a new discovery for me!
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I came across this book completely by accident (browsing in a bookstore in Switzerland); I'm not generally a fan of travel books but this one caught my attention and I bought it - to my delight! This is the only book I've read by this author but I am definitely planning to get others. It is captivating, informative, a great read. Also, she intersperses her travel accounts with interesting historical and cultural background. The section on TB in Russia, which I happen to know quite a bit about, was impressively accurate. Highly recommended!!!
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Brilliant
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I am a long time Dervla Murphy fan and couldn't wait to read this, her latest, book. I was glad to see she has lost none of her adventurous spirit (in spite of being well in her 70s) or her love of discomfort, which makes Dervla so endearing. As usual, she mingles with locals and manages to gather a surprising amount of information (considering language barriers). She does get carried away on several ocassions, when raging against her pet hates, capitalism and the World Bank (although she does make it perfectly clear why she hates these and one tends to agree with her).
She suffers a few set backs which many other travellers would find off putting, including being robbed at gun point. It is also rather a sad book, because although it conveys the beauty of Siberia in winter and the friendliness of some (not all!) the Siberians, we also learn about the negative aspects of the 'new' Russia, which certainly do not seem to have brought many benefits to its citizens since the fall of Communism.
All in all this is Dervla Murphy still at her finest.
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