Wild ride on dangerous "highway" with 1000 foot drop offs. . . Stay profilaktorii--a place for workers to sleep and relax . . . author loves it .. . Second railroad an amazing accomplishment, young Soviets come from all around to build it, last enthusiasm for communism . . . Ridiculed on bus by older Russian woman who calls him a "fat American" and accuses him of stealing her space and jostling her . . . everyone laughs . . . moment when he loses all his Russian language skills from stress, exhaustion . . . visit to "lager" prison . . . tales of prisoners of Nazis wishing they could be held by Hitler again, because Russian camps are worse . . . wishing they could be slaves in America . . . eat grease thinking it might be butter . . . discovery by workers of ancient frozen stream complete with frozen salamanders . . . scientists can't investigate salamanders because prisoners ate them!
"To all humankind, Tess was only a passing thought. Even to friends, she was only a frequently passing thought." Angel Clare is a good character. He's "enlightened," in so many ways, but when Tess's confesses her "crime," he reverts to ancestral form . . . Tess's "confession" comes earlier than I expected, right after Angel reveals that he has had a bad moment with a woman. Tess points out the similarity in their transgressions, though his is the only true transgression, expecting forgiveness. She doesn't get it. She returns to her mother . . . realizes she can't stay with her. Thoughts to suicide. Unhappiness that divorce is not possible. Departs. Tragic in that the two, if Angel could just see clearly, would indeed be a great couple, each adding to the other. Nature as a definite force involved in the tragedy. It's not neutral--when things go bad, the very skies mock Tess. Tess as unaware of the power of her bea...
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