Volga Rises in Europe [Paperback]

Curzio Malaparte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2001

Although Italy was allied with Germany in World War II, the Italian viewpoint on the war often differed sharply from that of the Germans. Afraid of alienating Mussolini, the Germans were forced to allow journalist and novelist Curzio Malaparte to tour the Eastern Front, although his candid reporting infuriated Goebbels.

Malaparte was an eyewitness to the campaigns in Finland, the Ukraine, and Leningrad, and has left behind a moving account of many small incidents in the day-to-day conduct of the war.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Birlinn Publishers (November 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841580961
• ISBN-13: 978-1841580968
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,061,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dispatches from behind the lines., January 28, 2002

By 

rgzig (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Volga Rises in Europe (Paperback)

The Volga Rises in Europe is a collection of dispatches describing the German invasion of Russia in World War II, written for publication in Italy. Malaparte accompanied the German Army in the Ukraine between June and September 1941 and was a guest of the Finnish Army in the Karelian Isthmus between March and November of 1942. Notwithstanding its subject and the picture on the cover, the book is more of a travelogue than a war memoir. Although Malaparte gets to the front lines on occasion, more often his accounts describe scenes of past battles after the front has moved on. Much of the book is a description of the terrain, such as the Finnish forests, and the people he meets, both soldier and civilian. In addition, Malaparte engages in a fair amount of social commentary and speculation, particularly about the Soviet system. His style is often poetic although there is a tendency to imbue certain incidents with more importance than they perhaps merit. Malaparte is at his best when he describes the people he meets such as the Ukrainian peasants trying to reopen their church, which the Soviets have turned into a seed warehouse, or his visit with an elderly woman and her friends and relations at Soroki. For those interested in military history there are descriptions of small skirmishes, the crossing of the Dneistr and attacks on the Stalin Line. In Part 2, Malaparte describes the trenches outside the besieged Leningrad, the siege of the naval station at Kronstadt, as well as the convoys to Leningrad over frozen Lake Ladoga. Malaparte makes it clear that from the beginning of the war, the Russians were fighting to the last man. I was also surprised at the frequency with which Russian aircraft appear early in the war since other accounts relate that they were largely destroyed in the opening days. Overall, this book was not what I expected, but is very readable and provides some frank descriptions of lesser known aspects of the war.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty in an odd setting, April 8, 2004

By 

Mikel (CNY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Volga Rises in Europe (Paperback)

This book is a poetic look at what the author sees. He obviously never heard Sherman's line, "War is hell." The descriptive narrative is beautiful yet still holds weight.
If war were what he describes the human race would never be in a different state.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars something different, May 3, 2005

By 

paul mckerracher "boogle" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Volga Rises in Europe (Paperback)

having been an avid wwii reader for many years, i found this book to be a welcome change of pace from the usaual run of the mill, bog standard wwii book.
i do of course realize that there are very many excellent studies of this period of time available,and i own many, but i loved this book for the excellent way it was written, and mainly for the mental images it put into my head.
the eastern front has always been of special interest to me and to read something completely different about it, and learn new aspects of it was truley welcome.(i know i cant spell).