Customer Reviews

Dersu the Trapper (Recovered Classics)

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Through knowledge based on survival interest, but also on in-depth curiosity, Arseniev offers a narrative monument of love towards nature. His true friendship with Dersu Uzala, the native trapper, opens to us the misteries of the Taiga, and the harmonic rules of nature, on which the role of man has also a place. The style is narrative, straight forward, without artificiality, a little cold, but leaves a vivid impression on the reader through the amazing world that effectively describes. Highly recommended book for nature lovers.

Having read this book many years after first seeing the movie Dersu Usala by Kurosawa, I found it thoroughly engaging. It is a chronicle of Arseniev's mapping journeys through parts of Manchuria around the turn of the twentieth century and of his friendship with Dersu. It is told with meticulous attention to the detail of the environment, with many small simple drawings from his journal, and with real love and respect for Dersu himself and his ideas. I was struck by the accuracy of Kurosawa's portrayal of the story and didn't expect the two versions to be so very close.

The movie has been one of my favourites for years and now Arsiniev's book sits right beside it. They are both classics in that you wouldn't change a word or scene of them. The book and movie are treasures and are very highly recommended.

Anyone who has seen Kurasawa's film, Dersu Uzala, will find this book to be an unexpected treasure trove of new adventures and new insights into this wonderful character and his friendship with the Russian explorer Arsiniev.

In addition to the major themes of mortality, friendship, and the clash between civilization and nature, the book provides a wonderful immersion in the flora and fauna (mostly of the beastly and stinging variety) of the Russian far East at the turn of the 20th century.

No complaints, really - there is no other English translation that I know of, of the complete diaries of Arsiniev, and we have no reason to believe that these are in any way no properly edited (there is only so much one can read of valley depths and river lengths).

In short, the book is a rare masterpiece that will provide joy in itself and also increase the joy you will get out of watching the film.

Dersu is a very moving story that gave rise to a wonderful movie. The book deserved the film. The film did elegant justice to the book. Akira Kurosawa knew fine material when he found it, and this is prime. It has nature, adventure, survival, the clash of cultures made more profound by a deep and beautiful friendship between representatives of those cultures. Really, though, it is too beautiful for politically correct description. Read it. Give it to your kids to read. It will improve everybody's outlook on life.

The story of an amazing, traveling friendship.

As I neared the end of the book, I felt perhaps a bit like the people in the book did when they come to the railway tracks in the snow that signify a parting of the ways and a metaphor for the divide between the two cultures. Each party eventually crossed to 'the other side of the tracks' and were richer for the experience. I felt that way having read this book. (Disclaimer to potential readers: The aforementioned parting occurs only 1/2 way through - 'nuff said!)

A great mix of Arseniev's recount of an amazing man (a "beautiful soul"), a formally 'educated' man's account of the natural history of the Taiga, and another man's wonderfully evolved practical and spiritual view of the same place and it inhabitants. A intersting geo-cultural study and kick-a** adventure of the highest order.

I originally saw the film "Dersu Uzala" by Akira Kurosawa and loved the story. Wanting to find out more I bought the book off Amazon and am finding it a fantastic read. Offcourse the film leaves out most of what actually happened to Vladimir Arseniev during his journeys with Dersu, so it is great to read Arseniev's own words and to know that you're reading the work of the man who actually knew the Nanai hunter, Dersu Uzala. This is an epic true account of exploration and friendship. If you're looking for a tale of adventure, friendship and sometimes perilous exploration, than you should definitely read "Dersu the Trapper."

I love this book and Kurosawa made a fabulous movie rendition of it. V. K. Arseniev wrote his journal of his surveying exploration trekking through the uncharted woods of eastern Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century. His description of the country he visits and its inhabitants, people and animals, is itself great reading. Along the way he meets and becomes close friends with a local native hunter named Dersu who has spent his whole life in these woods and Dersu teaches him the secrets of the woods. The two men develop an affectionate friendship that ultimately shows how the modern world clashes inexorably with the natural world. The world of the hunter and the world of the city are divided by a wide gulf. Read the book and then find the movie.

This book is a real treasure. It tells about the amazing adventures of a man travelling in the remote reaches of Russia in a different time. The main character (other than the author) is a native of the area who knew how to survive in an extremely inhospitable environment. It gave me a new appreciation of the comfortable life I lead and also for the ability of people to live in seemingly impossible conditions.

This is a difficult book to review because Dersu Uzala is one of my favorite movies of all time, and so my judgement must necessarily be clouded. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, but that said, I honestly feel that if one was not familiar with the movie, then this book might not be quite as interesting. I definitely feel that the movie is superior, but then with Akira Kurasawa as director that should not be surprising.

By the author's own admission, James Fennimore Cooper and Mayne Reed were two of his strongest literary influences, and so one must naturally wonder how much of the Dersu character has been molded into a literary type. Not that I think any of these events are fictionalized, or that Dersu was not every bit as attuned to nature as Arseniev makes him out to be. Quite the opposite, my gut feeling is that everything that Arseniev presents to us is factually accurate. But I'm wondering if he might be guilty of a little omission. As remarkable a person as Dersu surely was, I'm certain that he must have had at least some negative personality traits. After all, he was human, just like the rest of us. But none show up in this book, and personally, I would have liked to have had that little extra depth of insight.

Still, if your a fan of the movie, or simply fascinated by personal narratives of men striking out into the wilderness, (and I am both), then this is a book you ought to read.

I love this book in Russian (original language). English is not bad but some names were translated wrong which the author wasn't suppose to do. You don't translate Newspapers names, or city's names the same way you don't translate tribes' names. Dersu's tribe's name was GOLDY not Gold.