The River Why

by Duncan, David James

• ISBN13: 9781578050840
• ISBN10: 1578050847
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-05
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books

Summary

Since its publication by Sierra Club Books nearly two decades ago,The River Whyhas become a classic, standing with Norman Maclean'sA River Runs Through Itas the most-read fiction about fly-fishing of our era. Duncan's protagonist, Gus Orviston, is an irreverent young flyfisherman--a vibrant character who makes us laugh easily and feel deeply, and who speaks with startling truth about the way we live. Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus embarks on an extraordinary voyage of self-discovery along his beloved Oregon rivers. What he unexpectedly finds is man's wanton destruction of nature and a burning desire to commit himself to its preservation. The River Whyis a tale that gives a contemporary voice to the concerns and hopes of all living things on this beautiful, watery planet. It is the story of one man's search for meaning, for love, and for a sane way to live.

Author Biography

David James Duncan is the author of The Brothers K, an American Library Association Best Books Award winner and a New York Times Notable Book; River Teeth, a memoir and collection of stories; and My Story as Told by Water, a 2001 National Book Award finalist. Duncan's work has appeared in Harper's, Outside, Orion, The Sun, Sierra, Big Sky Journal, Northern Lights, Gray's Sporting Journal, and many other publications. He lives with his family beside a Montana trout stream.

Table of Contents

Book One The Compleat Angler
``Gus the Fish''	3	(7)
The Rogue River Fishing War	10	(4)
Concerning Statistics	14	(3)
Some Biographical Statistics	17	(3)
Statistical Improbabilities	20	(9)
The Great Izaak Walton Controversy: the Parental Version	29	(7)
The Great Izaak Walton Controversy: My Own Rendition	36	(4)
Excerpts from the God-notebook	40	(5)
Being ``Educated'' and ``Gittin' Brung Up''	45	(11)
The ``Ideal Schedule''	56	(3)
Voiding My Rheum	59	(11)
Book Two The Undoing of a Scientific Angler
Where I Lived and What I Lived For	70	(13)
Water on the Brain	83	(7)
Anvil Abe and the Phantom Fisherman	90	(8)
Fainting Before the Duel	98	(8)
I Reckon	106	(7)
Anamnesis	113	(17)
Book Three Characters in Nature
The River Writes	130	(13)
Neighbors	143	(6)
The Warble of the Water Owl	149	(8)
Eddy	157	(6)
Jesus Keeps Fishing	163	(7)
Descartes	170	(6)
Philosophizing	176	(8)
Little, But Strong	184	(7)
Closing the Door	191	(9)
Book Four The Line of Light
Hemingway	200	(8)
Dutch	208	(12)
Nick the Convert	220	(13)
The Trek	233	(11)
The Raven and the why	244	(8)
Googler and Mangler	252	(8)
Trick or Treat	260	(8)
The Line of Light	268	(24)
Book Five At the End of the Line
Last Chapter	280	(12)
Acknowledgments and Dedications	292	(2)
Heart Work: An afterword, twenty years later	294