Reviews for The Volga Boatman

The average rating for The Volga Boatman based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-29 00:00:00 Shane Johnston Evidently Konrad Bercovici concocted this novel at the behest of Cecil B. DeMille, as it formed the basis for his movie version, released the same year the book was published. (The author dedicates the novel to DeMille, "who called me three thousand miles to listen to this story.") The story revolves around the Russian Revolution, and I found it interesting that neither the Reds nor the Whites are painted in a sympathetic light. It is basically an adventure story, though, to my mind, not an especially good one. It is at its best when focused on the hero or the heroine (who are apart most of the story), and they are portrayed as sympathetic because they believe in neither cause (assuming either side HAS an actual cause). By the way, the book bears very little relation to the movie, and not once do we witness the title character at his occupation!

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-13 00:00:00 Wayne Troy First published in 1893, Many Inventions is a collection of 14 short stories and 2 poems, previously published in magazines in the preceding few years. The book is not one of the most often reprinted, and yet most of the stories have been reprinted in other collections quite often since. The stories themselves are a bit of a scattergun selection, and include some of the soldiers series as well as one featuring Mowgli. Very enjoyable.