western Russia's country roads, rest in its villages, and explore some of the most engaging cities in the world.
Beautifully written and infinitely insightful, Among the Russians is vivid, compelling travel writing that will also appeal to readers of history and current eventsand to anyone captivated by the shape and texture of one of the world's most enigmatic culture.
"I was unhappy for years after the boys birth, I wanted to die. Her eyes shut, as if testing the idea, opened again, I didnt find the world worth inhabiting at all, It was just a haze of people hunting for money, positions, things, And I thought: whats the point They were like children playing games, "

"You're made to feel you're letting down society, the system, the country, God!' he blazed incongruously, 'Who is the country, the system The country is me too! Let me breathe!'" A fascinating account of a meandering trip through the European part of the then Soviet Union, from the Baltics to the Black Sea and down the Caucasus, in the days when the USSR was a power to reckon with.
. . Mr Thubron draws some memorable characterisations of various people he encountered and compelling descriptions of this enormous swathe of territory including beaches, mountains, forests and extensive plains.
. . A most nostalgic read! hadn't really heard of this book or author before, but he seems quite prolific, Don't confuse this book with a scholarly work, but his trip presents an interesting snapshot of life in the Soviet Union at a point in time that doesn't get so much attention.
As a writer, his descriptions are very vivid which makes it very interesting, I'd be interested to read his books on the Silk Road and the Amur River, too,
I had been really looking forward to this book, and reading Thubron, I had interviewed him years ago and he was lovely, But I really had trouble with his writing style his choice of verbs is bewildering, and it's unusual that I come across so many words that I'm not familiar with in one paragraph.
This is the first time I've read anything Russianthemed since theelection, because I was so disgusted I even stopped my Russian language course.
When he stops being florid and describes the locations, it's enjoyable, and I found the Caucasus section to be riveting.
So, a mixed bag. Here we have Thubron's first travel book after an eight year break since's "Journey into Cyprus", It seems like Thubron became a whole new writer in the interim, Or maybe someone gave him a copy of Williams' "Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, " The sentences here are clear and concise, Gone are the infinite semicolons and em dashes of his first three books, Most of the sentences

here have only one or two clauses, When speakers are quoted, the only occasionally trail off into nothingness, There is no index. I spotted the word "sepulcher" only one time,

Most importantly, this is truly a travelogue, It isn't a history book like his first three efforts, nor even a halfandhalf like his fourth, We get a sense of Thubron not only as a scholarly observer, but as a human being,

There is also quite a geographical divide between this book and the his first four, Thubron has left the Holy Land behind for a trip through Russia, . . a place that has loomed large in much of his writing since the publication of "Among the Russians.
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The result is a strong one, Indeed, I recommend that readers start here if they are seeking an entrypoint into Thubron's larger body of work, A perfect travel companion read when travelling in Russia, This travelogue by Colin Thubron is 'dated' in a way as it was written during his travels in the Soviet Union Russia i.
e. includes the countries which have now become independent e, g. Estonia, Lithuania and not just present day Russia in earlys when the Union was under the Communist regime, Much has changed since then in Russia's place under the sun, its politics, its geographical boundaries, existential questions/ ideologies which its people search for but it is still perhaps the best travel book which goes to explain the ethos of the place and its people and helps us to understand the 'new Russia' which followed that era, better.

I loved the descriptive and evocative language that Thurbron uses and hence the book can be read as much as a piece of literature as a travelogue.
You feel the pain, the shock, the fear, the freedom, the warmth everything that Thubron feels during this trip across the massive country posing not as a writer but as a 'company director' whatever that means!.

In my opinion, Thubron's book is unable to reach the 'great travelogue' level rather than just 'a very good' one due to one jarring note : that is the inherent, ingrained, ideological bias that Thubron has on Russian system of that time before stepping into the country which colours his every interaction, observation and conclusion.
Unfortunately the book seems to be an expression of ratifying his strongly held views rather than an exploration of what the country may mean: the very essence of travelling ! The saving grace is that Thubron does give in and acknowledge that never will he confuse the 'state' with its 'people' after having witnessed time and time again the warmth and hospitality of Russian people.
Highly recommended. A delightful account of an Englishman abroad, more precisely a car ride through Russia and its surrounding Soviet republics in.
Mr. Thubron is an excellent pen, sympathetic to his subjects, but yet critical of the absurdities of the Soviet system, Lots of stereotypes that get frustrating, but nevertheless a really interesting book that captures the zeitgeist of the USSR on the verge of dissolution.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, An OK travel book that in hindsight is less about the Russians and more a set of postcards of life in the late Soviet Union.


Thubron managed to travel individually as a oneman group, He drove a fair part of his journey and was able to stay at campsites, occasionally he took internal flights.
What struck him was the size of the country, alien to anyone from Western Europe and the sameness of material life that gave the country a strong feeling of blandness and an irrepressible desire on the part of locals to buy his jeans or admire the interior of his Morris Minor.


Really this is more of historical interest now, not so much because of changes in Russian life so much as the country is much more open potentially to foreign visitors.
Thubron was much more limited in the places that he was able to go and the routes that he was able to travel by than a contemporary traveller need be and perhaps that contributes to the melancholy tone of wandering around concrete tower blocks and dismal zoos full of masturbating monkeys, I think he almost liked Estonia, but maybe I am misremembering.
He meets a Russian woman blissfully happy under the spiritual guidance of a Hindu sage presumably via correspondence, Thubron doesn't much care for that either as it smacks of pure escapism! It's a travelogue encompassing large swathes of the Soviet Union during it's final years in the's.
Thurbon has a beatup Morris Minor car and does a series of road trips to experience the region, It's an interesting snapshot of that period, and gives a subjective insight into the mind and soul of the motley groups of people residing within the Soviet Union.
Thurbon has some memorable encounters and projects himself into a wide spectrum of experiences visiting the soviet states from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, and to the interior of Russia.
I really enjoyed the personal exchanges with dissidents and his prescribed tours with guides, he is largely reticent with his hosts, but in the narrative he doesn't hide his disdain for the soviet system and it's acolytes, but his affection and fascination for the people and the country does shines through.
The descriptions of architecture and some historical accounts make the narrative drag for me in places, but overall it is a reasonably informative and entertaining account of life and the tribulations of the communist era.
I don't know if I would be enthusiastic enough to read one of this other books on Russia, but I will look to see if they are considered better or worse than this, and decide later when I want to pick up another travel book.
So, this author sounds like he swallowed a thesaurus, but overall, this was a wellformed and kind of poetic travelogue.
The title is misleading. He was actually not only traveling through the Russia in, but also through the Soviet states of Belarus, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Ukraine.
Summary: Really great travelogue, but I didn't want to hear about his personal political opinions because it sounded like he'd just start in on people and it seemed pretty rude.


I took off one star because I didn't like his political proselytizing, Every time he talked to someone about politics, it sounded less like he was having a thoughtful political discussion about the differences between Sovietera Communism and Westernstyle capitalism, and more like he was lecturing some naughty children.
A British guy Moralizing about another country's economic choices During the Thatcher era I don't think so, I realize his attitudes are mostly the product of his generation Thurbron was born in, and I'm not old enough to give two hoots about the Cold War, but he knew exactly where he was going and when and he had been there before, so his moralizing seems disingenuous, and I don't think he understood that some of what he had to say that was critical was kind of hurtful to the people he was saying it to.
Like. Mind your own business, dude, Also, Thurbron is British. I love the Brits and all, but his country's track record is not the best, Seriously. If you don't like the government, why are you there

Anyway, I digress. This is a really interesting look at the USSR in, This is a part of the world that I don't think most Americans, even today, know much about, and it's interesting to read it because it's kind of like a time capsule fromyears ago.
So, it's overall very interesting, but rather dated,

Side note: I want to go to St, Petersburg. And Sochi. Like right now. I enjoyed this book. Thubron is a wonderful writer, although this is one of his earlier books and I don't think he had quite honed his writing style.
At times he is a little over florid in descriptions,

It describes his travels around the soviet union in the earlys a journey not possible now in the same way since the collapse of communism.
The Russians of the title is a slight misnomer as he travels for some time amongst nonRussians such as Georgians, Armenians and Latvians who certainly don't consider themselves as Russian and could be very upset if you called them this now.


It is more a historical view than a modern travel guide, The world has changed hugely in theyears since this was written, but it is still interesting, Three things stand out the roots of some of the current issues between Russia and its near neighbours, the sometimes impenetrable misunderstandings between Thubron and those he meets due to hugely different world viewpoints, and just the pleasure of reading a well written text.
It is occasionally amusing, sometimes sad although no where near as sad as his later writings on the exSoviet Union, always engaging.


As in his other books, Thubron does not always paint a picture of himself as the most engaging of people.
If you need to love your author to enjoy a book, this might not work for you, And don't read this if your are looking for a modern relevant travel description as in many ways it is well out of date.
When I read the first sentence of this book which begins like this, "I had been afraid of Russia ever since I could remember," I knew that Thubron has hooked me.
I'm not surprised about this because I have long been an admirer of his work, I consider him one of my favorite travel writers,

Thubron traveled through Russia in, years before the fall of communism, So, reading the book after that momentous period inand onwards is like a history lesson, His delving deep into Russian daily life in a period that can be reasonably described as bleak, gray or even dark, is something that we should know about, particularly those who are currently leaning towards fascistic and nationalist inclinations.


As much as Thubron's Russian adventures are enchanting to read, I read Thubron not so much for his adventures as for his sentences, his writing style, the way he strings those words together to craft some of the most beautiful sentences in literary nonfiction I've ever read.
Among the Russians is not one of his best, For even better exquisite sentences, I would suggest his book, Beyond the Wall,

Still, if you've ever wondered what Russia was like in that period, this book is it,

Glorious book written by an American journalist living in Communist Russia, Although some of it might seem a little outdated now that communism has "fallen", in reality, many of the societal issues of the Russia remain the same.
Funny, weird and disturbing a phenomenal culture shock, Заг. може би е била актуална и евентуално интересна, ако си предубеден читател. С днешната дата от съдържанието лъха високомерие и нежелание на автора да е "сред руснаците". Изключително тромава и енциклопедично поднесена за пътепис. .