The River Why

by Duncan, David James

• ISBN13: 9780871563217
• ISBN10: 0871563215
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1983-01-01
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books

Summary

Since its Publication by Sierra Club Books two decades ago, The River Why has become a classic, standing with Norman Maclean's A River Runs through It as the most widely read fiction about fly fishing of our era. This captivating and exuberant tale is told by Gus Orviston, an irreverent young flyfisherman and one of the most appealing heroes in contemporary American fiction. Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus decides to strike out on his own, taking refuge in a secluded cabin on a remote riverbank to pursue his own flyfishing passion with unrelenting zeal. But instead of finding fishing bliss, Gus becomes increasingly troubled by the degradation of the natural world around him and by the spiritual barrenness of his own life. His desolation drives him on a reluctant quest for self-discovery and meaning -- ultimately fruitful beyond his wildest dreams. Unexpected companions along the way include Gus's precocious, water-phobic brother, Bill Bob; a sage old Warm Springs Indian named Thomas Bigeater; a flamboyant, self-styled philosopher and his wise dog, Descartes; and, most important, a divinely beautiful and enigmatic fisher-woman who sets Gus the astonishing task of tracking a spawning salmon upriver in the dead of night.

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

The Compleat Angler
"Gus the Fish"	p. 3
The Rogue River Fishing War	p. 10
Concerning Statistics	p. 14
Some Biographical Statistics	p. 17
Statistical Improbabilities	p. 20
The Great Izaak Walton Controversy: the Parental Version	p. 29
The Great Izaak Walton Controversy: My Own Rendition	p. 36
Excerpts from the God-notebook	p. 40
Being "Educated" and "Gittin' Brung Up"	p. 45
The "Ideal Schedule"	p. 56
Voiding My Rheum	p. 59
The Undoing of a Scientific Angler
Where I Lived and What I Lived For	p. 70
Water on the Brain	p. 83
Anvil Abe and the Phantom Fisherman	p. 90
Fainting Before the Duel	p. 98
I Reckon	p. 106
Anamnesis	p. 113
Characters in Nature
The River Writes	p. 130
Neighbors	p. 143
The Warble of the Water Owl	p. 149
Eddy	p. 157
Jesus Keeps Fishing	p. 163
Descartes	p. 170
Philosophizing	p. 176
Little, But Strong	p. 184
Closing the Door	p. 191
The Line of Light
Hemingway	p. 200
Dutch	p. 208
Nick the Convert	p. 220
The Trek	p. 233
The Raven and the [characters not reproducible]	p. 244
Googler and Mangler	p. 252
Trick or Treat	p. 260
The Line of Light	p. 268
At the End of the Line
Last Chapter	p. 280
Acknowledgments and Dedications	p. 292
Heart Work: An afterword, twenty years later	p. 294
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.