I have never made it as far as Siberia, but reading this book makes me feel as if I have actually been there. Thubron weaves his own observations beautifully with the history of this part of the world
- Lorraine Kelly, Sunday Express
Colin Thubron is in a class of his own in [having] a literary talent for reportage which is both crisp and lyrical
Scotsman
Captivating: a passionately engaged portrait of one of the earth's most mysterious regions...confirms Thubron's place in the pantheon of the writing greats
Sunday Times
There are currently few writers and fewer books capable of transporting a reader to another place as beautifully as Thubron does in this work. It is simply superb
Observer
A profound meditation on how some of the great upheavals of this century touched ordinary lives
- Kazuo Ishiguro, Observer, Books of the Year