
Dear reader, Aviv Hilbig-Bokaer is inviting you on a 7,000-mile, six-book literary journey across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
This story is part of ourĀ 7 Continents, 1 Summer series, which highlights the interesting work that Clark students, faculty, alumni and staff are doing all over the world. Have a great story of your own to share?Ā Let us knowĀ and weāll be in touch.
A rising Clark senior double majoring inĀ comparative literatureĀ andĀ international development and social change, Hilbig-Bokaer is spending approximatelyĀ 17 daysĀ on the trip starting from St. Petersburg, Russia reading texts like Leo Tolstoyās āAnna Karenina,ā Vladimir Nabokovās āDespairā and Fyodor Dostoyevskyās āThe House of the Dead.ā His selections are linked to places along the route where heāll also be exploring archives, libraries and museums in an effort to understand the connections between Russia and its literary canon.
Hilbig-Bokaerās interest in Russian literature began in spring 2015 when he took Professor Olga LitvakāsĀ Russian Literature and PhilosophyĀ class and found himself drawn to how the authors āapproach incredibly daunting philosophical questions.ā
āThe vastness of Russian literature is not unconnected to the vastness of Russia and that is both what draws me to the literature as well as galvanized me to traverse the country by train,ā he continues.
Heās chronicling his trip across Russia, aĀ LEEPĀ project, in his own words and photos in a blog called āAvivonatrainā and on Instagram. His first postsĀ describe the project,Ā show the textsĀ andĀ direct his dear readersĀ ā an address Nabokov uses in his writing ā to aĀ New York Times articleĀ whose author, Landon Jones, traced Nabokovās travels across the American West.
āOf course, what Mr. Jones is trying to do is not so unlike my own adventure; part literary pilgrimage, part vacation, part research trip. And so I implore you, dear reader to take a look at this article, if not only for that it is a fascinating read,ā he writes.
Hilbig-Bokaerās journey is already proving to be its own fascinating read. Heās discussed the nuances of traveling across such a huge area as well as Anton Chekhovās work āThe Cherry Orchardā in relation to seeing cherry blossoms transforming the ādrab streets of Eastern Germany into something magnificent.ā
Weāll bring you selected posts here throughout the summer as he makes his way to Vladivostok, Russia (he expects to arrive early on his 22ndĀ birthday), but follow along anytime atĀ avivonatrain.wordpress.com.
Hereās a sample of what you can expect, taken from his first post:
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āāThere is an old Woody Allen joke that goes as follows:Ā I took a speed-reading course and read āWar and Peaceā in 20 minutes. It involves Russia. Once you stop chuckling, dear reader, I implore you to think deeply about what he is saying. Woody, although no force of academic prowess, is in fact touching on something very real. Leo Tolstoyās famous and, often times, agonizing magnum opus in many respects displays in its 1,200-plus pages all the vastness, uncertainty and incongruities of Russia. This was not lost on me when I first opened it in late 2014 and promptlyĀ closed it 10 minutes later. Dear reader, I am the first to encourage diving into the deep end, but when it comes to Tolstoy, I must admit I first dipped my feet with his contemporariesā¦āIn case you remain at the edge of your seat, wondering, āDid he ever finishĀ āWar and Peaceā?āĀ Iāll satiate you with a simple yes. Perhaps the last simple answer Iāll give on this journey…”
And with that, dear reader, Hilbig-Bokaerās journey begins.