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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked this book, but it's of course written in a more old fashioned style, so it was harder to get hooked.
I cry over the movie tho, that slapped
I cry over the movie tho, that slapped
Great descriptive language. I can see why it's a classic. However I am not the most enamored about fly fishing so that part of the story was kind of mute. I enjoyed the more philosophical bits though.
I didn't LOVE "A River Runs Through It" the way I never loved Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" -- I can't get into tales of self-destructive young men (even if played by Brad Pitt in the movie). But I did love the two shorter stories that followed. One told of the author's time as a lumberjack in a logging camp, and the other of his time working with the Forest Service. Both are fascinating glimpses of a time gone by, told with great wit.
So. Much. Flyfishing. It took about 32 pages to get to a significant amount of anything but flyfishing. Then, whenever it started to get interesting, it would be back to flyfishing.
And don't tell me it's not about flyfishing, it's about life, you just didn't get it. I did get it. I just think it was boring.
The second story was very strange, and mercifully short.
The third one had a slow start, but was actually pretty interesting.
And don't tell me it's not about flyfishing, it's about life, you just didn't get it. I did get it. I just think it was boring.
The second story was very strange, and mercifully short.
The third one had a slow start, but was actually pretty interesting.
The title story is one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. The two other stories can’t compete. 5 stars for A River Runs Through It.
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is well written. It gets a bit boring at times but definitely a fun read as I've been to a lot of the places he talks about
Fishing, Logging and Fighting
Review of the University of Chicago Press Kindle eBook (May 3, 2017) with an introduction by Robert Redford, of the University of Chicago Press hardcover original (1976)
Maybe it is sacrilege to not give a 5-star rating to what is now considered an iconic fiction of American outdoor experience and adventure. But there were times when the overly detailed descriptions of fly-fishing, the baggage packing of trail horses and the quirks of the early United States Forestry Service slowed my reading to a crawl. There is also a cringe element when a misogynist thread also runs through the earlier stories, with most of the female characters disparaged as whores.
And yet there is terrific writing here with some of the imagery and expressions being classic. Many of the best lines of the title story are repeated in Robert Redford's 1992 film adaptation which only adds to their resonance. Like myself, many will have seen the film first, not having read the book. Often the text can be bizarrely funny, as in these lines from USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky:
The book consists of three stories, the title novella being half the length and the 2 earlier written Logging and Pimping and 'Your pal, Jim' and USFS 1919... making up the balance. All three are fictionalized autobiographical stories of the author Norman Maclean's (1902-1990) early life. Each of these centre around one character, the brother Paul, the logger Jim and the USFS Ranger Bill and the impact of their lives and examples on Norman. The title story is especially a lament for the doomed brother whose fate is hinted at throughout, but not confirmed until the end. That one especially gives the sense of being inspired by Hemingway's 'Iceberg Theory' of writing, where the underlying reason for the story lies below the surface and is hardly seen or mentioned, just as the bulk of an iceberg lies underwater.
The earlier stories are more about rustic rough-housing with their anecdotes of logging and forest crews. The characters are memorable though and, even if some of the descriptions of trail-work procedures are tiresome, they stick with you. Perhaps it is a 5-star book after all?
I read A River Runs Through It and Other Stories due to having encountered the Introduction by the author's son [a:John N. Maclean|7146003|John N. Maclean|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1447001661p2/7146003.jpg] for the recent [b:Big Two-Hearted River: The Centennial Edition|62050272|Big Two-Hearted River The Centennial Edition|Ernest Hemingway|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675644650l/62050272._SY75_.jpg|801413] (2023) of Ernest Hemingway. John N.'s description of his father's love and analysis of Hemingway's writing intrigued me to seek out the father's book, which I realized I had never previously read.
The Maclean family cabin in Seeley, Montana where much of the writing of the book took place. Photograph by Kurt Wilson. Image sourced from the Billings Gazette. (Note: The article is behind a paywall.)
Trivia and Links
The title story A River Runs Through It was adapted for film in 1992 with director Robert Redford, and starred Tom Skerritt as the father Rev. Maclean, Brad Pitt as son Paul and Craig Sheffer as son Norman. A trailer for the film can be seen here.
The story USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky was adapted for the television movie The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky in 1995 with director John Kent Harrison, and starred Sam Elliott as Ranger Bill Bell, Jerry O’Connell as Mac (the Norman Maclean character) and magician Ricky Jay as the cook/cardsharp. A very brief trailer for the film can be seen here.
Review of the University of Chicago Press Kindle eBook (May 3, 2017) with an introduction by Robert Redford, of the University of Chicago Press hardcover original (1976)
Maybe it is sacrilege to not give a 5-star rating to what is now considered an iconic fiction of American outdoor experience and adventure. But there were times when the overly detailed descriptions of fly-fishing, the baggage packing of trail horses and the quirks of the early United States Forestry Service slowed my reading to a crawl. There is also a cringe element when a misogynist thread also runs through the earlier stories, with most of the female characters disparaged as whores.
And yet there is terrific writing here with some of the imagery and expressions being classic. Many of the best lines of the title story are repeated in Robert Redford's 1992 film adaptation which only adds to their resonance. Like myself, many will have seen the film first, not having read the book. Often the text can be bizarrely funny, as in these lines from USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky:
The two old men in the outfit told the rest of us that “USFS” stood for “Use ’er Slow and Fuck ’er Fast.” Being young and literal, I put up an argument at first, pointing out that the beginning letters in their motto didn’t exactly fit USFS—that their last word “Fast” didn’t begin with S as “Service” did. ... As far as they were concerned, their motto fitted the United States Forest Service exactly, and by the end of the summer I came to share their opinion.
The book consists of three stories, the title novella being half the length and the 2 earlier written Logging and Pimping and 'Your pal, Jim' and USFS 1919... making up the balance. All three are fictionalized autobiographical stories of the author Norman Maclean's (1902-1990) early life. Each of these centre around one character, the brother Paul, the logger Jim and the USFS Ranger Bill and the impact of their lives and examples on Norman. The title story is especially a lament for the doomed brother whose fate is hinted at throughout, but not confirmed until the end. That one especially gives the sense of being inspired by Hemingway's 'Iceberg Theory' of writing, where the underlying reason for the story lies below the surface and is hardly seen or mentioned, just as the bulk of an iceberg lies underwater.
The earlier stories are more about rustic rough-housing with their anecdotes of logging and forest crews. The characters are memorable though and, even if some of the descriptions of trail-work procedures are tiresome, they stick with you. Perhaps it is a 5-star book after all?
I read A River Runs Through It and Other Stories due to having encountered the Introduction by the author's son [a:John N. Maclean|7146003|John N. Maclean|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1447001661p2/7146003.jpg] for the recent [b:Big Two-Hearted River: The Centennial Edition|62050272|Big Two-Hearted River The Centennial Edition|Ernest Hemingway|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675644650l/62050272._SY75_.jpg|801413] (2023) of Ernest Hemingway. John N.'s description of his father's love and analysis of Hemingway's writing intrigued me to seek out the father's book, which I realized I had never previously read.
The Maclean family cabin in Seeley, Montana where much of the writing of the book took place. Photograph by Kurt Wilson. Image sourced from the Billings Gazette. (Note: The article is behind a paywall.)
Trivia and Links
The title story A River Runs Through It was adapted for film in 1992 with director Robert Redford, and starred Tom Skerritt as the father Rev. Maclean, Brad Pitt as son Paul and Craig Sheffer as son Norman. A trailer for the film can be seen here.
The story USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky was adapted for the television movie The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky in 1995 with director John Kent Harrison, and starred Sam Elliott as Ranger Bill Bell, Jerry O’Connell as Mac (the Norman Maclean character) and magician Ricky Jay as the cook/cardsharp. A very brief trailer for the film can be seen here.