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didactylos's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
No pictures, no maps - this becomes a tedious catalogue of place names with no real context.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
In the first weeks of his journey, Thubron, age 80, sprains an ankle when his horse founders, breaking two ribs into the bargain. But his injuries don't hold him back, because he is on a mission to follow the Amur River along the harsh, sometimes beautiful borders of two countries that distrust and often hate each other. He finds ruined villages; memorials to old treaties that have long since been broken; students who show no curiosity about him and, according to their teacher, have no hope of ever finding jobs in their bankrupt economy; suspicious law enforcement officers who threaten him with jail; and guides who offer friendship, help and insight into the long-standing suspicions of Russians for the Chinese, and vice versa. Though much of the story is bleak, Thubron soldiers on, enlightening the rest of us about a part of the world most of us will never visit. (Though there are tours! http://www.mk-tours.com/tours-in-khabarovsk/)
simo_hamzaoui's review against another edition
5.0
I am very glad I read this book. Beautifully written
desirosie's review against another edition
4.0
A travelogue/history of fascinating worlds—the contrast between Russia and China where they meet is fascinating and it is strange to read of moments that must have transpired not long before the onset of Covid and the war in Ukraine. What would it look like to take the same journey now?
lilyspunner's review against another edition
5.0
The best book I have read in a while. Colin Thubron’s writing is sheer poetry