You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
maryehavens 's review for:
A River Runs Through It
by Norman Maclean
The edition I read had the title novella, a short story about logging, and another novella about a summer when MacLean was 17 and working for the U.S. Forest Service. 3 stories, 300% more whores than I anticipated. Lots of whoring incidences.
The only things I remember from A River Runs Through It, the movie, were that fly fishing seemed beautiful and serene and that Brad Pitt was incredibly hot. The movie was very faithful to the novella (I suppose there were whoring incidences in the movie, I just don’t remember).
It took me to the very end of the novella to understand what MacLean was trying to achieve and, then, it was brilliant. MacLean certainly has a way with endings and I love a good ending. The imagery that he used to capture 1920s Montana was also magnificent. I can see why this story is a national treasure.
The short story was literally about a man MacLean worked for who was in charge of logging. This man, off season from logging, went to the local library of whatever town he was in and read whatever books he wanted. And he was also a local pimp. That’s what he did: read and pimped.
The last story, when MacLean was 17, involved his work for the U.S. Forest Service one summer. He did Park Ranger-type work and ran around with the other men trying to keep out of trouble. And ended up at a seedy hotel with, you guessed it, whores and pimps.
I understood from this book that these types of jobs and their locales left little room for women unless they were whores or wives who were cheated on with whores. I also understood that MacLean likely struggled in this super-masculine world — but then, I think most men would. The men in my life would hardly have wanted to be surrounded by this lack of morality and constant pseudo-companionship.
I’m glad I read this stories but it will be hard to recommend them.
The only things I remember from A River Runs Through It, the movie, were that fly fishing seemed beautiful and serene and that Brad Pitt was incredibly hot. The movie was very faithful to the novella (I suppose there were whoring incidences in the movie, I just don’t remember).
It took me to the very end of the novella to understand what MacLean was trying to achieve and, then, it was brilliant. MacLean certainly has a way with endings and I love a good ending. The imagery that he used to capture 1920s Montana was also magnificent. I can see why this story is a national treasure.
The short story was literally about a man MacLean worked for who was in charge of logging. This man, off season from logging, went to the local library of whatever town he was in and read whatever books he wanted. And he was also a local pimp. That’s what he did: read and pimped.
The last story, when MacLean was 17, involved his work for the U.S. Forest Service one summer. He did Park Ranger-type work and ran around with the other men trying to keep out of trouble. And ended up at a seedy hotel with, you guessed it, whores and pimps.
I understood from this book that these types of jobs and their locales left little room for women unless they were whores or wives who were cheated on with whores. I also understood that MacLean likely struggled in this super-masculine world — but then, I think most men would. The men in my life would hardly have wanted to be surrounded by this lack of morality and constant pseudo-companionship.
I’m glad I read this stories but it will be hard to recommend them.