From the caretakers of a lighthouse in Vladivostok, to the Jewish community of Birobidzhan, to a farmer in Buryatia, to a group of gay friends in Novosibirsk, to a wealthy “New Russian” family in Chelyabinsk, to a rap star in Moscow, Dickey profiles a wide cross-section of people in one of the most fascinating, dynamic and important countries on Earth. Along the way, she explores dramatic changes in everything from technology to social norms, drinks copious amounts of vodka, and learns firsthand how the Russians really feel about Vladimir Putin.
Including powerful photographs of people and places over time, and filled with wacky travel stories, unexpected twists, and keen insights, Bears in the Streets offers an unprecedented on-the-ground view of Russia today. (Summary and pic from goodreads.com)
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Review: I’m sure you’re aware that
there has been quite a bit about Russia in the news. U.S./Russia relations are
not great right now, and so I found this to be a super interesting dive into
people across Russia.
I really enjoyed how this
book came about—a journalist who, initially, went on the trip with a photographer
to escape a career that wasn’t quite happening yet. This does not come out of
the blue, as her mother had also been to Russia and traveled as well, and
Dickey was interested in seeing some sights her mother had described as well. The
initial journey was not something she was actually prepared to do. The other
two journeys were Dickey’s ideas, and were planned with the purpose of seeing
the same people again and catching up with them. I really liked this. I thought
it was a really cool way to experience people across Russia and learn about
them—not just random people, but the same selection of people who had lived
through 30 years of changes, both personally and culturally. It was fascinating
to see what had happened, who was still alive, who wasn’t, and where things had
landed in the wake of the modern world. Here is where pretty much only one of
my complaints comes in—I wish this book could have been a little more
organized. The book was divided into people (and therefore areas, because each
person/set of people is in a different area in Russia), but I wish each chapter
would have also been divided into years as well. I understand that that may not
have made for as smooth a transition in the writing, but sometimes I was
confused whether it was the second or third trip when events were happening.
This is a minor thing in the great scheme of the book, but it is something that
I thought of several times throughout.
I have mentioned before
that I am an anthropology nerd. My undergrad degree is in sociocultural
anthropology, and so this sort of book about studying culture and people is
totally my jam. I love learning about other people and their lives, especially
people in other places. It’s easy to get caught in my own little world, just
living along, and either thinking that other people are probably pretty much
just like me, or some variation on the same theme, but then I read anthropology
books such as this one and it totally blows my mind. I love the diversity of
the world, and because Russia is such a huge country covering a vast distance
geographically as well as culturally, there is a very large diversity of people
and cultures there as well. Many of the people in Dickey’s book are as far away
from each others’ worlds in Russia as I am from their world here, both
geographically and culturally.
One of the questions that
Dickey brings with her is what the different people she meets think of America.
I found that really interesting as well. I’m sure you’re aware (and if you’re
not, well, this may come as a shock to you) but we don’t always hear both sides
of the story from the news. Whether the news is intentionally biased or not, we
don’t know the whole story of every person we hear from. I feel like Russia is just
such a place. It’s so easy to get caught up in the politics of it all, and so
easy to forget that underneath all the political drama and the leaders who make
decisions at the top, are just people—people like us—who are doing their best
to be happy and take care of their families and do what they can to live a
fulfilled life. I think this book did a good job of highlighting this, and also
bringing some perspective on people and culture as a whole, not just in the
backdrop of Russia.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For the sensitive reader: This book has some language
and some detailed description of an animal being harvested in a traditional
way. There is also some discussion of homosexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment