Rating: 
Summary: I am haunted by this book...
Review: I have read this book twice now, and plan to read it several more times through my lifetime. It is a powerful book that speaks to a person on so many different levels. I saw the story the first time... I saw the art the second. As others have said, this book is not about fly-fishing per se. It is about the powerful bonds between family members.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the movie?
Review: After thouroughly reading this book, I found that I enjoyed the movie version a lot better. At times I found my self un-interested in whst was going on. Some books don't use enough details, but in my opinion this book used a few too many. I feel that the book started off extremely slow, but got better towards the second half. I was also rather un-happy with the ending. If I could rate this book with negative stars, i would.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie?
Review: YES! This book gets better every time I read it. After reading it 5 times through, I feel I'm about ready to head out and do some fly-fishing! Late at night my family gathers around the fireplace as I read them passages from the book. I'm hoping my kids will grow up just like those boys. Ever since i first read this book, my life has changed. Im starting to pay my taxes, my family life is great, and i have more friends than ever. Every month i go out and by a new copy of the book, acting as if i've never read it before. If i could give this book more than 5 stars, i sure would. My relationship with my girlfriends are great now! and my wife says I'm beginning to act like the man she married again. THANK YOU norman f. madean. thank you!
Rating: 
Summary: Quick and Entertaining.
Review: Having never seen the movie, I have a difficult time envisioning how they put this story onto film. I found the title story really well-written and very compelling. You find yourself rooting for the brothers and wishing the father could still fish like he used to.... the whole religious experience. The other stories were a little less compelling ... but did give insight into a lost way of life.
Rating:
Summary: A Paean to a Life Too Full
Review: A story about the one that got away, the brother, not the fish.
Rating:
Summary: Pure
Review: Exquisite and pure as wood, or water or anything that is solely itself. A simple story of life, two brothers, family, passion and water but as we all know none of that is simple. Rich in nuance and tenderness, quietness and rage; the river and the life. Norman Maclean says in 160 pages more in the spaces in between the words and the things the characters do not say, than most authors say in 500 pages.
Rating:
Summary: The beauty of nature captured in words
Review: I went into this novel having already seen, and enjoyed, the movie. I had travelled to the area of the country that it was set in several times, and I had been fly-fishing while out there. But I was struck by how the book was still able to move me. Maclean's eloquent descriptions are able to come as close to transporting the reader to the place being written of as any novel I have ever read. You don't have to love the mountains, fly-fishing, or your little brother to like this book. But if you try to understand what these things meant to Maclean then you will get much more out of this wonderful work.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 Stars Because There Are No Halves
Review: A River Runs Through It is an easy book to like. However, it's easy to like for what I think are the wrong reasons. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book, and beautifully written, but I am of the opinion that there is a difference between beautifully written and well written. The book relies very heavily on its wording and description. MacLean paints a beautiful picture of the rivers, the state of Montana, and the time and place in general. However, to someone who sees through this as simply rather ornate physical exposition, that person will soon find himself beyond it and anxious for a complex plot with strong thematic influence. It is here that we find the flaw in this novel. There seems to be a fairly simple plot, two brothers, one on the straight and narrow, the other not, and the struggle the first finds in trying to help the second. This lends itself very little to any sort of separate theme, and the reader finds himself reading the plot and the theme as one. This works fine for a bestseller, or in this case a film to be made into a movie, but from a strict literary standpoint, I personally feel that this book is a little weak where a novel should be strongest, while being incredibly strong in an area that it really need not be. There is something to be said for such powerful descriptive writing. Such breathtaking images surely do take one's breath away and leave some with an urge to experience or reproduce that image. This is probably why there is a film version of this movie. Albeit irrelevant to the strength of the book, the movie itself is a visual masterpiece, which to me suggests that that was the impression gained by its makers of the novel. It is a gift, this way of writing, but I view it as only one tool that a writer should have hanging in his belt. MacLean's novel needs to show me a little more, especially about what he is saying with this book. In my literature class we have studied books with the mindset that authors use their novels to show some viewpoint they have on the way the world works. MacLean doesn't do a lot of that. He gives us a little about family, and a whole lot about fly fishing, but nothing overlaying about humanity in general, or any real personal opinion. This fits in with my thinking that the book is little meat and a lot of garnish. I don't want to sound too critical of the book; I enjoyed reading it. It's just that when you step back and look at this novel from a purely literary standpoint, you may find that it doesn't do all that it could. It does, however, paint a spectacular picture of something the author feels a deep love for, and from a descriptive writing perspective, leaves many other novels in the dust.
Rating:
Summary: will reflection heal old wounds?
Review: I've been so disappointed in recent times hearing those who've gotten "too caught up in the fly fishing details" of A River Runs Through It, to appreciate the novel. There are two reasons for this. The first is that few authors are ever able to take their own unique worldview-their own social context, value structures, etc.-and to so aptly apply them as a metaphor for looking at the world. The second, (having nothing to do with any knowledge of fly fishing on my part), is the grace with which Norman Maclean relays such a personal, pertinent piece of his life to the reader.The book is certainly not about fly fishing. It is a bittersweet and awe-inspiring look at a family so thick with love and pride that they are made unable to help one another when their help is needed most. Within the body of the novel, Norman, (both author and narrator), seems to systematically explicate every relationship he has. The traditions handed down by his mother and father to he and his brother are obvious. Norman is certainly less inclined to fill the traditional man's role than is his brother. Both Norman and his father are set apart from Paul in this regard. Paul, of course, is an example of the artist: the beautiful, raw, unrefined master of his domain. One of the largest recurring themes in the book-the idea of man's fall from grace, along with ensuing human suffering-echoes mournfully throughout the novel. Both Norman and his father seem to watch the artist, Paul, as though they were all-knowing spectators in life. They can both tell where things are going, and can see the artistry and skill of the movement from afar, but are helpless to change the momentum of the game. Paul is beautiful, perfect in humanity perhaps, but beyond the aid of his family, and, in that sense, doomed. This idea of continual admiration followed by resignation to a sort of pre-ordained destiny is reiterated throughout the book. It is tied to religion, fly fishing, nature and art-all of which are seemingly inextricably woven as one defining social reality. Because of the roles women play within Norman's world, along with the inadequacies of those individuals who might otherwise be able to connect with Paul, it becomes clear that all responsibility rests on Norman's shoulders. In the end, this book is about regret, but further about resignation. Resignation to beauty, art, the natural progression of the world and to the inevitability of human nature. All of us live in a world both as romantic and clandestine as Norman Maclean's in some way. We must praise him, however, for capturing his so well, and for so faithfully observing the truth of a world he will never give himself credit for knowing mastering. If A River Runs Through It is Maclean's tribute to the brother he was never quite able to reach, perhaps by reaching us, his regret might be reconciled.
Rating:
Summary: Characterization, Theme, and Poetry
Review: Set in Western Montana and amongst some of the finest fly fishing rivers in the state, Norman Maclean tells the tale of one brother's alcoholism and the other brother's inability to help. Through the activity of fly fishing Montana's rivers, Maclean's story unfolds. I favor this book for three reasons. One, Norman Maclean places you in the heart of his characters. Furthermore, since the names in the story point to an autobiographical tale, Norman Maclean places you in his very own heart. The narrator and main character in the story, Norman, pains over reaching out to his brother Paul. Paul, a talented and well-known fly fisherman in Western Montana, shows all signs of alcoholism. From entering the bar at 10:00 a.m. to heavy financial problems, I feel Paul's weakness amongst his strength in fly fishing. The dialogue between the two brothers' illustrates a cry for help from Paul, but challenge in the eyes of Norman. Both men want to stick with what they know best--the great rivers in Montana, the correct fly on a smoldering day, and the smiles of Scottish women as they bring home the largest fish. Instead, each is faced with a real situation, the inciting incident, where one morning consists of Norman driving Paul home from jail. Secondly, the story carries deep thematic question: communication, competition, and responsibility. Norman battles communicating with his brother in a non-critical manner. Instead of an open-air conversation, Norman and Paul are healed by the waters of the Big Blackfoot River. Each man fishes to his ability while basking in nature's offerings. The men are knowledgeable about their hobby and challenge one another upon every outing. Paul sets his minimum of fish caught in a day at ten, while Norman stops when comfortable. Paul is known in Missoula, Montana as the finest fly fisher around. The idea of competition lurks. In addition, responsibility is addressed as Paul cannot understand his responsibility for himself. Drunken and bruised from repeated bar fights, what is one to do? My third reason for enjoying A River Runs Through It lies in Norman Maclean's poetic format. I quote from page 47, "The storm came on a wild horse and rode over us." As a reader, I never wanted the description of Montana, fly-fishing, and the characters to end. Never having fly fished myself, I ended this novel with a great desire to experience the technique and beauty Norman Maclean presents. From the cast to the catch, the author's combines fishing with the rush of the river and front of a storm. Maclean's style and tone exemplify a peaceful song played over and over. If you are in search a dramatic tale packed between two brothers, I would look elsewhere. The plot is simple and often relatable to personal situations. Norman Maclean probes his readers to look into their own well-being, leaving the feeling of serenity and gratitude. Maybe the most important thing Norman Maclean does is write this book. He tells the story of his brother with whom he shares love, Montana, and fly fishing. I can almost guarantee you will feel Norman's emotions. This book is a reward to read.
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