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.
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At the core of this book is a very insecure and deeply sensitive man who dreams about becoming a writer because there is nothing else in this world that will ever compare to writing words on a page for D after the departure of N from his life and the subsequent death of that love. The guru's from his writing life are those Russian writers from the 19th century and the golden age of Russian literature. Chekhov, Dostoevysky and Tolstoy are the giants and masters of the craft of writing whom D desires to follow but who must first dip his toes into the life of writing and expose himself fully to such a life. Perhaps if N never departed his life then D might not have written about such a loss and such loneliness, heart-ache, darkness and melancholy but that is exactly what happened and now D must follow such a lonely life. N is forever a memory from his life. He cannot or won't forget her but still he must follow the path of the artist. The final line is so powerful: 'I can finally proclaim these words: I am a writer.' Perhaps D always knew it but now he must truly be a writer. A most fascinating story even if it wasn't real.
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A great love story will generally consist of both lovers together at some stage of the novel. They won't always be together but at some pivotal moment they will come together and such a love story will reach its crescendo. East to West is not like this at all because N never becomes a character and so we never get to hear her thoughts and did not get to witness such thoughts get transported into words in the narrative. Even with such a dilemma and the pondering of what might have been the reader is still part of a truly beautiful but heart-breaking love story. We don't know how the lovers met or we don't even know if they were lovers. It could all simply be an illusion that we are experiencing and magical realism getting used into a fictional heroine who becomes such an obsession for D. If N is a real person then we wonder what were their lives like together during happier times? What was it like when they first met? How did they fall in love? What was their first kiss like? Where did they make love for the first time? We know nothing of such past memories. All we know is that a boy named D loved a girl named N and therein encapsulates the love story.
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I am not really sure what to think about this book. There were some scenes that I did not agree with and that left me to react by putting down this book and walking away. However, I felt compelled to return to this book and open its pages once more to become immersed into the author's story through the eyes of his narrator and protagonist. I feel that the author really challenges the reader and especially so during the very long monologue chapters when the author picks a multitude of philosophical topics to discuss. They start out as simply just the author's views on a particular topic but then the author exposes such a topic and reveals its good and bad through its light and dark sides. Due to the nature of a monologue scene we never get to hear the views of others within this scene but this, I think was executed deliberately by the author so that when the reader falls upon such words they will answer such questions for themselves in a quiet manner and in a very philosophical way. The topic of nationalism is very poignant and dark. It is best shown through the character of the chef within the restaurant. The author through such a character is exposing the dangers of nationalism within our world which I found to be very informative and thought provoking.
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When I think about this book East to West and about its author I am reminded of Franz Kafka. This book was written in 2024 on the 100th anniversary of the death of Kafka in 1924. Kafka is never once mentioned in this book but I sense that the author has a great love and admiration for Kafka as the vulnerabilities and deep insecurities that were part of Kafka's everyday life can be seen throughout the narratives of this deeply contemplative book. Christianson stated in his preface that 'it is a non-fictional journey but with fictional narratives interspersed throughout. It struck me that the non-fictional journey is a window into such a vulnerable soul and the fictional scenes depict the deep insecurities within his protagonist. It is subtly weaved into a fictional tale about his lost love, who is only ever referred to as N. N is the reason for such a vulnerability and insecurity in the protagonist. She is only ever told about as a memory, as a ghost from his past. She is the crucial part of the novel but it will remain a mystery because the author chose for her not to become an individual character with her own voice. This book leaves behind many questions that probably will not be answered.
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There are so many books out there, each of them tugging at us and prompting us to turn its pages and to read their words. We only have a certain amount of time out of our busy lives to dedicate to such stories. When I read a book I don't want to be entertained. I can be entertained watching a movie. I don't need to laugh as I can go to a circus or to a stand up comedy show for that. What I want from a book is to be brought on a journey even when I never leave my home. I want to be challenged where a mirror is held up to my face to recognize my own faults, failings, longings, regrets, desires. I want to cry, laugh, ponder, love but most of all to learn and not through education but to learn through a piece of wisdom that when entering me will never depart. I want to experience an event, a moment, a sight as if I am standing at that particular place with the author, narrator and his protagonist. I want to experience real life and not some form of fairytale. I want to be a better person upon completing such a story than I was when I began reading its first page. Christianson's unusual novel has brought such thoughts into my mind but more importantly has allowed feelings to reside and develop in my heart. What a beautiful book this is. I hope it won't be the only book that Daniel C.A. Christianson writes.
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This is yet another modern tale of the utter power of enduring love from the swamps of sadness to the dreams of something celestial trying to capture our soul and what it means to truly love another without conditions. D has loved this girl N and longs for her return but where is she? Does she hear his cries of loneliness, cries of despair, pangs of sorrow, acceptance of regret that he cannot change now as the past in all of us cannot be re-written and re-lived? When I was reading D's state of loneliness and hope in Kirov square I began to wonder what it would feel like to be loved so passionately and so powerfully by another person. I have never felt such a love but if I was N to another D and my D was crying out for me in sheer desperation I would come to him somehow no matter how painful it would feel to be reminded of the past, I would be compelled to sit next to D in Kirov park and put my arms around him to tell him tenderly that everything will be okay. True love deserves such a response, such an ending.
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This is a very strange and yet captivating book. There are moments when nothing is happening and when I questioned its meaning and then like a thunder blast the author switched on the light and his protagonist slowly began to reveal himself, layer by layer until one can see right into his soul. I think the author of this tale is Scandinavian and not just because of his name but because of the admiration and respect he holds for the natural environment. For him, the nature of lake Baikal and the taiga will always be sacred and timeless while his species continue to be tarnished and temporary. When the protagonist longs for his great love along the distilled waters of lake Baikal the author is showing us readers that the human will always be a divisive and unwanted presence within such places of seductiveness. When I was reading the scenes written for his great love I longed for the character N to come out from the shadows and reveal herself but she never did. Who is she? Is she a real person or conjured up as a dream from the largest lake in the world within the mysterious Siberian plains? The ending is utterly heart breaking. I cried genuine and painful tears as somehow I knew that N could or would never return to D. He loves her so much but realizes that she won't return so must accept her release into the cosmos of his enduring dreams.
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What a lovely and enchanting read this book turned out to be. I don't usually read travel books because the narrative often becomes stunted when the author takes the reader in a specific direction. Christianson did not do such a thing in East to West. He brought us on a physical journey across Russia but then we ended up going on an internal journey with him too. I can see that the author is a great admirer of Russian writer Anton Chekhov by the way he mentions him and brings him into his narrative on numerous occasions throughout the journey. I think Christianson tries to bring about the mantra style of Chekhov in his 'Show; Don't Tell' as the protagonist continuously brings the reader into a scene in order to be a witness to what is happening but more importantly the author wants the reader to have their own unique experience within the narrative even if it is a different experience to that of the protagonist. One can never get away from the character N just like how the protagonist cannot stop thinking of her and imagining her to be beside him along the waters of lake Baikal, sitting beside him at Kirov park, sitting across from him at the bench beside the lovers in Omsk, at the pond in Yekaterinburg where the father and son are racing their boats, in his many thoughts and dreams along the transsiberian railway across Russia and finally on the heated cobblestones on red square in Moscow as the sun is going down he sees and feels his great love N one more time. What a beautiful love story.
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