Reviews

The River Why by David James Duncan

matteo_of_eld's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

friendscallmeal's review against another edition

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4.0

I liked The Brothers K so much better. This was very good, but as if the author had not yet fully found his voice.

elaines117's review against another edition

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4.0

Made me want to live in a small cabin on a coastal river.

book_beat's review against another edition

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5.0

“In my heart I know the Man-fisher knows best: river-armed and ocean-handed, He tends his lines with infinite patience, gracious to those who love Him, a mirage to those who don’t.

In the end it all rides on how you look at things. And how you look at things depends on how His line leads you to look.”

crissytrap's review against another edition

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5.0

Read it many years ago upon the recommendation of my dad, Nick. I must have some strange attachment to this book, because my first husband was a crazy Gus Orviston kind of fisherman. I divorced him and married an even crazier Gus Orviston kind of fisherman.

marissamaggs's review against another edition

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1.0

Didn't finish

gsteinbacher's review

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3.0

It often wonder why these "classics" are rated so high. Maybe it was because it was a "fishing" story and I don't fish but I not enjoy this book. I never felt anything for the characters, a large portion of the story felt like rambling to me, and it jumped around to where I could barely follow the story line. I gave it 3 stars because there were several parts in the book that did make me laugh.

jthhhhhhhh's review against another edition

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2.0

I loved about 15 pages of this book, in total. The rest of it was pretty much the reason I stopped reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence - it's amateur philosophy, maybe even BAD amateur philosophy - pretending to be a novel.

DJD's the Brothers K is one of the best novels I've ever read, but this book, his debut, doesn't even come close.

omaciel's review against another edition

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4.0

I laughed out loud early on, I pondered through some deeper topics somewhere in the middle and enjoyed the last 80 pages, already knowing that once I finished it, I'd miss the characters in the end.

mlindner's review against another edition

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DPL. 2004 A Novel Idea book. 1st one.