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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
This book was recommended to me by my brother, an avid and skilled fly-fisherman, as I picked up the sport again near my midlife. I found a copy on Better World Books and found it to be a well written, entertaining memoir. As a mediocre fly-fisherman, I found it reassuring to see Howell Raines struggle through many of the same mistakes I have. Written with humor, his personality shines through for much of the book (whether you enjoy the personality is a personal opinion) and he succeeds admirably in describing his personal trials with midlife and how fly-fishing offers some repose from the difficult, frustrating and sad moments that entailed. The book waivered for me at the end when it turned to a rememberance of his angling friend (it is a wonderful rememberance), but it shifted away from the direction at the start of the book. With that said, there were some memorable moments: the description of setting the hook on a smallmouth bass in the Boundry Waters is one of the best "that's what fishing is all about" pieces of writing I have ever read; the description of Harper's Ferry (and the included description by Thomas Jefferson) were spot on; the section about the birth of catch and release angling, from the trout fishing side and the trophy bass fishing side, was fascinating. The information about general fly-fishing knowledge (entymology, habitat, fish habits) was great for an introduction to the sport, plus, even though I practice catch and release, I'm half tempted to hang on to the book if I ever need to properly fillet a pike.