Wanderlust - 04.2020

wanderlust.co.uk April 2020 147

THEBIGREAD DISCOVER

Book

of the

month

Noteson nature

This month’s

bookshelf

is singing

out to us.

The Lost Pianos of Siberia

Sophy Roberts

Doubleday, £19

What is it about Siberia that continues to

draw our attention? Is it the vast emptiness

facing us on a map, as we contemplate a

land that covers most of the ten time zones

on the Trans-Siberian railway, stretching

from Russia’s Ural Mountains to the steely

Arctic waters of Okhotsk? Perhaps it’s the

dark fact that trips there

• made by convicts,
  rebels and doomed royals – often proved fatal.
  While the fates of the exiled may be less than
  pretty, their stories endure in this compelling
  debut from travel writer Sophy Roberts who
  guides us through Russia and its outer
  peripheries. Setting out through the wilderness
  to ind one of The Lost Pianos of Siberia for
  a Mongolian pianist, Sophy traces the
  movements and history of these grand
  European instruments, dating from the time of
  cultural catalyst Catherine the Great to the
  chaotic journeys forced by revolution.
  The former exile post of Irkutsk – also known
  as the gateway to Lake Baikal – and the golden
  domes of wartime safehouse Novosibirsk
  provide backdrops to this quest, but it’s the
  people she meets who stand out. Bell-ringing
  veterans and piano-tuning families show us
  the importance of music to Siberia, oering
  a solace similar to the trembling chords of great
  composers that comforted the tortured souls
  who trudged over the Urals to face punishment.
  But shining throughout all of this is that
  landscape. Etymologically, Siberia is ‘a land of
  slumber’; historically, it’s where nightmares were
  realised. As Sophy inds, it’s also a destination of
  courage and dreams. Kirtey Verma

e,

o burn

, in

the faults and folds

of a landscape full of

risk and opportunity.

Sophy Roberts

Under the Stars

Matt Gaw

Elliott & Thompson, £13

Matt Gaw is not afraid of the dark.

Instead, he willingly wanders into it,

glimpsing a world increasingly aected by light

pollution. Under the light of the moon and stars, he

detailsthechangingrhythmsoflifeafterdusk.

Greenery

Tim Dee

Jonathan Cape, £19

Forget winter’s bleached whites –

author Tim Dee follows the wake-up

call of the wild, treading the path of migrating

swallows from South African shores to Scandinavia.

A colourful account of spring’s awakening with

talesfromSámireindeerherdersalsointhemix.

The Accidental Countryside

Stephen Moss

Faber and Faber, £17

Writer Stephen Moss’s bible of hidden

places to spy wildlife is a welcome

addition to our shelves. From London’s city jungle

to UK rail corridors, he shows us that rare inds can

justbeahappyaccidentinourownbackgarden.

A Time of Birds

Helen Moat

Saraband, £10

Helen Moat shows a dierent side to

a conlicted continent, having pedalled

through Europe’s forests and ields. As she dusts

os her spin shoes, she confronts her past, inding

asenseofbelonginginunexpectedplaces.

The Only Gaijin in the Village

Iain Maloney

Polygon, £13

Scottish writer Iain Maloney is far from

home in this funny and uplifting read.

Having decided to settle in a rural Japanese

village, Iain and his wife imagine a world of

pastoral delights – they meet bird-sized bees and

hawk-eyedneighbours,instead.

The Hound from Hanoi

Moire O’Sullivan

Sandstone Press, £10

In this tribute to her late husband Pete,

adventurer Moire O’Sullivan reveals why

a chance choice to rescue a Vietnamese street dog

from his fate (becoming food) helped unite them.

A wild canine caper from Hanoi to the Himalayas.