Product Description

'Kalder is a rough guide to the parts that Michael Palin's well-upholstered odysseys don't reach ...a new voice from the black holes of the world' - "The Times". When Daniel Kalder, acclaimed author of one of the most unusual and feted travel debuts of the twenty-first century, "Lost Cosmonaut", descended into the sewers of Moscow in pursuit of the mythical lost city of tramps, he didn't realise that he was embarking on a bizarre, year-long odyssey that would lead him thousands of miles across Russia to the Arctic Circle via the heart of Asia. Now he has returned, mad-eyed and bearded, to tell the tale. After exploring the depths of Moscow's 'Underground Planet', Kalder descends yet further to a Ukrainian vision of hell, chasing down demons and exorcists in the dubious afterglow of the Orange Revolution, before ascending to meet Vissarion Christ, one-time traffic cop, now messiah to thousands of followers calmly awaiting the apocalypse at the foot of his holy mountain in Siberia. Finally, in the long polar night at the edge of the world Kalder enters the only wooden skyscraper on the planet and encounters a man with a bizarre secret that may explain everything ...Salvation and damnation, humour and pathos and keen and caustic observations collide as Daniel Kalder expertly guides us through the alternative realities, rebels and opportunists, further expanding the possibilities of the travel memoir with this unique account of a modern day quest that reveals the astonishing lengths people will go to when they view the world through a 'strange telescope'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263131 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Scotland on Sunday
Kalder's vivid, witty and sometimes poetic prose describes encounters with wonderful and frightening characters ... Kalder shows a cosmopolitan curiosity and a sense of adventure ... and confirms the exciting talent revealed in his Lost Cosmonaut.

Daily Telegraph
Kalder is not only an excellent writer, with a vivid turn of phrase, but a sympathetic one: his concern is to ounderstand his subjects rather than exploit them ... his insight and skilful writing keeps you reading.

Esquire
As travel journalists go, Kalder is pretty much the Anti-Palin, scouring obscure locations for excentrics, malcontents and lunatics ... Thoughful and funny.

Customer Reviews

Freakshow
Most unusual. Like having the top of your head peeled off and bottled freaks poured in. Awesome. The last segment is pure genius.

Underground civilisations, a traffic cop Jesus, infestations of demons and massive wood.
'Strange Telescopes' is Kalder's follow-up to his first book 'Lost Cosmonaut'. While 'Lost Cosmonaut' dealt predominantly with bizarre, lost or dark places, 'Strange Telescopes' deals with people - bizarre, lost or dark people. It begins with Kalder following The Digger under the surface of Moscow to try and find underground civilizations, then he follows a strange and sincere young film-maker obsessed with demons to the Ukraine on an exorcism tour. He witnesses many an exorcism by extraordinary semi-rogue priests, but also the new politics of a country that welcomed Eurovision like it was the Olympics, and celebrates western Democracy with one hand, while celebrating brutal anti-semitism with the other. His third journey takes him up a mountain in Siberia to meet Vissarion Christ, one time traffic cop and now a modern messiah claiming to be the reincarnation of you-know-who, and with thousands of ex-city followers living in hellish conditions, from pop stars to dwarves. Kalder's final trip is to the Arctic Circle, to the highest wooden skyscraper in the world, built by a Russian businessman. In his meeting with the convicted criminal and entrepreneur, Kalder finds the key to all of his experiences. 'Strange Telescopes' is written by a more mature author than 'Lost Cosmonaut' and tells incredible human stories of people with tremendous vision who lived in a brief period of chaos (Russia in the 1990s) in which time they could create the worlds that they wish existed. Kalder is sympathetic to the creators, does not patronise them, and yet is also realistic in his assessment of their visions. Kalder's trademark dark humour is present throughout, but this time he has an absolute dedication to the veracity of his and their experience. A superb book, that shows insight both into a place and time, but also into human nature in extremis. Highly recommended.