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Richard Brautigan

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Trout Fishing in America Kindle Edition

by Richard Brautigan (Author), Billy Collins (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 460 ratings

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A book “that has very little to do with trout fishing and a lot to do with the lamenting of a passing pastoral America . . . an instant cult classic” (Financial Times).

Richard Brautigan was a literary idol of the 1960s and ’70s who came of age during the heyday of Haight-Ashbury and whose comic genius and iconoclastic vision of American life caught the imaginations of young people everywhere. Called “the last of the Beats,” his early books became required reading for the hip generation, and on its publication Trout Fishing in America became an international bestseller. An indescribable romp, the novel is best summed up in one word: mayonnaise.

This new edition features an introduction by poet Billy Collins, who first encountered Brautigan’s work as a student in California.

From the introduction: “‘Trout Fishing in America’ is a catchphrase that morphs throughout the book into a variety of conceptual and dramatic shapes. At one point it has a physical body that bears such a resemblance to that of Lord Byron that it is brought by ship from Missolonghi to England, in 1824, where it is autopsied. ‘Trout Fishing in America’ is also a slogan that sixth-graders enjoy writing on the backs of first-graders. . . . In one notable exhibition of the title’s variability, ‘Trout Fishing in America’ turns into a gourmet with a taste for walnut catsup and has Maria Callas for a girlfriend. Through such ironic play, Brautigan destabilizes any conventional idea of a book as he begins to create a world where things seem unwilling to stay in their customary places.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

First, poet Billy Collins reads his introduction with his usual dry wit, his easy soft-shoe with language setting the tone appropriately. Then comes the affable Chris Ciulia, who is unflappable as he makes his way through surreal scenes and plentiful similes that wash over the listener like a mountain stream. As with many risk-taking texts, this audiobook is best listened to with a relaxed ear; don't try to 'get the point, ' or you might miss it.

-- "AudioFile"

At times Brautigan can achieve absurdity which is Homeric...This book ought to be required reading in hippie pads.

-- "Los Angeles Free Press"

A book infused with a bucolic surrealism and mournful psychedelia that has very little to do with trout fishing and a lot to do with the lamenting of a passing pastoral America...An instant cult classic.

-- "Financial Times (London)"

Trout Fishing in America drifts like an easy creek. Don't look for plot in the water; don't look for plot in this book. The title becomes reference, character, joke, idea. Brautigan is playing around, associating, free-wheeling...What is the sum of all of this play? Is it nonsense? You get out of Trout Fishing in America what you allow the book to take from you. I return to the book not to seek profluence but to step in the water, feel the cool, and carry it with me.

-- "LitHub"

One of the under songs in the book is a kind of lament for the passing of a nineteenth-century or even earlier pastoral America and its replacement by an industrial America.

-- "Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate"

Delicate, fantastic, and very funny.

-- "Malcolm Bradbury, English author and academic"

About the Author

Richard Brautigan (1935–1984) was a god of the counterculture and the author of eleven novels, ten volumes of poetry, and a collection of short stories.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003KK5DSQ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; 1st edition (January 19, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 19, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1482 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 162 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #174,160 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #73 in Absurdist Fiction (Books)
- #178 in Action & Adventure Literary Fiction
- #208 in Humorous Literary Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.1 460 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

460 global ratings

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Kosmo

(The pic is what my daughter would call "Dad's post-Brautigan "ness".

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024

Verified Purchase

A brilliant work by a happy(?), tortured soul. My favorite books by Richard are The Hawkline Monster and Willard and His Bowling Trophies, only because I'm a narrative-type guy.
But this tome IS what everyone says.
1. Far and away his best story (just not my favorite).
2. A great travelogue of H/A back in the day.
3. A book that anyone 18 and culturally awake in '68 (me, for example) will cherish and pass on.
***And bless and remember Lawrence Ferlinghetti and William Ashbless***
Teach your children.

2 people found this helpful

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Sarah

One of the weirdest books I've ever read

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2023

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This isn't like House of Leaves or any of that "ooh, it's so weird!" stuff. This is like a typical beat novel, but with trout fishing in America. This is the house of trout fishing in America. The trout fishing in America of leaves. This is the book Trout Fishing in America Shorty would have wanted to be written. This trout fishing in America may not make any sense to you until you read Trout Fishing in America.

In case it matters, I'm a big fan of Kerouac, and this was less dreamlike that Dr. Sax, but much odder than On the Road.

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023

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I had read this book as a freshman up at a Vermont College. Many of the people around me were ecstatic over the book, so I caved and gave it a try. After reading it I was amused, but mainly I was wondering why so many Vermont refugees were so taken by the book and its author.
So many many many years later I was browsing and noticed it for sale. Decided to read it and maybe understand what I might have missed. Turns out I really didn’t miss much, and that, once again, I was amused, but not much else

5 people found this helpful

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Mark

Beautiful and absurd

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2020

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I approached this piece as something I felt I had to read. Something that would give me a sense of the experimentation of the era and maybe a little nuance of the culture. What I did not expect was the immense humor and joy that would arrive from attacking conventions. I suppose I've learned if a person is set out to do this, of course they should do it laughing and swinging the most absurd and set of imagery and imagination that this story contains. This book is a good time. I think it is a must read no matter where you stand.
P.s. I forgot to mention mayon(n)aise

9 people found this helpful

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Armin

Best story of brautigan in a very good condition

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2022

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This is one of the best stories of Richard brautigan and this book has great condition.
You can't believe it's for 12 years ago, clean and well shape like a new book. I'm happy with it.

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Maury D. Lieberman

Iconic

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2022

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Bought this to replace a lost copy. One of my favorite books of all time

5 people found this helpful

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Funfzig

The metaphors are worth it alone!

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2019

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This book is what we might call "experimental" today -- and exp. essay collection. But really it's all about Brautigan's stunning metaphors. Examples in the photos.

7 people found this helpful

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Richardson Highway Runaway

Not My Cup of Tea

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2015

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This person is supposed to be a great writer from the age of the Beats and such. I imagine he is. He's just not my cup of tea.

2 people found this helpful

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Cliff Ingram

What was he on?

Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2021

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Took me a month to read in between throwing it across the room. I finished it because I paid for it.
The Abortion was brilliant.

bjt

Open the windows of your mind and let ideas in on a gentle breezes of creativity

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent, this describes both Richard Brautigan's book and the service from Amazon.
Service from Amazon: fast, extreme value for money and totally reliable, Amazon have always delivered greater than my expectations. I'm looking forward to purchasing Richard Brautigan's daughter's book on Richard's chosen departure

Richard Brautigan's book "Trout Fishing in America" intriguing, thought provoking,inspiring and challenging in equal measure. Opened my eyes to more creative literary characterisation. The book also paints seemingly simple but beautiful word pictures of landscapes and situations.
Highly recommended for those who are ready

3 people found this helpful

thomas coffey

ok in the seventies, but...

Reviewed in France on September 18, 2013

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Alas, this book, after making waves 40 years ago, really hasn't lived well. Its stuck in trite and cute observations. A shame, because he possessed an original mind and was an acute observer of all things. His poetry is awful. But yet saying this, I admit that there are a few wonderful paragraphs in this book, some creative moments when he rises to a place higher than himself.

HilaryS

One of the most unusual books I've ever read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2021

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I chose this book for my reading group and it will be very interesting to see what they made of it. It is not really a novel - more a collection of short pieces held together by the words of the title of the book. Sometimes it's a place, sometimes a character. Written in the early 1960s, it is of its time and I think all the more interesting because of that. It is quite short and well worth investing the time to read it, even if only to try something different.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

A great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

I read this book in the early seventies and revisited it with some trepidation. But I needn't have worried, it is really a classic yet unusual account of mood sixties California and is well worth a read.

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