A collection of two short stories and one longer one from new young authors in Russia. Inspirecd by hitch hiking. A worthwhile read of a youth sub culture in Russia that doesn't get much international covereage but none of these writers will challenge for a place in the great canon of Russian literature alongside such as Tolstoy, Lermontov and Dostoevsky. ( )

'The fact that it's Ufa is irrelevant, really. It's just another Russian metropolis. One of the few points on the map where two state highways intersect, in this case M7 Volga and M5 Ural.' The Pale City: Igor Savelyev

Spoken like a true long haul hitchhiker.
I picked this up because words like Ural, road, and taiga were irresistible to me. I took to it because of its quality and my nostalgia. Canada, 1969 to 1973, it seemed like every young person took to the Trans-Canada to hitch hike to Van. If you did this, you were bound to pass through country they used in 'Dr. Zhivago'.
There are three writers at work here, Igor Savelyev, Irina Bogatyreva, and Tatiana Mazepina with three stories and their excellent translators. In two of the stories, the preferred territory is Siberia. In the last story, by Mazepina (Traveling to Paradise), we are treated to a 'someone's going to put an eye out' type trip where a young Russian woman hitchhikes ALONE through Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. Fortunately, all goes well. The worst that happens is getting overfed in Egypt. Never eat before visiting Egyptians.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the back and forth across Siberia, including a visit way off the beaten track to a remote lake. Somebody really does put an eye out there, at least emotionally. The stars were certainly worth it.
This book was a really nice find. ( )