Among the Russians

Colin Thubron showed me real travel writing: a journey in words that leads the reader through detailed landscapes, personal encounters with local people, and a depth of understanding that can only come through the human history of these landscapes.

I took this trip with Thubron when Russia was still the Soviet Union. Thubron met dissidents living in Moscow, drank vodka with them late into the night, traveled north to the remnants of Soviet concentration camps, took the rails through that vast continent across the steppes, over the mountains, around huge lakes, all the way to the Pacific coast. The book… show more.

To me, it was an enthralling journey written with unusual literary craftsmanship. Such a pleasure to read, but it made me feel inadequate because my travel writings are rough and raw in comparison. It doesn’t stop me from admiring Colin’s skill with words. 

Reading the book, I was immersed in another world - the final years of the Soviet Union seen through the eyes of a poetic traveller who weaves history and love of art, architecture, and culture into his tale. I loved the insights – mostly into the people and their struggle to interpret the outside world, and his… show more.

Ten thousand miles in a Morris Minor. The reader might wonder, after closing this book, what has changed in Russia in forty years, despite regime collapse. An excellent companion on the road – though I found it hard to choose between this and Thubron’s later book on Russia, In Siberia.