Rating: 
Summary: Better than the movie (which was also good)
Review: This is a beautiful, haunting book that will live within you well after you finish the last page. Sure, the movie was lovely but could not compare to the lyrical grace of Norman Maclean's words. I only hate that he started his craft so late in life (or at least was published so late in life) and that we didn't get to enjoy more of his work before his death. I read A LOT of books, and this is one of my alltime favorites, among the top 5 and definitely a classic. I give it as a gift to my reading friends. While it's about fly fishing, it's not about fly fishing; it's about so much more -- life, family relationships, living in the moment. I would never have touched this book except for the recommendation of Pete Dexter, a fine author himself, who profiled Maclean in an Esquire article some years ago. If you can get your hands on it, it will give you some wonderful insight into the person Maclean was.
Rating:
Summary: wonderfully peaceful
Review: In the great speed of the western world one would not think that such things existed. Give this book to any of your pals and see the calm that comes over them. This book is an American Classic. Though very small it abounds with wisdom and soul. At the risk of heresy I state that all American men should read this book. It puts the male sensitivity into perspective and might help some of us find that sensitivity.
Rating:
Summary: 4 count rhythm
Review: This book evokes a pastoral time and sport with wonderful imagery and genuine affection. It took Norman Maclean most of his life to write this and it seems he chose every word with great care. Rocks in the river are"from the basement of time." Readers will be "haunted by waters".
Rating:
Summary: Each word means more than any book I have ever read.
Review: A River Runs Through it is the work of a lifetime and the most powerful comcentration of the english language in one place that I have ever read. MacLean wrote it towards the end of his life, and in reading it you get the feeling that he spent most of his life carefully choosing each word in this short novella. I routinely pick it up and read passages from the middle of it, as one would read the bible. It is to most books as demi-glasse is to beef broth. MacLean packs so many powerful ideas into such a short space; and every reading brings out more. The novella is much more like a poem than a novel. The rythym of the language flows and eddies just like the Big Blackfoot River that is at the heart of the story. Ultimately my advice is to read it, and to read it out loud. Reading it makes me proud of being human.
Rating:
Summary: This is the funniest tragic story I have ever read.
Review: This is one of my all-time, top five favorite books. I love the way Norman Maclean strings his words together, the way he makes writing about fly fishing and family a ballet of words. I laughed and cried and found myself reading more and more slowly as I approached the end of the book. (It's always a sign of a great story for me when I don't want the book to end.) I will reread this book at least once a year.
Rating:
Summary: A must read.
Review: I like the way Norman McLean handles the relationship with his brother. It is so vivid and genuine that I can almost see how things happen in front of my own eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Belongs in everyone's personal library
Review: Most reviewers dwell more on the detailed information MacLean discusses about fly fishing in Montana in his early years. However, I was touched by the nature and the nurture I read in this text. As a minister with two sons having similar temperments to the brothers (Norman and Paul MacLean) I found traces of my life in the story of this one family. There is a deep sense of the holy in this work that merits further exploration. I am blessed and haunted by waters.
Rating:
Summary: The captivating, realistic look at life
Review: Maclean shows us indeed that A River Runs Through It. It just goes to show how important spending time with family is, and what better way than fishing. No matter what troubles come, none can't be washed away down the river to purify the soul. A very powerful message is sent through this story, don't miss it. The best literature I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book I have ever experienced...
Review: A River Runs Through It... "Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters." Norman Maclean captivates the reader using turbulent and smooth recollection, which flows as peaceful as the story setting. Maclean describes a romantic notation, which could compare to Twain's writings, of floating down a river and observing life as it passes by. Maclean keeps the river as the median of the story, and all life revolves around it. Living life and writing about it later gave Maclean more understanding and an advantage to tell his tale. Maclean uses proverbs and lessons of life make the story easy to understand and relate to. Never before have I been so black in the face and ecstatic to get back into fly-fishing. Maclean uses such vivid images in his writings; it makes the reader believe they are at the graceful Blackfoot River of Montana. The story has the same simple solitude and loneliness of life that Hawthorne places on Hester in The Scarlet Letter. Both stories have a loss of innocence in realizing that life still perseveres, no matter what they do. A River Runs through it, is a book for all, not just fly fisherman. Maclean's visions and thoughts will astound any person who enjoys the beauty and glory of life. Growing up, under the reign of Presbyterian minister, made the meaning of life much more difficult to grasp. Maclean's uses ironic literature to create a world outside of everyday life as in The Catcher and the Rye. Maclean would be considered, one of the greatest writers of his time but had he not wrote the story until he reached his biblical allotment of seventy years. Coinciding with watching the movie, this book easily places far more dramatized images, than one filmmaker could ever imagine. I truly believe that Norman Maclean is haunted by waters.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book about Montana, fly fishing, and family.
Review: I am from Montana. I was trout fishing before I went to school. This book captures extremly accurately what life was like in Montana during this time. The fly fishing depicted was very much a reality then as it is now. As I travel this country, I have never found a place more beautiful, nor the fishing better than in Montana. For anyone who loves to trout fly fish and loves the outdoors this book is a must. GOOD FISHING!
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