Silverland by Dervla Murphy

Oh dear, I didn't finish this one, not because it was not well-written, but because the locale was so boring! I first heard about Dervla Murphy when she was interviewed on CBC Radio. She's an Irish woman who has travelled all around the world in mostly exotic or barren locales either on bicycle, pony or on foot, and some of her adventures were amazing. The travel theme was chosen for our first Book Club meeting this fall, so I tried to get her first book which relates her solo trip by bicycle from Ireland to India; however, I mistakenly gave the library the sub-title rather than the title of the book, so weeks went by and in desperation, I ordered her most recent book from Chapters. This is the book I've just set aside. Murphy is travelling through Siberia by train- she began the trip a year previous, but broke her knee and couldn't continue, so this book relates the continuation of her journey. But such a barren landscape- snow and ice everywhere, boring industrial cities, pompous bureaucrats at every turn, surly hotel-keepers, terrible food in many cases- I'd consider this the trip from hell! However, she did meet many interesting people, and I did learn about the various peoples who make up Siberia- they're not all Russian, but there are native-type people called Ewenk and another one I forget just now. So I read some 150 pages, but the history is boring, there are few sights, and I just didn't relate to it at all. One city she says she fell in love with because no cars were allowed! Anyway, I'm not completely giving up because, having discovered my mistake with the title of the book I originally wanted, I've ordered it from Inter-Library loan. We'll see!