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Where Bears Roam The Streets Paperback – June 2, 2015

by Jeff Parker (Author)

71

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“Parker’s exquisitely titled book is as off-kilter as a Kurt Vonnegut novel, and wholly absorbing.” ―Maclean’s

Jeff Parker went to Russia intending to write a book about the country’s resurgence as a major global superpower under President Vladimir Putin and about the emergence, for perhaps the first time in history, of a Russian middle class. But Russia tends to resist any attempt to pin it down. In the midst of the social and financial upheaval of the years that followed, the answers Parker sought only raised more questions: What was Russia? How did it work? How did people live? And how could they eat kholodetz (meat jelly)?

As tensions strain once again between Russia and the West, Parker looks beyond the global politics to the heart of everyday life by giving us the story of his friendship with Igor, a barkeep and draft dodger. Igor is not the model perestroika-generation man nor some kind of Putin-era everyman; he is, like The Dude in The Big Lebowski, a man for his time and place. He is the metaphor for a Russia in crisis, and, as Keith Gessen wrote, “his story is the story of Russia over the last twenty years.” Where Bears Roam the Streets gives a moving account of a friendship between two people who grew up on the opposing sides of the Cold War and paints a smart, funny, revealing portrait of a country that continues to beguile.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial
Publication date

June 2, 2015
Dimensions

5.2 x 1 x 7.9 inches
ISBN-10

1554683823
ISBN-13

978-1554683826
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JEFF PARKER is the author of the novel Ovenman and the short story collection The Taste of Penny. From 2000 to 2008 he was the program director for the Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia, and he co-edited the anthologies Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States. He has taught at the University of Toronto and currently teaches in the MFA Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (June 2, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1554683823
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1554683826
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 1 x 7.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,195,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #80,640 in Economics (Books)

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Jeff Parker

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Jeff Parker is the author of several books including Where Bears Roam the Streets: A Russian Journal (Harper Collins), the novel Ovenman (Tin House), and the short story collection The Taste of Penny (Dzanc). With Pasha Malla he co-"wrote" the book of found sports poetry Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion (Featherproof). With Annie Liontas he co-edited the anthology A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors (UMass Press). With Mikhail Iossel he co-edited the anthologies Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia (Tin House) and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States (Dalkey Archive). He also co-translated the novel Sankya (Dzanc) by Zakhar Prilepin from the Russian. He is the Director of the DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon, and he teaches in the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. For more: http://www.thebackoftheline.net

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Nic

Wow . This wasA very enjoyable nonfiction book

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2016

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I enjoyed this look into Russia. The changes the books timeline covers corresponds to my lifettime . I found the book well put together and is easy to read . I wish my review was eloquent and thought out as those given in the book , but it's not . I do think Vladimir Putin is so Hot !!
On a different subject this book leads me to believe that there maybe a market for Russian mail order husbands . Or maybe I have a thing for Russian men 😋 and Men in general . But it maybe worth looking into.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

It is alright if you want to learn about some aspects of Russian life.

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2016

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I myself have been interested in Russia, more because of its music and literature. This journalist has a Russian buddy and they actually do quite a bit of drinking but they also travel to some different places and one learns about corruption, difficult times to get a job and how Russians sort of manage. I feel I have read better books but I do not regret having read it.

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2016

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Interesting window into life in Russia and the mindset of her people. This insight was though the eyes of the authors friend. I had hoped for a better look into the new found Christianity but he showed no interest in this area.

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Erkeno

Entertaining, enlightening and quite well-written

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2015

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Parker' s book is something of a Russian "Travels with Charlie," except "Charlie" is a Slavic pseudo philosopher whose adventures with the author present an inside/ outside glimpse of the modern former Soviet Union. Parker has a seamless writing style that carries the narrative and story through the vast expanse of Russian geography and recent history. If you are not careful,you just might learn something! Eagerly awaiting Parker's next book.

7 people found this helpful

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Posts Honest Reviews

Rich and Vivid Memoir

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016

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Parker's prose challenges your senses. You'll taste the vodka he drinks; feel the steam and heat of the Russian bath house; and see his brightly-lit nightlife. You'll end up researching Russian pool so you can find out if they really play with bigger balls. A good read by an interesting individual - 10 out of 10 will read again.

5 people found this helpful

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tom

Russians are unscrutable!

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2016

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This is a real life visit to modern Russia and an examination of one man's crazy lifestyle. A Russian view of how you drink yourself into numbness to get through your existence. I'm glad I live in The USA!

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Jay Samuals

A fine look at life in Russia

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2016

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From the beginning this very readable book opened up a fine portrait of Russia from an average perspective. The author and his friend, Igor, provided real insight. Engrossing and very enjoyable read

One person found this helpful

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James Denny

Igor, the Russian Muse

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2015

Jeff Parker's 14-year saga of multiple long trips to Russia captures the real Russia in a way that few narratives can. Beginning in 1998 near the end of the Yeltsin era, by happenstance, Jeff meets Igor on his first trip. Igor, a 9th-grade dropout, bartender and conniving draft-dodger becomes Jeff's alter-ego, guide and friend. What is it that Jeff and Igor have in common? Well, for one thing, they both grew up without a father or father figure. You might say each man made his own way "without adult supervision."

In a series of adventures, Jeff and Igor travel across Russia from St. Petersburg to a Black Sea resort town, interior Russia and on to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Igor is a master at bargaining, trading, bribing, cajoling and deceiving, handy if not essential attributes for any Russian. At heart, Jeff sees Igor as a "True Russian," a man happiest only in his own land, where Igor holds mastery of his world. And yet, Igor hates and despises just as much about Russia and Russian life as he loves and has mastered, this paradox being the hallmark of the "True Russian."

"Where Bears Roam the Streets" is lots of fun with Hunter Thompson "gonzo," Jack Kerouac "road story," and memoir rolled into one. Jeff is an 'Everyman" and Igor his Muse.

Last, to mention are Russian jokes. Here's one: What language does a Russian optimist learn? Answer: English. What language does a Russian pessimist learn? Answer: Chinese. And finally, What language does a Russian realist learn? Answer: AK-47.
If you like this joke, there are a lot of others coming your way when you read, "When Bears Roam the Streets."

10 people found this helpful

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