Deliverance

Rating:
Summary: Garrett's Review
Review: Four guys who all live in the city think a little canoe trip up in the mountains would be nice. Only one of them is really familiar with the hole outdoor deal, but what none of them know is what will happen on their trip. See what happpens and how they servive the mountain men and the river. Or do they?
Deliverance Dickey, James, 1970, New York
In the Mountains on a River is where this Story sets
"Fall down on your knees and pray, boy. And you better pray good." (Dickey 85)
This book is INTENSE!! Starts out a bit slow but what a great book. It will give you second thoughts about going up in the mountains for sure. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. I really enjoyed this book.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment.
Review: I am one of countless fans of the film version of this book who saw and loved the movie then went looking for the novel in which the script was based. I've actually read some of James Dickey's poetry and, to put it bluntly, this books reads like a poet trying to sound like a novelist. There are many different instances of "despcription overkill." However, with regards to the characterization the writing is actually well done and in depth; but when there are no other characters around, there is only nature or a single character alone with his thoughts, the author waxes romantic to the point of pretentious surrealism. To alleviate any confusion on this point, here is a single example from the book exactly as it is printed (the word "beheld" should be in italics): "I beheld the river in its icy pit of brightness, in its far-below sound and indifference, in its large coil and tiny points and flashes of the moon, in its long sinuous form, in its uncomprehending consequence." I made a note of remembering that particular sentence if for no other reason than to include it here in my review as a warning of what to expect. That kind of writing occurs frequently in virtually unbroken paragraphs. Then there is a time in the story where a character is alone, on the brink of a suspenseful moment, when the author refers to the character in the first person in retrospect about that moment. Thanks. That killed all the suspense. How worked up can I get when I know the character will survive? The character may be injured at some point soon after that inadvertant admission from the author, but with over a hundred pages left to read from that point on I really didn't have to worry any more about that character's survival. It was a major mistake, an unforgivable error by the editor to allow it to happen. I'll just watch the movie again. The movie is exceptional in every way; the book reads and feels like a poet writing a novel. Not recommended.

Rating:
Summary: So close to being great.....just one problem
Review: The outdoors is a lovely place, especially if you have the chance to go to remote locations up in the mountains. Cool, flowing rivers and mountains emerging from the landscape. It takes your breath away. There are times in Dickey's novel, Deliverance, where your breath is taken away, reading in awe his flawless description of nature. The emotion, the beautiful flowing language that surfaces throughout the novel, can make it a marvel and a wonder of modern writing. At times, you can feel you are really there, and some of the descriptions used to convey feelings, is at times, unmatched in literature. Yet, at other times, Deliverance can be such an ugly, mean spirited novel that it clashes with the setting it takes place in.

The story opens in a bar, with four urban city men discussing an expedition that they are planning. The four men are going to take a river rafting trip in the remote mountainous country. The story is told from the point of view of Ed, a graphics designer that has practically no experience with camping. The only one of the four who does is Lewis, who has an obsession with the outdoors and an addiction to challenge. The other two characters are Drew and Bobby. Very little is told about who they are or what they do. Throughout the story, we get the feeling that Drew is the nice guy of the bunch, and Bobby is the whiny cowardice.

The trip to the mountains starts off fine. The four men take a canoe trip down a famous river. None of them are very experienced, and obviously have not planned out there trip as well as they could. The first day goes by without a hitch, despite some awkward maneuvering of the canoes by a couple of the men. The next day is when all hell brakes loose. WARNING: some spoilers ahead, (but not enough to give away the story). As Ed and Bobby are riding down the river, they encounter two men with rifles who demand they pull the canoe over. The following passage is a horrifying rape scene between one of the hillbillies and Bobby. Just as it becomes Ed's turn, Lewis shoots one of the rapists through the heart and the other one escape into the woods. The four friends bury the body, and make with desperate haste to get back to civilization.

Yet, as they make their way home, a human hunter awaits for them in unexpected places. More tragedy strikes as the men are caught in a race for survival. I dare not reveal anything else about what happens next, just to say that the best passages of the novel will take place at this point, as we feel the men's raw emotions emerge at a time of crises.

Dickey is obviously a master of words, and at times, this book sheds more insight to emotion and reaction to stress more than any book I can recall. The descriptions of the mountains, the rivers, can be sublime and fascinating.

Deliverance, after a slow start picks up the pace, and it definitely is a tense, well crafted novel. At the end, it leaves us with a feeling of mystery, and the reader never really knows if everything was played out the way it seems. The reader never really knows if everything is resolved. The ending makes this book even better than it should be, with a feeling of uneasiness and wonder.

I have a couple gnawing problems with Deliverance. None of which would make me not recommend it. In fact, I highly recommend it, even if it is slightly overrated. I certainly would not say it is one of the greatest novels of our time, as others have. One of the problems for me is how dislikable the main character is. If he were more likeable, I think we could care a lot more about his struggle. Also, the other characters we hardly know anything about, so it is hard to care a lot when tragedy strikes. The other problem I had with novel is that it can be so mean spirited in the midst of the beauty that surrounds it. It isn't a huge deal for me; it just seems a bit out of place in a book of this kind. I think that Dickey could have toned it down just a bit, and the novel still could have packed an emotional punch and actually, in this case, been more effective. Mean spiritedness is okay if it is used in the correct context. You be the judge.

Still, Deliverance does shine through at its core. Even if it isn't perfect, it is sometimes. I believe it could have a lasting effect on some readers, and yes, there were times the tension was toe curling, to the point of actually feeling like you are there. One thing is for certain, I won't be planning a canoeing trip anytime in the near future.

Grade: A-


Rating:
Summary: An Examination of the Human Psyche
Review: Dickey's tour de force was the product of his luxurious approach to writing, taking several years to complete. The result was a the story of four men comprising Dickey's conception of the whole man, archetypal aspects reflected in the characters themselves. Lewis' physicality and machismo are balanced by Drew's philosophical examination of the world, Bobby's unthinking consumption and Ed's intellectual appraisal of the value of humanity. The simple narrative of four men testing themselves against the river rapids is hideously complicated by their sudden encounter with unthinking and uncaring human violence. Ed and Bobby are helpless against the attack of the mountain men; Lewis' primitive response to the assault restores their ability to be part of the world again, though now they must confront the ramifications of having killed one of their attackers. Each character in turn responds according to his instincts, leaving only Drew to plead for rationality and civil behavior. But when they once again become the victims of that unthinking violence, it becomes Ed's responsibility, after assessing their circumstances, to go beyond Lewis' reactionary violence with a painstakingly methodical journey to subdue the remaining threat to their safety.

Deliverance is an allegorical tale of the `civilized' human mind confronting completely uncivilized circumstances. Dickey suggests that even the most civilized persona will revert to pure survival instincts when confronted by undeniable violence. That Drew is the only part of the group to die - and with him the voice of civility and ethical regard - was brilliant story telling on Dickey's part. The eloquence of the narrative, the beautiful writing, and Dickey's philosophical examination of the human psyche are only a few of the reasons why this remains one of my favorite novels.


Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Squealing Pig
Review: No doubt you've seen, and likely enjoyed, "Deliverance", the movie. And in many ways, that terrific film was a faithful rendering of James Dickey's classic. Yet, as with most successful films based on successful novels, the written form allows much more interest, more depth, more nuance. "Deliverance" the novel is so well written that a single sentence can conjure 1,000 frames of film, a paragraph an entire scene. James Dickey is better known for poetry than fiction, and the lyrical quality of his prose is well evident in this journey of four Atlanta businessman down a raging north Georgia river. Told in the first person by Ed Gentry (Jon Voight in the film), "Deliverance" is a gripping adventure story, but also of one humiliation, murder, tragedy, and ultimately a soul searching study of one man's struggle with courage, morality, and ethics. Dickey offers an unapologetic and unflattering portrait of the hill people of northern Georgia, yet without malice or prejudice - simply the necessary backdrop to serve as the physical manifestation from which there can be "deliverance". Fiercely told and every bit as suspenseful as the excellent film, this great classic should be read by all lovers of American fiction.

Rating:
Summary: A Neo-Classic
Review: Mention the word "Deliverance" to many people and they tend to immediately recall the famous movie scene and the comment about "...squeal like a pig". I too approached this book with a similar impression of it, though it was surprisingly ranked at number 42 on top-100 list. Unfortunately, the excellence of Dickey's work is lost in the constant and chronic referencing to that one scene. This story is about man's search for self-identity, self-awareness, and acceptance. The story is told from the perspective of Ed Gentry, one of four men to embark on a whitewater river adventure. Ed's frame of reference on this trip is primarily defined by his athletic friend Lewis. Ed compares himself and the other members of the group to Lewis as he looks to find himself in a bit of a mid-life crisis. Ultimately, Ed finds his validation in his ability to push himself beyond what he previously thought possible. Dickey manages to generate some interesting insight into the human psyche within the context of a plot that is as exciting as anything I've read. The descriptions of the river and the challenges the four men face are well done enough to get you there. The plot has several sections where it almost becomes a page-turner rather than a brooding, introspective classical novel like much of the other selections on the top-100 list. I liked this book because it was an exciting story that was far more deeply written than most adventure novels.

Rating:
Summary: Great Novel
Review: This novel by James Dickey is an action packed thriller. It is full of suspense and kept me stuck on the page. Dickey uses great details in the beginning of the book to describe the characters to you. He gives you a wonderful background for the rest of the story. The vivid imagery he uses adds to the book continuously. The overall plot is just amazing. The only part i didnt like was the amount of details. At some points the details kept you reading at other points you just wanted to get on with the story. The way he uses things in nature to represent things happening in the characters lives is also great. His wide range of types of characters makes the book all the more interesting. You jump from an illiterate mountain man, to a guitar playing nice guy, to a guy who wants to be immortal and loves nature. If you know a little about the author it also helps in reading the book. It is set in his home town.

This book is a pretty easy read, but is not for the younger readers. The exciting plot along with the unknowing twists and turns keeps you in the book. I would suggest it to anyone who is tired of reading the normal books. This novel is far from normal

Rating:
Summary: "The Demons Within, As Without, Are Many and Brutal"
Review: Deliverance (1970) author James Dickey improved upon his novel in several ways when he wrote the screenplay for the remarkable 1972 film adaptation. While the book is no less believable or prismatic, it is both less powerful and less harrowing than its cinematic double. The expository information that opens the book, all of which is absent from the screenplay, generally doesn't convey anything about narrator Ed Gentry or the others characters that is absolutely necessary or cannot be inferred.

What the novel does underscore is how Ed's admiration for he - man and man's man Lewis, which falls just short of hero - worship, plainly consists of elements of homosexual love and physical attraction. Unrecognized and unacknowledged by either man, and probably returned by Lewis in a lesser degree, this aspect of their friendship is one merely element among others that will explode disastrously into consciousness before their ill - fated canoeing trip down a Georgia river with two other friends is completed.

In the film, Lewis asks Ed starkly why he continues to go adventuring with him, and director John Boorman shortly allows Lewis a brief but telling once - over of Ed's muscular body as he undresses and his shirt slips off one shoulder in a style reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe and other Fifties love goddesses. The novel, however, makes Ed's innocent and spontaneous physical and emotional longing for Lewis clear in a manner that believable, sympathetic, and utterly lacking in complicated histrionics or theoretical psychodrama. Indeed, few authors have ever fictionalized the genuine motivators of male homosexuality as accurately and acutely as Dickey does here.

Deliverance is largely about masculine initiation, and while Lewis the survivalist and body - fanatic is ostensibly a self - initiated man, the novel reveals that Lewis' initiation into the mysteries of life and nature, despite his best efforts and intentions, have been somewhat less than complete. When Lewis fails and the others are injured and otherwise incapacitated, Ed, faced not with the 'gentry' of the mountain wilderness but its opposite, is forced to assume the leadership role, and in the process become, at least temporarily, the shrewd, calculating, and ingenuous hero that will save his own life and the lives of his friends.

Less shocking today than it was upon publication 34 years ago, Deliverance nonetheless remains an original, brave, and truthful work; its themes, far from being outdated in 2004, are even more relevant today, and in more desperate need of answers, than they were in 1970.