I wrote A Siberian Elegy as an answer to my American friend who once asked what life was like in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, when I was a teenager. While working on it, I tried to capture a comprehensive snapshot of those days rather than a chapter of my autobiography. So, it’s a fictional story with fictional characters — but much of it comes from my own memories and sentiments. I finished it in 2018. My friend read it and gave me two thumbs up.
Since then, the story has been quietly gathering dust on Kindle’s digital shelves. I even turned it into an audiobook, kindly narrated by Mr. B. J. Harrison — so it started collecting dust on SoundCloud too. I never really promoted it; life kept me busy with other things.
Time passed quickly. Now it’s 2025, and the world feels even more hectic. One day, I decided to rescue my little Siberian saga from oblivion and give it a home on my own website — together with its audiobook chapters.
Enjoy, dear reader. This story is about the Siberian wilderness, a young man who challenged it, and the girl he left behind.
Sincerely,
Alexander Daretsky
Opening Credits
A Siberian Elegy. Written by Alexander Daretsky. Read by B. J. Harrison.
© 1995–2025 Alexander Daretsky. All rights reserved.