What do you think?
Rate this book
A Eurasian Diary
One fine autumn day, newlywed Liam Roberts found himself on the wrong side of a continent. His wife was back home in London – he happened to be in Hong Kong. The quickest way to solve the problem would have been to take the plane – but who’s ever said the best things in life are quick?
Cinching up his rucksack and hitting the road, he set out to reach her overland. On trains, buses, and rust-orange Ladas, their reunion became a long rite of passage – however roundabout the passage might have been.
The journey takes him west through China’s furthest fringes, and onto the path of the ancient Silk Road into Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and finally onward towards Europe. Along the way, he makes new friends (and the occasional enemy), tackles vast bazaars and even vaster bureaucracies, crawls over summits and falls in at least two rivers. Through police states and wonders of the world, from Guangzhou to Kashgar to Samarkand and beyond, he’s always helped along by people’s goodwill – and by the imagined voice in his ear that inspires him forward.
Narrating the journey and its people with affection, wonder and (usually) a sense of humour, “A Eurasian Diary” brings to life both the charms and the vagaries of this fabled route. The book serves as a travelogue of lands that are both complex and beautiful, but it's also a story about interconnection. Step by step, we move from one world to another – from continent to continent, from histories to new futures, and from being alone to being together.
Cinching up his rucksack and hitting the road, he set out to reach her overland. On trains, buses, and rust-orange Ladas, their reunion became a long rite of passage – however roundabout the passage might have been.
The journey takes him west through China’s furthest fringes, and onto the path of the ancient Silk Road into Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and finally onward towards Europe. Along the way, he makes new friends (and the occasional enemy), tackles vast bazaars and even vaster bureaucracies, crawls over summits and falls in at least two rivers. Through police states and wonders of the world, from Guangzhou to Kashgar to Samarkand and beyond, he’s always helped along by people’s goodwill – and by the imagined voice in his ear that inspires him forward.
Narrating the journey and its people with affection, wonder and (usually) a sense of humour, “A Eurasian Diary” brings to life both the charms and the vagaries of this fabled route. The book serves as a travelogue of lands that are both complex and beautiful, but it's also a story about interconnection. Step by step, we move from one world to another – from continent to continent, from histories to new futures, and from being alone to being together.
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.