30 pages • 1 hour read
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A River Runs through It is a semi-autobiographical novella by the American author Norman Maclean. The novella was published in 1976, and A River Runs through It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1977.
The novella contains the coming-of-age story of the author and his brother, Paul. Sons of a Scottish Presbyterian minister and his wife, the two boys grew up in a small town in western Montana at the turn of the last century. Born in 1902, Maclean wrote this story as part memoir, part elegy for his brother and for the Montana way of life, both of which are now lost.
Plot Summary
Set primarily in the summer of 1937, this semi-autobiographical work describes the summer before Paul’s death. The plot moves back and forth in time, as Norman, the narrator and protagonist, recounts family history and events that underpin what is happening in the present day. Maclean tells his tale through family stories, fishing techniques, and the philosophy surrounding fly fishing. The natural world forms an essential motif in the novella, symbolizing spiritual power and healing fellowship.
Written when Maclean was in his seventies, the novella attempts to immortalize a time, place, and people, now lost to the author.
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