Alone in the Ocean: A Story of Escape

This story is often called one of the most vivid and dangerous adventures of the 20th century. Slava Kurilov, a professional oceanographer, wanted to see the whole world, but his homeland would not let him go beyond its borders. So he jumped off a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. He swam out. "In a sense, he embodied both the reader of Gumilyov and his hero, challenging fate... The Russian intelligentsia should not forget its heroes: there are not so many of them. Those who read this book will never forget the pages in which Slava Kurilov, covered in glowing microorganisms after three days and three nights of solitary sailing, glides through the Pacific night, raising heaps of fire with every movement; here he is, the image of the eternal rebel" (Vasily Aksyonov).