Siberian Odyssey

The history of the authors maternal ancestors in early provides the focus of this wide ranging book.  From unjustly exiled Russians to Polish immigrants, the cavalcade of characters comes together in far eastern .  Each persons unique experience and personality illuminates the travels and meetings that produced this particular family line.  They were all part of the diverse group of people who settled there before 1885, known as Old Settlers or Siberiaks.  The book provides a fascinating insight into those times, as well as depicting the hardships that were part of being Jewish in 19th century.

Part One of Siberian Odyssey, subtitled The Exiles, begins when Joseph Sadovitch, a rabbi turned wine clerk, is exiled to for striking a policeman who ignores looters during a fire in a Jewish home.  He is arrested, tried and sentenced to permanent exile in .  From then on he will be considered as one dead.  He faces a grim future, leaving home, wife and children, to join a band of other exiles for a two-year march to the far east, a distance of over 4,000 miles.  A widowed tailor from , a young fur trapper, son of an exile, and others intersect and connect with Josephs story.