Rating: 
Summary: He would make Hemingway Proud!
Review: I could not put this book down! His descriptions of everyday Russians and their fight for survival was riveting. When he described sights, sounds and smells, I could see, hear and smell each one. I am going to re-read this one many times over. I've never been to Russia, but this book took me there!
Rating:
Summary: He would make Hemingway Proud!
Review: I could not put this book down! His descriptions of everyday Russians and their fight for survival was riveting. When he described sights, sounds and smells, I could see, hear and smell each one. I am going to re-read this one many times over. I've never been to Russia, but this book took me there!
Rating: 
Summary: Unique Personal Journey, But Little More
Review: I do a fair amount of work in Russia, so I was interested in Reeling in Russia to deepen my understanding of this complex country. Essentially a travel diary, this book provides a very personal view of the author's fishing trip through Russia, remarkably made almost exclusively by land and water. Given his fluency in Russian and his laid-back--bordering on reckless--approach to travel planning, Montaigne's book provides a fascinating and truly unique view of Russia in 1996. This approach, however, is also the book's weakness. Montaigne's encounters are wonderful to read in and of themselves, but they rarely add up to more than snapshots of a point in time. Montaigne's journalistic background prevails as he recounts the here and now (actually the then and there in '96) without fleshing things out into a more enduring book. So if you're looking for an analysis or current history of Russia's transition out of the Soviet period, you will probably not be satisfied with this book. Otherwise, I do recommend Reeling in Russia for those seeking a tale of adventures crossing the chaos and desolation of 'early post-Soviet Russia', in meeting some of the human faces of this extraordinary culture, or simply for fans of this diary style of travel writing.
Rating:
Summary: Unique Personal Journey, But Little More
Review: I do a fair amount of work in Russia, so I was interested in Reeling in Russia to deepen my understanding of this complex country. Essentially a travel diary, this book provides a very personal view of the author's fishing trip through Russia, remarkably made almost exclusively by land and water. Given his fluency in Russian and his laid-back--bordering on reckless--approach to travel planning, Montaigne's book provides a fascinating and truly unique view of Russia in 1996. This approach, however, is also the book's weakness. Montaigne's encounters are wonderful to read in and of themselves, but they rarely add up to more than snapshots of a point in time. Montaigne's journalistic background prevails as he recounts the here and now (actually the then and there in '96) without fleshing things out into a more enduring book. So if you're looking for an analysis or current history of Russia's transition out of the Soviet period, you will probably not be satisfied with this book. Otherwise, I do recommend Reeling in Russia for those seeking a tale of adventures crossing the chaos and desolation of 'early post-Soviet Russia', in meeting some of the human faces of this extraordinary culture, or simply for fans of this diary style of travel writing.
Rating: 
Summary: More about Russians than about fishing.
Review: I took Reeling in Russia with me on a recent fly fishing trip to Russia's Kola Peninsula. I always enjoy reading a book the contents of which are affiliated with the region to which I've travelled. This book aligned both with the country and with the purpose of my trip. If the reader is interested in substantive information related to fly fishing in the former Soviet Union, this isn't the book. R In R is to fishing as motorcycles were to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. However, RinR presents an affectionate and enlightening insight into the contemporary Russians'male's mind. Their aspirations, dreams and the practical realities that stand in the way of acheiving them. Great (and chilling)sections on the history of the Gulag, a subject about which I knew little before reading this book. As a gazetter for both the Russian mind as well as the territory, R in R is an enjoyable read. I guess if the measure of a book's quality lies in whether it sends you to other books on the same suject, this book succeeds. I'd recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Thanks to Amazon's reviewer and a note about the book
Review: I wanted to thank Amazon.com's reviewer, Langdon Cook, for his intelligent and insightful review of my book. Mr. Cook's commentary was not only literate and amusing, but it clearly showed that he had read the entire book, and for that I am grateful. Mr. Langdon and other early reviewers have come away from "Reeling In Russia" with a strong sense of the chaos that prevails in Russia today. That the country is plagued with problems is undeniable,and I think my book colorfully depicts some of those woes. But I also think that the strongest characters in the book -- from the Gulag chronicler, Yuri Brodsky, to farmer Viktor Chumak, to the hard-working, long-haul truckers of the Russian Far East -- are an inspiring lot. They are an admirable and industrious group of people, and typical of the best Russia has to offer. So I hope readers will not come away from my book too disheartened. Russia is a tough, beautiful land, and the best of its people are resilient, resourceful, and energetic. They have endured far worse than the recent disorder, and will overcome the current travails, as well.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on modern Russia
Review: In 1996 Montaigne, with fly rod in hand, traveled 7,000 miles overland across Russia. Fly fishing is one of his passions, and through fly fishing Montaigne encountered a fascinating array of post-Communist Russians and was granted a unique look at the turmoil and complexity of that society. And believe me, this was no pre-packaged tour of the Kola or Kamchata Peninsula (although he does visit both places.) This is a trek into the most remote and unwesternized reaches of Russia. Being fluent in Russian and possessing a well developed affection for adventure, Montaigne takes the reader into the real world Russia of today, a unique and exotic place full of surprises. Along the way he fishes for everything from steelhead to salmon, from grayling to taimen. To top it off he accomplishes this with wit and a writing style as finely tuned as Theroux. The great travel writers humanize the exotic. Reeling in Russia puts a face on the disturbing and difficult lives of the vast majority of Russians. The characters here become as knowable as neighbors and their concerns as human as our own. Obviously, I loved Reeling in Russia. It is real pleasure to recommend it. Grant McClintock
Rating:
Summary: what's happening in the life of average Russians today
Review: Not really expecting a fishing manual, I was suddenly more interested in the characters and their daily lives who Mr. Montaigne met on his economical trek across this vast land. Having visited Siberia myself in 1997. I found many of the same conditions and circumstances as experienced by Mr. Montaigne. A Russian pen-pal of mine (who is also an ardent fisherman) confessed that many of the rivers and streams in Russia are polluted with "many of the elements from the chart Of Mendelev". Montaigne confirms this, even some of the more remote northly flowing rivers of Northern Siberia.
Rating: 
Summary: "On the cheap" are the key words describing the author's jou
Review: One thing is clear: "Reeling in Russia is no "Year in Provence". It has no warmth, no charm and little humour. Instead, it is a painstakingly detailed account of a poorly planned journey across Russia. Granted, the author has courage: he dared go alone through a foreign country with bad roads and a poor infrastructure. His command of Russian seems amazing, his research of reference materials on the places he has visited is thorough, and his translations of Russian idioms are witty. Intent on sharing his adventures, Fen Montaigne must have had trouble deciding what audience to aim at. The title of the book almost scared me away, for it suggests that the intended reader is a fly-fishing enthusiast. However, Mr. Montaigne is not an expert sportsman and hardly a connoisseur of intricacies of getting fish in Russia. As far as fly-fishing is concerned, his book just might be a HOW-NOT-TO guide, for the number of places he fishes far exceeds the actual catch. Despite some interesting encounters and philosophical detours into the nature of Russia's present crisis, the prevailing feeling I experienced when reading the book was ever-growing irritation with the author. Determined to cross the country without spending a lot of money, he starts his journey at Solovetsky Islands and finishes it three months later in Kamchatka. He diligently transcribes names of all the people he comes across, illustrates his narrative with little-known facts, qoutes other travellers... yet "on the cheap" remain the key words. Aware of the low living standards of the tortured postcommunist country, Fen Montaigne is resolute to take advantage of hospitality of strangers and to pay them only when forced to. Instead of money, he relies on cheap presents and the magic of being the first American in the Siberian wilderness. It is hard to imagine a Russian traveller traversing the vast territories of America in the hope that kind strangers would provide him with room, board, expertise and transportantion -- all free of charge. Yet, this is exactly what Mr. Montaigne has managed to do in Russia. On the rare occasion when he does encounter a man unwilling to render services for free the author is appalled: "Suddenly, it dawned on me. I would be paying for all this - the driver, the van, the cottage, the cook, the food, the sleazy services of Arthur". Excuse me, and what did the author expect - that poor out-of-work Arthur would pay for it himself out of friendship to a man he had never seen in his life? The bill "sleazy Arthur" presented for a 5-day program of fishing and sightseeing was $950. "This was my budget for a month! This was a Russian pensioner's income for an entire year!" the author laments. A double standard is obviously in effect here. How many countries does Mr. Montaigne know where you can cover thousands of miles on $950 a month? Comparing the bill to the pensioner's income, the author is also well aware of the $250 a day charged by the only local fishing camp open to foreigners, and on the last stretch of his trip he joins American anglers who had paid "$5,500 apiece to fly-fish for the steelhead used in the study" by the joint Russian-American expedition. Dealing with the locals, however, he prefers to leave them with warm thank-yous and firm handshakes. Having reached the Buryat Republic, the free-spirited Fen Montaigne meets Alexander Sedenov, uneployed, living on earnings from chopping firewood. Alexander ("Me, hotel. You - come"} opens his home ("a hovel") to the weary traveller and becomes his guide. He also introduces him to a professional hunter Valery who agrees to join them in search of fish and the deputy farm manager who provides transportation. After an interesting three-day fishing expedition, however, "everyone... had his hand out". Obviously, realizing that they were going to be stiffed, the locals started dropping "strong hints about wanting to be paid." As a result, one of them received about $40, and then the other two candidly admitted that if they were not paid for the trip they would think "oh, that greedy American!" Would they be right! Meanwhile the American feels offended because, you see, he has already given one of them "a dozen flies and some other presents" and "did not want to offend him by offering money". As a result, Valery received about $60 and Alexander slightly less. "I didn't mind parting with the money, but I did object to the constant hints that I ought to pay", the author writes. Well, man, if you had at least mentioned paying from the start, they wouldn't have had to hint, would they? With the wealth of materials that the author had at his disposal, the book had all the chances to become a serious contribution to travel literature. It could have pained a vivid portrait of the great land in distress and of its hard-drinking, but kind and strong people. However, the petty considerations of Mr. Montaigne trying to save here and to freeload there overshadow everything else in the book. Even throughout his touching encounter with the former inmate of the Gulag who now lives as a hermit in the taiga, the reader is left wondering: did the author pay the old man for his stay? And if he did not want to offend his host with money, what did he leave him - a dozen of flies?
Rating:
Summary: "On the cheap" are the key words describing the author's jou
Review: One thing is clear: "Reeling in Russia is no "Year in Provence". It has no warmth, no charm and little humour. Instead, it is a painstakingly detailed account of a poorly planned journey across Russia. Granted, the author has courage: he dared go alone through a foreign country with bad roads and a poor infrastructure. His command of Russian seems amazing, his research of reference materials on the places he has visited is thorough, and his translations of Russian idioms are witty. Intent on sharing his adventures, Fen Montaigne must have had trouble deciding what audience to aim at. The title of the book almost scared me away, for it suggests that the intended reader is a fly-fishing enthusiast. However, Mr. Montaigne is not an expert sportsman and hardly a connoisseur of intricacies of getting fish in Russia. As far as fly-fishing is concerned, his book just might be a HOW-NOT-TO guide, for the number of places he fishes far exceeds the actual catch. Despite some interesting encounters and philosophical detours into the nature of Russia's present crisis, the prevailing feeling I experienced when reading the book was ever-growing irritation with the author. Determined to cross the country without spending a lot of money, he starts his journey at Solovetsky Islands and finishes it three months later in Kamchatka. He diligently transcribes names of all the people he comes across, illustrates his narrative with little-known facts, qoutes other travellers... yet "on the cheap" remain the key words. Aware of the low living standards of the tortured postcommunist country, Fen Montaigne is resolute to take advantage of hospitality of strangers and to pay them only when forced to. Instead of money, he relies on cheap presents and the magic of being the first American in the Siberian wilderness. It is hard to imagine a Russian traveller traversing the vast territories of America in the hope that kind strangers would provide him with room, board, expertise and transportantion -- all free of charge. Yet, this is exactly what Mr. Montaigne has managed to do in Russia. On the rare occasion when he does encounter a man unwilling to render services for free the author is appalled: "Suddenly, it dawned on me. I would be paying for all this - the driver, the van, the cottage, the cook, the food, the sleazy services of Arthur". Excuse me, and what did the author expect - that poor out-of-work Arthur would pay for it himself out of friendship to a man he had never seen in his life? The bill "sleazy Arthur" presented for a 5-day program of fishing and sightseeing was $950. "This was my budget for a month! This was a Russian pensioner's income for an entire year!" the author laments. A double standard is obviously in effect here. How many countries does Mr. Montaigne know where you can cover thousands of miles on $950 a month? Comparing the bill to the pensioner's income, the author is also well aware of the $250 a day charged by the only local fishing camp open to foreigners, and on the last stretch of his trip he joins American anglers who had paid "$5,500 apiece to fly-fish for the steelhead used in the study" by the joint Russian-American expedition. Dealing with the locals, however, he prefers to leave them with warm thank-yous and firm handshakes. Having reached the Buryat Republic, the free-spirited Fen Montaigne meets Alexander Sedenov, uneployed, living on earnings from chopping firewood. Alexander ("Me, hotel. You - come"} opens his home ("a hovel") to the weary traveller and becomes his guide. He also introduces him to a professional hunter Valery who agrees to join them in search of fish and the deputy farm manager who provides transportation. After an interesting three-day fishing expedition, however, "everyone... had his hand out". Obviously, realizing that they were going to be stiffed, the locals started dropping "strong hints about wanting to be paid." As a result, one of them received about $40, and then the other two candidly admitted that if they were not paid for the trip they would think "oh, that greedy American!" Would they be right! Meanwhile the American feels offended because, you see, he has already given one of them "a dozen flies and some other presents" and "did not want to offend him by offering money". As a result, Valery received about $60 and Alexander slightly less. "I didn't mind parting with the money, but I did object to the constant hints that I ought to pay", the author writes. Well, man, if you had at least mentioned paying from the start, they wouldn't have had to hint, would they? With the wealth of materials that the author had at his disposal, the book had all the chances to become a serious contribution to travel literature. It could have pained a vivid portrait of the great land in distress and of its hard-drinking, but kind and strong people. However, the petty considerations of Mr. Montaigne trying to save here and to freeload there overshadow everything else in the book. Even throughout his touching encounter with the former inmate of the Gulag who now lives as a hermit in the taiga, the reader is left wondering: did the author pay the old man for his stay? And if he did not want to offend his host with money, what did he leave him - a dozen of flies?
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