Author(s): Stephen Abbott

Travel Literature

A funny and sometimes poignant account of the Sandman, his mother and an ever-present film crew in search of long-lost family in Siberia.

Despite a self-confessed need for the secure and the familiar, in 2003 Steve Abbott - aka the Sandman - embarked on a trip into deeply uncomfortable and unfamiliar terrain: Siberia. He took his mother, a 72-year-old garrulous woman with whom he had not shared a train carriage since 1977. And a film crew. Their objective was to make a documentary for SBS about their return to the family's ancestral town, aiming to acquaint themselves with their Russian family members and perhaps discover the truth about a missing relative...

Sandman in Siberia documents their multiple travails: the cold, the many arguments, the litre bottles of gin & tonic, the hangovers, the hot springs, the near-kidnapping by incoherently drunk Siberians, the appearance on Russian TV and more.
Then Steve and his mother reunite with the long-lost Nicolai and the encounter is emotional, unsettling and moving.

A funny, raw and honest view of family, adventure and forever fumbling attempts to make sense of difficult experiences.