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bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
Maclean's celebrated book (and related short stories) is even better the second time around. His accounts of early 20th century Montana feel credible, charming, and romantic without removing its gritty elements. The Big Sky state was untamed and built on the rough and tumble backs of people who seemed to grow out of the landscape: loggers, forest rangers, Native Americans and fly-fisherman.
He portrays a simple, poetic, but not especially idealized Rocky Mountain America: bootleggers, brawlers, Presbyterian ministers, ranchers, sheepherders, and newspaper men.
A River Runs Through It begins by placing us inside the gentle and guiding hand of Maclean's Scottish father: "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."
He continues his theme on fishing, rivers, and the wildness of the land to capture the Montana of his youth. Much of his account concerns his admiration for his younger brother, who has mastered the art of fly fishing. We see the relationship between brothers play out and quietly come to a tragic, but beautiful end. "It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us."
The feature piece of this book closes with one of my favorite narrations in film and print: "Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them...Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhtyhm and the hope that a fish will rise..Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs...I am haunted by waters."
The additional stories go deeper into his youth in the forest service, but pale in comparison with the title piece. Give the book a try while listening to the film score. Peace-inducing.
He portrays a simple, poetic, but not especially idealized Rocky Mountain America: bootleggers, brawlers, Presbyterian ministers, ranchers, sheepherders, and newspaper men.
A River Runs Through It begins by placing us inside the gentle and guiding hand of Maclean's Scottish father: "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."
He continues his theme on fishing, rivers, and the wildness of the land to capture the Montana of his youth. Much of his account concerns his admiration for his younger brother, who has mastered the art of fly fishing. We see the relationship between brothers play out and quietly come to a tragic, but beautiful end. "It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us."
The feature piece of this book closes with one of my favorite narrations in film and print: "Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them...Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhtyhm and the hope that a fish will rise..Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs...I am haunted by waters."
The additional stories go deeper into his youth in the forest service, but pale in comparison with the title piece. Give the book a try while listening to the film score. Peace-inducing.
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
I read a copy that only had the title novella, ~160 pages in total, several of them taken up by wooden etchings of images and characters from the story.
This is such a great poem of a book. I read it outside on the swing, to the chirping of the grasshoppers in cool, still air, a mug of tea in my hand. The only thing missing was the rustle of some nearby water, a creek or a fountain.
The writing grows on you. At first, its simplicity it surprising; but it soon becomes more detached than refreshing. There were too many moments in the middle of the book when I felt removed from the actual meaning of the language, and it felt like Maclean seemed to construct some separation between the beauty of his language and the narrative he was telling, so that I was absorbed in the first and felt ambivalent or confused about the second.
This kind of feeling isn't entirely bad. It's relaxing, which is what I feel this book is supposed to make you feel. I lost myself in the dozens of passages that described the actual fundamentals of fly-fishing. I didn't like those that much, but they were written in a spare, transfixing way. The writing lulled me into a kind of stillness and rhythm. I think the best way to describe this book is as a meditation--on a man and his brother, on nature, on a simple way of life of Montana rivers.
The last few dozen pages were the best, I think. I also believe that this book would be better on a re-read, because of the ending.
A quick, beautiful read.
This is such a great poem of a book. I read it outside on the swing, to the chirping of the grasshoppers in cool, still air, a mug of tea in my hand. The only thing missing was the rustle of some nearby water, a creek or a fountain.
The writing grows on you. At first, its simplicity it surprising; but it soon becomes more detached than refreshing. There were too many moments in the middle of the book when I felt removed from the actual meaning of the language, and it felt like Maclean seemed to construct some separation between the beauty of his language and the narrative he was telling, so that I was absorbed in the first and felt ambivalent or confused about the second.
This kind of feeling isn't entirely bad. It's relaxing, which is what I feel this book is supposed to make you feel. I lost myself in the dozens of passages that described the actual fundamentals of fly-fishing. I didn't like those that much, but they were written in a spare, transfixing way. The writing lulled me into a kind of stillness and rhythm. I think the best way to describe this book is as a meditation--on a man and his brother, on nature, on a simple way of life of Montana rivers.
The last few dozen pages were the best, I think. I also believe that this book would be better on a re-read, because of the ending.
A quick, beautiful read.
superdewa's review against another edition
4.0
A River Runs Through It is incredibly beautiful. Incredibly, because I would never have believed I could hold any interest in a book about fishing, and yet the passages where he describes his fly fishing experiences are beautiful and even relatable to some experiences I have had as a photographer, where what I am photographic and my mind become entwined.
Skipped the rest of the stories due to reviews and because I was really here for the River, but I might catch up with them one day.
Skipped the rest of the stories due to reviews and because I was really here for the River, but I might catch up with them one day.
d5lefko's review against another edition
5.0
New favorite book and it’s not even close. Holy cow. Read it in one sitting, in exactly 3 hours. Have been walking around in a daze ever since.
whatrobinsonreads's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
MacLean’s stories deserve to be read aloud. They sound so good coming off the page. The praise he gets in the intro is well warranted.
There’s a specificity to his book that is refreshing. Many books tackle too much. Not him. It’s clean and his prose reflects that. The diction and detail are top notch, and even though not much happens in this book, the reader walks away feeling closer to MacLean, who he was when his brother was alive, who he was as a young man in the Forest Service, walking an unhealthy number of miles to prove his mettle to a man he admired. 1919 MT, the Bitterroot Divide, is described so well you feel like you know it. Same with fly fishing, and I came in knowing absolutely nothing. That specificity is a draw for some and a drawback for others. I think the best part of this book is not its subject matter but how it talks about its subject matter. The words he chooses and the way he structures his stories is expert. He was a writing teacher for many years, publishing this later in life, and his care and consideration for the craft are evident on every page.
There’s a specificity to his book that is refreshing. Many books tackle too much. Not him. It’s clean and his prose reflects that. The diction and detail are top notch, and even though not much happens in this book, the reader walks away feeling closer to MacLean, who he was when his brother was alive, who he was as a young man in the Forest Service, walking an unhealthy number of miles to prove his mettle to a man he admired. 1919 MT, the Bitterroot Divide, is described so well you feel like you know it. Same with fly fishing, and I came in knowing absolutely nothing. That specificity is a draw for some and a drawback for others. I think the best part of this book is not its subject matter but how it talks about its subject matter. The words he chooses and the way he structures his stories is expert. He was a writing teacher for many years, publishing this later in life, and his care and consideration for the craft are evident on every page.
isaacanator's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think I have ever cried while reading a book, but let me tell ya, I was balling in the school library. Really meaningful thoughts on helping people, and how people can't really help. Makes me so thankful for the Gospel, and the weight that is taken from my shoulders. The book even has something to say about that too. Incredible.
The majority of the book is just fishing. So much fishing. But I have now been convinced that fishermen do more thinking than anyone else. Must be because fishing is so boring, so their brain has to do something. That makes an unbelievably insightful book about the nature of humanity, and family, and so much more.
I love this book
The majority of the book is just fishing. So much fishing. But I have now been convinced that fishermen do more thinking than anyone else. Must be because fishing is so boring, so their brain has to do something. That makes an unbelievably insightful book about the nature of humanity, and family, and so much more.
I love this book
kcrouth's review against another edition
4.0
Great story telling set in the mountains of Montana. Norman Maclean recounts stories of family, nature, hard work in the wilderness, a Forest service camp, rattlesnakes, forest fires, waitresses, pimps and whores, high stakes card games, bar room fights, and of course (if you have seen the movie) fly fishing. Three stories that bring to life living in the mountains in the early 20th century. A nice read.
m444's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75