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Reading and riding the Trans-Siberian Railway

June 7, 2016
By Jessica Zandan, M.A. '05
Aviv Hilbig-Bokaer
Aviv Hilbig-Bokaer, seen here in front of the Bronze Horseman statue in St. Petersburg, Russia, is traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway while reading texts from Russia’s literary canon.

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 we’ll 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 Tolstoy’s ā€œAnna Karenina,ā€ Vladimir Nabokov’s ā€œDespairā€ and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ā€œThe House of the Dead.ā€ His selections are linked to places along the route where he’ll also be exploring archives, libraries and museums in an effort to understand the connections between Russia and its literary canon.

Hilbig-Bokaer’s interest in Russian literature began in spring 2015 when he took Professor Olga Litvak’sĀ Russian Literature and PhilosophyĀ class and found himself drawn to how the authors ā€œapproach incredibly daunting philosophical questions.ā€

ā€œThe 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.

He’s chronicling his trip across Russia, aĀ LEEPĀ project, in his own words and photos in a blog called ā€œAvivonatrainā€ and on Instagram. His first postsĀ describe the project,Ā show the textsĀ andĀ direct his dear readers — an address Nabokov uses in his writing — to aĀ New York Times articleĀ whose author, Landon Jones, traced Nabokov’s travels across the American West.

ā€œOf 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-Bokaer’s journey is already proving to be its own fascinating read. He’s discussed the nuances of traveling across such a huge area as well as Anton Chekhov’s work ā€œThe Cherry Orchardā€ in relation to seeing cherry blossoms transforming the ā€œdrab streets of Eastern Germany into something magnificent.ā€

We’ll 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.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect, taken from his first post:

​Seven Continents, One Summer: Traveling the Trans-Siberian Railwayā€‹ā€œThere is an old Woody Allen joke that goes as follows:Ā I took a speed-reading course and read ā€˜War and Peace’ 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 Tolstoy’s 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 contemporaries…

ā€œIn case you remain at the edge of your seat, wondering, ā€˜Did he ever finishĀ ā€œWar and Peaceā€?’ I’ll satiate you with a simple yes. Perhaps the last simple answer I’ll give on this journey…”

And with that, dear reader, Hilbig-Bokaer’s journey begins.

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