BOOK REVIEWS
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Berezina
SYLVAIN TESSON
(TRANSLATION - KATHERINE GREGOR)
2019
ISBN 978-1609455545
“Why don’t we go back to Paris on
a bike with a sidecar? On a beauti-
ful, Russian made Ural.” Those very
words set off a motorcycle adventure
two hundred years in the making;
four friends, two Ural’s and 4,000
kilometres following Napoleon’s infa-
mous retreat from Russia.
The four retrace the retreating
steps of Napoleon’s Grande Armee in
only a way that Ural riders could and
through Sylvain Tesson’s unmistak-
able writing we are taken along on
what can only be described as a les-
son in military and political history,
laced with vodka filled humour.
As Napoleon took flight from the
chasing Russians he eventually came
to the River Berezina, as did Tesson
and his friends. Berezina has since
become a term of national pride for
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The Butterfly Route
Michelle Lamphere
2017
ISBN 0996791116
W
Racing from location to location,
Michelle Lamphere’s ride through the
America’s starts at a frenetic pace,
dragging the reader along … it all
comes to a crashing end … and so the
adventure begins …
As a long recovery from a broken
leg settles into a rhythm so does
Michelle’s adventure and thus begins
The Butterfly Route.
Writing in a way that takes the
reader from point to point Michelle,
along with boyfriend Brian, ride the
length of the America’s from Canada
to Ushuaia. It’s an account of riding
from one locale to another, and while
this might not be to every reader’s
taste it’s the interactions along the
way that make The Butterfly Route a
beautiful read.
Michelle is descriptive in these
TRAVERSE 117
the Russians and perhaps one of
disaster for the French. This failure
becomes the premise for Berezina,
providing a history lesson perhaps
taught little in schools.
Through the history of Napoleon’s
retreat Tesson weaves his own tale,
the two merged perfectly to produce
one of the best travel books you’ll
read; Tesson’s discriptive, humorous
and immersive writing keeps the
reader enthralled from the start.
Originally published in French in
2016, Katherine Gregor has faithfully
translated into English; Berezina the
first of Tesson’s writings to be trans-
lated as such.
Berezina is a must read for any
traveller or follower of history.
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encounters to the point that you’ll
feel you know the person she is de-
scribing; her interactions are real
and not forced. In fact, The Butterfly
Route could easily have been twice
the length … we wanted more of the
interactions and less of the riding,
such is the ease that Michelle intro-
duces us to her new friends.
The Butterfly Route is a beautiful-
ly constructed travel biography that
leaves you wanting; more locations,
more experiences, more people,
more interactions … and more Brian,
was there a marriage? We hope so,
we want more of the story …