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Fast train Russia
114 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 17, 2023
The American author, Jay Higginbotham, has written a short book of his Trans-Siberian train journey as a young man in the mid-60s. Traveling the world, he had crossed Russia from the Sea of Japan to Moscow and then went to spend some time on the beaches of Odesa (now Ukraine).
The writing of this brief memoir is triggered by the visit of a Russian author from Vladivostok to the Mobile Public Library where he was employed as a historian. Jay and his family entertained Lev Knjazev and his companions and Jay shared about his youthful Siberian adventure.
Lev encouraged him to write about it and, fortunately, Jay had kept a journal and had made daily entries as he chugged across the Eurasian continent. And, fortunately, again, he was able to locate the long-neglected journal and reread the pages. After reconstructing his story, the whole manuscript was sent to Lev, now back home in Vladivostok. The package did not, however get through (even with 6 tries) so Jay tried another tack: he mailed a page at a time along with his personal letters.
Next, Lev translated the book into Russian and worked out details to have it printed in a Soviet literary journal. Then came its publication in Russia, the International Book Fair in Moscow, and a resultant sister-city relationship solidified between Mobile, Alabama and Vladivostok, USSR. Jay's family visited Russia and Lev's family visited America. Finally, the English edition of "fast Train Russia" came out in 1983.
In some senses, this birthing story rivals the actual trip the book is about. To begin, Jay recounts his colorful sea voyage from Japan, then his awkward customs/money exchange and first encounters boarding the train.
His first "roommates" were a mother and young boy and a blond man. He was able to introduce himself as "Amerikansky" but they were able to communicate little more than their names. At around nine o'clock his first night aboard, the three Russians were already in pajamas, ready for bed, but Jay realized he hadn't thought to bring any with him.
He brushed his teeth with difficulty in the washroom as the train swayed and creaked, then returned to a darkened cabin, climbed onto the upper bunk clothed, pulled his blanket up over his shoulders and struggled to fall asleep.
From this beginning on June 9 until July 16 with a party and parting from new young Russian friends, we ride with Jay through a world of landscape and culture he is just discovering:
"For nearly two hours, the 'Russia' hugged the side of Lake Baikal, with wisps of fog to the north of us and jagged mountains to the south. Far away in the filmy offing, snowy peaks rose majestically, their delicate lines hardly discernable to the eye. And then, just as it must have appeared there for millions of years, a great corona of fire reared above the trees around the iridescent sea; the fog fled softly across the waters, and through the vanishing mists the ancient sun came smoldering, rising relentlessly above the far horizon, as if being lifted by the giant hand of God."
""...the stops had been fewer than on other days and we felt a little more cramped than usual. So, thinking perhaps a late-night stretch would help us sleep better, Tamara and I and Felix and Mikhail and Dr. Victor leaped off the train and made a quick run down the platform, sucking in deeply the cool night air as we ran. By this hour it had turned quite chilly, in pleasant contrast to the heat we had experienced during the afternoon. We sprinted all the way to the end of the platform, laughing and giggling like children... When we reached the end of the platform we stopped for a moment to catch our breath, then leisurely began walking back toward our coach.
"Do you have fun like this in America?" Tamara asked me.
"Not exactly like this," I replied.
"What kind of fun do you have, then?" she asked.
I couldn't very well explain what the difference was, except to point out that in America you wouldn't so often find a schoolteacher, a foreigner, a surgeon, and a train conductor running wildly down a railway platform together at midnight.
...Lying on my bunk that night I could only look back on this day as one of the most remarkable of my life."
This volume is a quick, 100-page read with a map included. There is plenty of drama, as well as misunderstandings between cultures and genuine bonding as people are thrown together hurtling across several time zones together days on end. The intensity of the shared time is enriching for all, including the reader who joins in.
The writing of this brief memoir is triggered by the visit of a Russian author from Vladivostok to the Mobile Public Library where he was employed as a historian. Jay and his family entertained Lev Knjazev and his companions and Jay shared about his youthful Siberian adventure.
Lev encouraged him to write about it and, fortunately, Jay had kept a journal and had made daily entries as he chugged across the Eurasian continent. And, fortunately, again, he was able to locate the long-neglected journal and reread the pages. After reconstructing his story, the whole manuscript was sent to Lev, now back home in Vladivostok. The package did not, however get through (even with 6 tries) so Jay tried another tack: he mailed a page at a time along with his personal letters.
Next, Lev translated the book into Russian and worked out details to have it printed in a Soviet literary journal. Then came its publication in Russia, the International Book Fair in Moscow, and a resultant sister-city relationship solidified between Mobile, Alabama and Vladivostok, USSR. Jay's family visited Russia and Lev's family visited America. Finally, the English edition of "fast Train Russia" came out in 1983.
In some senses, this birthing story rivals the actual trip the book is about. To begin, Jay recounts his colorful sea voyage from Japan, then his awkward customs/money exchange and first encounters boarding the train.
His first "roommates" were a mother and young boy and a blond man. He was able to introduce himself as "Amerikansky" but they were able to communicate little more than their names. At around nine o'clock his first night aboard, the three Russians were already in pajamas, ready for bed, but Jay realized he hadn't thought to bring any with him.
He brushed his teeth with difficulty in the washroom as the train swayed and creaked, then returned to a darkened cabin, climbed onto the upper bunk clothed, pulled his blanket up over his shoulders and struggled to fall asleep.
From this beginning on June 9 until July 16 with a party and parting from new young Russian friends, we ride with Jay through a world of landscape and culture he is just discovering:
"For nearly two hours, the 'Russia' hugged the side of Lake Baikal, with wisps of fog to the north of us and jagged mountains to the south. Far away in the filmy offing, snowy peaks rose majestically, their delicate lines hardly discernable to the eye. And then, just as it must have appeared there for millions of years, a great corona of fire reared above the trees around the iridescent sea; the fog fled softly across the waters, and through the vanishing mists the ancient sun came smoldering, rising relentlessly above the far horizon, as if being lifted by the giant hand of God."
""...the stops had been fewer than on other days and we felt a little more cramped than usual. So, thinking perhaps a late-night stretch would help us sleep better, Tamara and I and Felix and Mikhail and Dr. Victor leaped off the train and made a quick run down the platform, sucking in deeply the cool night air as we ran. By this hour it had turned quite chilly, in pleasant contrast to the heat we had experienced during the afternoon. We sprinted all the way to the end of the platform, laughing and giggling like children... When we reached the end of the platform we stopped for a moment to catch our breath, then leisurely began walking back toward our coach.
"Do you have fun like this in America?" Tamara asked me.
"Not exactly like this," I replied.
"What kind of fun do you have, then?" she asked.
I couldn't very well explain what the difference was, except to point out that in America you wouldn't so often find a schoolteacher, a foreigner, a surgeon, and a train conductor running wildly down a railway platform together at midnight.
...Lying on my bunk that night I could only look back on this day as one of the most remarkable of my life."
This volume is a quick, 100-page read with a map included. There is plenty of drama, as well as misunderstandings between cultures and genuine bonding as people are thrown together hurtling across several time zones together days on end. The intensity of the shared time is enriching for all, including the reader who joins in.
April 15, 2021
A quick read. Very sweet.
July 11, 2012
a quick and very humorous read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews