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krism's review against another edition
4.0
I was familiar with this title as a movie starring Brad Pitt and directed by Robert Redford. The book is semi-autobiographical and was written by the author when he was in his 70s. It is beautifully written and I sometimes stopped just to relish a passage. The stories involve fly fishing and rivers, logging, and hard living in around Montana in the early 1900s; but it's really a story about life, connections, memories, and lessons. There is a spiritual element to it, but there's also lots of action and humor.
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
2.0
Alberne Geschichten von Testosteron, Rivalität, Testosteron und noch mehr Rivalität. Männer fangen große Fische, sägen Bäume um und laufen an einem einzigen Tag weiter als andere Leute.
nattygsmith's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful short story describing the landscape of Montana rivers, the craft of fly fishing, and relationship between two brothers. Maclean finds ways of writing that perfectly convey the way we project emotions and look for meaning and guidance in the world around us.
georgiarybanks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
poachedeggs's review against another edition
3.0
This was actually pretty hard to focus on; it made me wonder if my brain had melted from too much YA fiction. I could see the beauty of certain lines, but in the end I liked David James Duncan's more sprawling fishing story, [b:The River Why|23196|The River Why|David James Duncan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167391170s/23196.jpg|993607], better. Maclean's prose is of the deceptively spare kind - actually really dense, with melancholy as thick as fog. I took quite a few days to finish this slim volume.
There is a pretty good story on lumberjacks, gambling and the quest to prove one's masculinity too.
There is a pretty good story on lumberjacks, gambling and the quest to prove one's masculinity too.
devinb333's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-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
4.0
nell_reads's review
3.0
I’m not sure what to say about this book. I started it with great gusto and finished with a whimper. The first part of the book is all about his family and the relationship he had with his brother Paul. It was filled with so much regret that by the end of the first novella I was almost in tears. I know that his brother died in Chicago but he’s writing as if it happened in Montana. I kind of think he knows that if he stayed in Montana then Paul would have done different? But I do know that at the end the “Haunted by Waters” quote, well I think that’s Paul he’s referring to.
ifpoetshadmerch's review
2.0
I picked this one up hoping for some knockout nature imagery, and I was pretty disappointed. There were a couple lines that bordered on lyrical, but for the most part these stories were filled with ultra long lines packed with too many words. I suppose I must also admit that I was turned off by the tone in which the narrator describes some of the characters, though I suppose the stories are set in the 1930’s-ish. But treating women like objects and lumping Native Americans together as a conglomerate of “Indians” just doesn’t sit well with me, what can I say.
Despite the fact that MacLean’s average sentence length far exceeds that of Hemingway, I couldn’t help but think of good ‘ol Ernie while reading this. Maybe this is simply due to a purely basic similarity in their preoccupation with fishing, but there were a few other things that made me link the two together. Firstly, they feature this “manly” character who always is itching to prove his masculinity: dreaming of fistfights, longing for a fishing rod, falling in love with any woman who shows him a sliver of kindness, wanting to prove himself against anyone or anything who threatens him physically or intellectually, etc. Secondly, they both like to write around a problem or issue without ever putting a precise word to it. Maybe I’m just bad at reading between the lines, but for these stories, I felt like I was circling around something. Or to put it in some Montana metaphors: like I was making a large, swooping cast over the gurgling waters, straining my ears for an answer, only to have the rod slip from my hands and the line disappear fast and hard into the sunlight.
Despite the fact that MacLean’s average sentence length far exceeds that of Hemingway, I couldn’t help but think of good ‘ol Ernie while reading this. Maybe this is simply due to a purely basic similarity in their preoccupation with fishing, but there were a few other things that made me link the two together. Firstly, they feature this “manly” character who always is itching to prove his masculinity: dreaming of fistfights, longing for a fishing rod, falling in love with any woman who shows him a sliver of kindness, wanting to prove himself against anyone or anything who threatens him physically or intellectually, etc. Secondly, they both like to write around a problem or issue without ever putting a precise word to it. Maybe I’m just bad at reading between the lines, but for these stories, I felt like I was circling around something. Or to put it in some Montana metaphors: like I was making a large, swooping cast over the gurgling waters, straining my ears for an answer, only to have the rod slip from my hands and the line disappear fast and hard into the sunlight.
v_iaggio's review
4.0
A simple, beautiful story with perhaps the most lovely closing passage I've ever read.