Helpful Score: 4
This book has only two other stories other than "A River Runs Through It" - the first 115 pages are the novel. It is a beautiful story (and the movie barely did it justice).
Helpful Score: 2
I tend to not like short stories so I couldn't really get into it. If you like short stories, this books has a collection of them.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved the movie, and always wondered what the book was like. I'll stick with the movie. This is boring stuff. I can see why they made the changes for the film. Had to do something to make it interesting. I couldn't even finish it. Very dull.
Helpful Score: 1
The movie was great, in large part because the story is so well-told. Different from the movie and yet able to stand alone as a great read. Includes "Logging and Pimping and 'Your Pal, Jim"{", and USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky". U of Chicago Press oversize PB published in 1976.
Helpful Score: 1
The kingdom of heaven and fly fishing
I began with the movie, which I watch religiously every week, no kid. "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things--trout as well as eternal salvation--come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
I can see how some may not see what fly fishing has anything to do with religious matters, and what it has to do with art, or grace. But to those who do an activity for its own sake may be able to connect the dots. For me it's a revelation really, to see this kind of dialogue on American soil. I was under the impression one had to travel to China to speak of activities as meditation, or common activities as a prelude to grace.
"Power comes not from power everywhere, but from knowing where to put it on."
That could also be said of the martial arts. And the Maclean clan was saying it many decades before I was born.
I began with the movie, which I watch religiously every week, no kid. "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things--trout as well as eternal salvation--come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
I can see how some may not see what fly fishing has anything to do with religious matters, and what it has to do with art, or grace. But to those who do an activity for its own sake may be able to connect the dots. For me it's a revelation really, to see this kind of dialogue on American soil. I was under the impression one had to travel to China to speak of activities as meditation, or common activities as a prelude to grace.
"Power comes not from power everywhere, but from knowing where to put it on."
That could also be said of the martial arts. And the Maclean clan was saying it many decades before I was born.
From SATURDAY REVIEW: "Maclean has a sharp eye and a keen memory. . . and a beautiful style."
The story of a Montana man, his brother and the way that fly fishing unites them in the midst of personal struggle. A quiet, affecting book.
It's a very enjoyable book.
Dennis D. (dennisdemori) reviewed A River Runs Through it and Other Stories on + 2 more book reviews
This book is mainly about fly fishing and the author's relationship with his brother.
Reading this book is like reading like poetry, and it's not surprising since one of Maclean's major writing influences was Robert Frost.
Maclean is one of those special authors who is able to write with vivid detail, creating powerful images for his readers.
Reading this book is like reading like poetry, and it's not surprising since one of Maclean's major writing influences was Robert Frost.
Maclean is one of those special authors who is able to write with vivid detail, creating powerful images for his readers.
A short but good story. Having seen the movie lets me put faces to the characters. Using fly-fishing as a way to talk about life.
As it starts " In our family, there was no clear line between relation and fly fishing."
As it starts " In our family, there was no clear line between relation and fly fishing."
I enjoyed this book immensely. Maclean has a wonderful way of writing that makes me think of my father. This was an enjoyable read, and definitely a classic I'll keep on my personal bookshelf to pass on to my son when he is older.
The main story deals with serious issues through the context of describing a life in the woods and trout streams of Montana.
"Unique in the annals of modern fiction, [this book] is more than just a portrait of a vanished America - it is a livng piece of that world. Writeen when Norman Maclean was in his seventies, his first book of fiction was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and became a bestseller. The title novella recalls the experiences of a young man in frontier Montana: of his minster father, who taught hsi sons the ways of grace and fly fishing; of his brother, an artist at trout fishing but less successful at life, and the swift, cold rivers taht ran from the heart of the mountsin into the still-mysterious heart of man." -- back cover
From its first magnificent sentence, "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing", to the last, "I am haunted by waters", A River Runs Through It is an American classic.
Based on Norman Maclean's childhood experiences, the title novella has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana's Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart.
Based on Norman Maclean's childhood experiences, the title novella has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana's Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart.
This is the book the movie was based on.
Terrific story; movie starring Brad Pitt.
Good book.
I am a smoker and I also have a cat in the house.
I am a smoker and I also have a cat in the house.
