Siberian Dawn: A Journey Across the New Russia

by Jeffrey Tayler

Release Date: June, 2000

Edition: Paperback

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Nice idea but largely unfulfilled

I was looking forward to this book because it struck me as an exceptional idea for a travel book. But mr. Tayler seems to regard a travel book as being about his travels when it should really be about the places he is traveling through. The entire thing could have easily been shortened into a brief magaizne article with three main (and fairly well-known) points: (1) People in the former USSR drink a lot of vodka; (2) many of the roads in the siberian wilderness are bad; (3)The accomodations are lousy. Tayler couldn't be expected to learn a lot about the places he goes through because he spends a lot of his time in trucks or on trains. This doesn't lead to much insight for the reader. And while the region certainly is decaying, poor and polluted, taking a long bus trip across the US would give a pretty squalid view as well. To his credit though, Tayler does have some real moments when he describes the desolation and the widespread despair of the people. Its too bad he didn't spend a lot more time in the journey.

From Russia, With Love

The book is well written and tells a very engaging story. It's in the tradition of "hardship travel" writing. I'm reminded of an essay by the philosopher Santayana about travelling "in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately..." The author's adventure involves all those things. I knew Jeff Tayler in college and am not surprised that he could make the journey. His language skills were legendary, and he already showed some taste for enduring hardship. He also had a talent for empathy that is showcased here. I will add a few things that other reviwers have not mentioned. The view of Americans by Russians is more favorable than I expected, and rather poignant. The chapter about Jeff's visit to Lenin's hometown is brief but fascinating. Although the book is quite serious, there is some needed comic relief in such things as the Russian fascination with the soap opera "Santa Barbara." In the end, the depiction of Russian life is pretty bleak, and the prospects for it getting better in the near future do not appear bright. The picture painted is of a damaged culture and a beaten-down people. It comes across as a hard place to like, which makes Tayler's love for it even more remarkable.