"Some journeys break up the monotony of everyday life, while others leave immense, immeasurable impacts on the sojourner, the kinds of experience that shape us more completely. Tim Suchsland’s A Five Finger Feast is an account of one such journey... As it becomes rarer to find truly unique places in our globalizing world, A Five Finger Feast is on the one hand a nostalgic account of life in Kazakhstan in the late 2000s, and on the other a timeless tale of exploration, travel, and self discovery."

- Phil Montgomery, Peace Corps Worldwide

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"Feast is a must-read for new and experienced travelers alike—eager students preparing to study abroad, would-be Peace Corps volunteers, or just anyone curious about the opportunities and obstacles that an unfamiliar land offers and metes out."

- Sara Fetahagic, Piqosity

 

Shrouded in secrecy and once closed off from the outside world by the Soviet Union, most Americans know very little about Kazakhstan. A Five Finger Feast tells the story of this beautiful place, its vast lands, blue skies, cold winters and hospitable people. Journey with author Tim Suchsland to places less traveled, like the vanishing Aral Sea and the mountain paradise of the Altyn Arashan. Be a guest at a mad tea party, infused with vodka and the sheep-head delicacy called beshbarmak.

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From 2007 to 2009, Suchsland served in Kazakhstan in the US Peace Corps–an institution at the heart and soul of what it means to be American. Through his story, Suchsland details the adventure of living abroad as a young American with its ups and downs, excite- ment and thrill. In A Five Finger Feast, Suchsland tells the story about growing up in a place far away from home.