A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It is one of my favorite books of all time. It is not simply a book on fishing, but instead an elegantly articulated story about relationships, about beauty ("My father was one of the few men who would comfortably use the word beautiful"), and, above all, a story about the individual spirituality of fly fishing (from the first line: "In my family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing").

It is, as well, a wonderful example of how to write well. The prose is evocative, yet lean and spare - MacLean could draw more from fewer words than anyone else I ever read.

Having the book read by Ivan Doig, another Montana author, gives it a familiarity of someone who also writes well (but not in Norman MacLean's league) about Montana and the out doors and relationships. I will listen to this book again and again...whenever I need context to contemplate the challenges and the beauty of life!

Without a doubt the text of this story is wonderful. I great book to listen to and contemplate. However, the sound quality broke up in places and that much of the experience makes me hesitate to give all 5 stars - a review the book itself deserves.

Prose and story are both gorgeous and a delight to listen to. For those who wrote about the overuse of fly-fishing, it's a metaphor for life. I've never fly-fished, nor will I, but I can appreciate the way the lessons of fly-fishing have informed the narrator's worldview. The narration, like the prose, is understated. Truly a treat.

I wish I had this book in my hands to quote from it...a definite lack in this listening thing. I find this short novel exquisite. Every line has meaning. The relationships are achingly full of perception and grace. The metaphor of the river, and fly fishing, is omnipresent and speaks of the love that is shot through the main characters' interactions with each other. I have listened to this book twice, and read it once. The film is ghastly....the meaning is in the words, and layered: the river, fly fishing, one's relation to one's god, brothers and families, the story of the prodigal son, violence and mayhem of the heart, the beauty of knowing something. And in closing: I plan to just ignore reviews that don't recognize or understand the craft of fiction.

This was the most boring and poorly written novel ever! The author went on and on about fly fishing; that I questioned whether this book was about anything else. If I didn't know it, I would of thought I just read "Fly Fishing for Dummies" reference book. I thought it was about brotherhood, relationships, and good old family bonding. Don't choose this book, if that's what you're looking for. It was a mistake selecting this read.

The narrator is boring. The book is not really well written. I was expecting to find much better work, considering the movie, but this is a case where I'm kind of stunned, yet elated, that Robert Redford found teh book interesting. I believe he saw teh heart of the message, and the potential for a lavishly visual and rich storey, but that doesn't mean teh book is any fun to listen to. The poetic passages are confusing, and not inspiring, and the general flow of teh storey is boring and choppy and just bad.

I love audiobooks, seriously consider not buying this book.

My middle school children were assigned this book and I decided to listen along. Boy am I glad I did. My children (12 & 14) are connoisseurs of excellent literature - "Mom, this is boring and stupid." We ceased the reading/listening mid way.

I/we were offended not only by the lame writing, but by the content. A very remedial "he said, she said” book with drunken characters wandering aimlessly through the book. This is NOT Montana and I hope you will reconsider before purchasing this waste of time.