Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place [Paperback]

Sharon Dirlam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Sharon Dirlam and John McCafferty were Peace Corps volunteers in Birobidjan, capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia, a place that was cut off from foreigners for most of the Twentieth Century. The Russians they came to know, their relationships with these two Americans and with each other, and the passions and intrigues of the people around them are the heart of this true story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...It is refreshing to snatch a glimpse of a lesser-known part of Russia, which as the country's only Jewish Autonomous Region has a unique history all its own. Nevertheless, the history it shares with the rest of Russia is strikingly apparent in the author's daily interactions. Dirlam observes of her friends and acquaintances in Birobidjan a mentality almost identical to that of Svetlana Franzevna in "A Dark, Cold Night" or Jessica Mason's babushka in "The Best of the Worst" -- "that they will endure." When her fellow teachers are repeatedly denied their monthly paychecks, Dirlam asks why they don't go on strike. The reply? "It woudn't do any good." On a more personal level, however, such passivity is far less prevalent, as her friends and colleagues repeatedly demonstrate willful, spirted and sometimes stubborn resolve. "Beyond Siberia" paints colorful portraits of Birobidjan's residents, but it is also a deeply personal narrative. Dirlam recounts the challenges she encounters as a foreigner struggling to find "home" in a place where most residents have never laid eyes on an American before. It may take time to adjust to the book's fragmented, meandering style. Though I often found myself wishing that it was more closely organized around one enduring theme, I finished with an appreciation for the way that its scrambled structure reflects the chaos of everyday life. --Glimpse magazine, winter 2005

Hey, if you think this winter has been rough, spend a few years in northern Russia! Los Angeles Times travel writer Sharon Dirlam and her husband, John McCafferty, were Peace Corps volunteers in the Jewish Autonomous Region of the Russian Far East. The inhabitants there have been cut off from contact with foreigners for most of the 20th century, and since the fall of communism have struggled to master unprecedented freedoms, an old religion, dysfunctional bureaucracies and mysterious new rules. Sharon and John were the first Americans they'd ever met. The friends they made, their relationship with each other, and the intrigues of the people around them form the foundation of their story. --Mensa Bulletin, March 2005

The author doesn't look unusual. yet within her thin attractive exterior is a world citizen so unique that she and her story are worth getting to know. Beyond Siberia is that story. It is her emotive memoir of the years, 1996 to 1998, that the former reporter, editor and travel writer spent teaching English, along with her husband, John, in a little-known place called Birobidjan, Russia. Relatively few people settled comfortably in their 50s sign up for the Peace Corps. Fewer still end up in a place that is, as Dirlam phrased it, "Seven time zones east of Moscow, three days by train east of Siberia, remote." They were the first Peace Corps volunteers in the region, and the first native English speakers most of their students had ever met. "Many of our students had an astonishingly large English vocabulary," she writes, "Though it was as outdated as their books for home reading ... but other than memorized dialogues, they didn't speak English very well. Their textbooks, held together by string and willpower, contained hundred-year-old British short stories whose common theme was their complete insipid innocuousness." Despite this and other living challenges, they continued. And thrived. While some incidents are too briefly related, her writing generally provides a strong sense of the daily struggles, laughter, love, friendship and work that made up their lives. It is lovingly and vividly told. --South Coast Beacon, Feb. 3, 2005

About the Author

Sharon Dirlam spent nine years as a travel writer on the staff of the Los Angeles Times. Before that, she was a reporter and city editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press. She has also been a Stanford Journalism Fellow.

She received her bachelor's degree from Antioch University and her master's from the School for International Training.

After serving in the Peace Corps, she trained five groups of Peace Corps volunteers in Russia, Macedonia and the Republic of Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: McSeas Books; 1st edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971282722
• ISBN-13: 978-0971282728
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Travel > Asia > Russia > Siberia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life in a Forgotten Place, August 17, 2004

By 

Sharon Hudgins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place (Paperback)

BEYOND SIBERIA is a very readable book about life in one of the least well known parts of Russia--Birobidzhan, the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia's Far East. Dirlam and her husband worked for two years as Peace Corps volunteers in that remote region, from 1996 to 1998. Written from the notes that the author kept in her journal during that time, this book chronicles her life, work, and travels in an area of Russia seldom visited by people from the West.

Many of the stories focus on her experiences as a teacher at the Birobidzhan Pedagogical Institute--including classroom conditions, friendships (and conflicts) with her Russian students and Russian colleagues, and interactions with other Peace Corps volunteers. Dirlam provides numerous insightful observations about human relationships in the workplace, as well as among her own personal friends and acquaintances in the Russian Far East. I especially appreciated her honesty in describing both the joys and sorrows, the successes and failures, of working under often difficult conditions in a part of the world that she calls "a forgotten place."

A professional writer before going to Russia, Dirlam does a good job of describing the difficulties of daily life in eastern Russia. I liked her no-nonsense approach to the challenges that she and her husband encountered every day--from shopping and cooking to doing the laundry and buying a train ticket. And I'm sure that readers will enjoy her stories about the Russians whom she befriended during her two years in Birobidzhan. Having lived in the Russian Far East myself, I can attest to the authenticity of her observations and the accuracy of the many situations that she writes about.

BEYOND SIBERIA is a book that will be of particular interest to the hundreds of Peace Corps volunteers who have served in Russia themselves. I also recommend it to anyone with an interest in Russia--and to armchair travellers who would like to learn more about life in this remote "forgotten place." A very good read!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring work, March 5, 2006

By 

M. Adams "lizinrussia" (new york city) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place (Paperback)

Having been a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Russian Far East from 2000-2002, I was interested to read this account of a Peace Corps volunteer's experience in Birobidjan--a place I'd visited numerous times. Sharon Dirlam brought this place to life. She describes the Russian people and the other Peace Corps Volunteers in such detail that it feels like I've met them. The descriptions of the places involved were accurate and memorable. I read this volume more slowly than I would normally read a book simply because I wanted to enjoy the details of her life as a volunteer. I think that this book is excellent for people who were volunteers or for readers who love travel and adventure.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and Fascinating, December 4, 2004

By 

Sybil Baker "Cobbossee" (Hallowell, ME) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place (Paperback)

Sharon Dirlam, writing about her Peace Corps years in Siberian Russia, creates a world that you are sorry to leave at the end of the book. That is not to say she paints an idyllic picture of her experience. She writes not only with warmth and humor but with an exceptional honesty, which makes this book doubly engaging because you appreciate its authenticity. A truly fascinating and rewarding read!