I came across this book by complete accident as I was researching articles on Russia for a class assignment. I read it the first time all the way through and then read it a second time as I was very intrigued with how it is structured. I don't even know whether to call it a novel or a travelogue. It is quite bizarre in many parts and especially how the author stated that it is both a non-fictional and fictional book. Isn't that a direct contradiction? How can they be both? I am not sure what the author was trying to achieve. The only thing that I can be certain about is that the author or at least his protagonist has a great interest, knowledge and love in Russia. This is very evident in the narratives discussing the great Russian writers of Pushkin, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Gogol. The author seems to long for the past when Russia was its mots beautiful and soulful. I cannot figure out if the character of N is a real or make believe character. She is certainly an idealised heroine whom the protagonist once loved and pines for he love again. He seems to be lost and invisible in this world without her but when she was by his side he was alive with energy and creativity. I really liked the ending. It seemed real and the natural ending to a puzzling narrative. I would recommend this book to others but one will be left with more questions than answers at the end of this journey across Russia.