This book was slow to get into but I ended up loving it. It blended a unique story and interesting characters, and was a terrific mix of dreamlike fantasy and harsh reality. I really like fantasy set in historical times, and there’s always something about a journey that draws me as a reader. This book takes place on a train that runs from China to Russia in the 1899, carrying passengers towards a Grand Exhibition in Moscow. Between Beijing and Moscow are the Wastelands of Siberia – mysterious, dangerous and poisonous. On the train’s last run, something terrible happened that none of the crew can remember. The maker of the train’s windows was blamed for exposing the passengers and crew to the toxic air. But now, the train is perfectly safe.
The story is narrated primarily by two characters. One is Marya Petrovna; her father was the window-maker, and his failure killed him. Marya wants to find out what happened and clear his name. The second is Zhang Weiwei, known as “the child of the train”. Sixteen years old, she was born on the train and cared for by its staff. Her whole life has been in service to the train, and the Captain is the closest thing she’s had to a parent.
The Cautious Traveller is a series of books (fictional) by an author named Rostov. Most of his guides are for well-travelled cities, but in his last book about the Wastelands he highlighted the dangers of it, including the sickness of the mind that has attacked those exposed to it. Because of this, the Wastelands can only be seen from behind the glass of the train, and the crew must be vigilant about any signs of illness. This sets up a key theme in the book – can a place like this be experienced safely, or does all great experience require adventure and risk? A secondary theme is the idea of science versus wonder. Is it possible to know too much, and in cataloguing the world’s wonders, are we also harming them? Can travelers pass through wilderness without affecting it, and without being affected in turn?
This is the kind of thing I think about a lot when I travel. I’m a fairly cautious traveler; I want to learn but also experience; I want to see beautiful places but minimize my footprint. I want to be safe but not see the world through glass. I know all of these things require tradeoffs.
As this is 1899, the classes are segregated, and the crew has to cater to their wealthy passengers. The train is managed by the Company, which is making a fortune on the transport of goods and tourists. The passengers and crew are watched by two Company Men known as the Crows. Marya, who begins asking a lot of questions about the last train ride, attracts their attention. At the same time, Weiwei discovers a stowaway she needs to keep safe.
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate how Brooks wove together all of these different ideas and storylines, while at the same time building a story with both wonder and horror. This book had it all. While it’s set on a train, it’s more like Annihilation than Snowpiercer. There’s man vs. nature, corporate greed vs. science, and at the same time I also appreciated the way the characters grow and develop relationships. The story also comes to a satisfying and not entirely expected conclusion.
If I had a small complaint, it was that there are two older characters on the train, a scientist and a professor, and I had trouble differentiating them at first. A very minor issue. Anyone who likes atmospheric books that blend reality, history and fantasy, and who don’t mind a slow pace, will enjoy this story.
Note: I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and publisher Flatiron Books. This book publishes June 18, 2024.