Embark on a captivating journey across the vast Russian steppe aboard the iconic Trans-Siberian Railway in this modern tale of self-discovery and introspection. The narrator, known only as D, begins his westward voyage in Vladivostok, traversing the ever-changing landscapes that unfold before him. As time moves inexorably onward, the everyday lives of the passengers intertwine with the rhythmic churning of the train’s propellers, contrasting sharply with the raw silence of the natural world beyond the windows.As the journey progresses, D’s physical expedition takes an unexpected turn, delving into the depths of his own psyche. A haunting presence, N, permeates the narrative, her essence imbued in the natural world, particularly at the breathtaking Lake Baikal in Siberia. N represents the one who got away, leaving a void and a profound fragility within D’s soul, scattering her ghostly influence across the many places his footsteps tread.Immersed in the tranquil vistas of the external world, D finds himself enamoured by the everyday characters he encounters along the way. As he navigates the complexities of his inner turmoil and the beauty of his surroundings, the narrator embarks on a transformative odyssey. The D who began his journey in Vladivostok will inevitably be different from the one who arrives in Moscow at journey’s end, but what will this transformation entail? Join D on this introspective voyage as he unravels the mysteries of his past, present, and future on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

He is a man of solitude. His world is that of the quiet and distilled. Each night, he sits at his desk as the clock strikes midnight. He journeys inward to that bottomless pit of conflict, prompted by memory, in search of an image fused with the imagination in order to reveal truth through character and the creative narrative process. The words become sentences and they are formed. And so it all begins. This was his first attempt and successful completion of a full-length book. His name is Daniel C.A. Christianson.

Customer Reviews

4.7

97 reviews

Christopher Kelly

A life-time fascination with train travel inspired the author of this beautifully produced book to embark on the world's greatest train journey along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow. This book is not just a travelogue but the long journey and long days alone gave the writer plenty of time for introspection and reflection. He pours out his philosophy of life and his evaluation of the modern world but the hidden theme of the book is his thoughts on a broken and missing female relationship that once promised so much joy, fulfilment and hope for a future together. As the wheels of the train roll westwards through the large towns of Siberia and Eastern Russia we are introduced to Khabarovsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, their culture and some of the great Russian writers who left their mark on the territory and are now remembered in street and square names, statues and museums. The writer is in awe at the great natural beauty of Siberia, its immense size, its endless forests and especially the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Baikal. Of course, there is a very dark side to Siberia thanks to political figures like Marx, Lenin and Stalin and it is the graveyard of tens of millions of Russians and the home of the gulags. In spite of such a dark side of its history and politics, the writer comes away with deep appreciation of this vast country, its people and its culture. This book opens up a window on a territory frequently mentioned and little understood and is highly recommended to fill that void in our knowledge and education and a dream fulfilled for the author over 9000km.