A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

3.95 AVERAGE

miocyon's review against another edition

3.5
funny medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters: No
I had read these stories a long time ago, and re-reading them now I'll say they hit a bit different, and mostly for the worse. The stories definitely come off as being of their time - male-centric, a little racist, etc.  They're like Hemingway or Steinbeck in that way.  The second and third stories more so than the first in this way.  He does paint a pretty picture of western Montana though, and has some wonderful turns of phrase, and the movie made of the title story is one of the best adaptations out there.  If you are a completist about western U.S. literature, this is a must read, otherwise, maybe just read the first story and be done with it.

jmfjump's review against another edition

4.0
adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jmarchek's review against another edition

3.0
Beautiful prose. I'm not into fishing, but I appreciate the great writing. Read it and then watch the movie, just to appreciate the beauty of young Brad Pitt.
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m444's review against another edition

4.0
adventurous emotional sad medium-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

wuffie's review against another edition

4.5
adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

greatcatsby's review against another edition

5.0
adventurous funny reflective relaxing medium-paced

rich71's review against another edition

5.0
It only needs one word: "beautiful".

fefifofum's review against another edition

3.75
lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

bergsteiger's review against another edition

4.0
This is a collection of 3 stories set in Montana, the middle one being a short story, while the other two are really novellas. The eponymous novella, reads very closely to the movie (kudos to Robert Redford) and like the movie has a stark beauty to it. The descriptions of fly fishing and the relationship between the two brothers captivates. However, I think the true gem here is the last story, "USFS 1919". The characterizations, the sketches of the landscape, the capturing of a time and place, are exquisitely done. It is Big Two Hearted River meets Peter Camenzind meets Power of the Dog. At its core it is a coming of age story about a 17 year old in the newly formed US Forest Service, but it is also transcendental in its scope. If it were just this final novella I might give it 5 stars, but even so it is a solid 4.5. Pick it up off the shelf.

ebullientbunny's review against another edition

4.5
emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated