Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island by Ajay Kamalakaran

Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island by Ajay Kamalakaran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sakhalin Island along the Eastern coast of Russia has what could possibly called a one of the most inhospitable climes in the world. It freezes six months and thaws for just about 3 - 4 months to provide some warmth for the denizens of this island.

The books is a series of short some sweet and some bitter stories of a variety of characters from this island. Till Glasnost this island was a secluded from the rest of the world and people lived a fairly decent life. With Perestroika and Glasnost ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev opened up this oil rich island to the MNC oil companies to come and exploit. This meant boom for some and bust for many.

The oil companies brought in with them the employees from their countries, mostly men, and these men found the local women to be exotic and many developed romantic relationships with the local women. Some had a sweet ending to it and some had a bitter ending. The book doesn't cover any romantic relationship the other way round.

A good book to read to understand a little about this unknown island and its inhabitants.

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