"Coffin sized Christmas trees."

Having just read Dreaming of Babylon, I was full of anticipation and expectation as I was about to begin the first 'novel' of Richard Brautigan, and even more so after hearing the introduction read and written by Billy Colins.
But I was disappointed..

A novella, really, at under three and a half hours and excellently read performed by Chris Andrew Ciulla, Trout Fishing in America is comprised of a random series of vignettes and anecdotes without a discernable theme, and is sardonic, surprising, amusing and sometimes downright silly. But increasingly tedious as the book progresses.
And written and published by a poet in the 1960s. That explains a lot.

Available for free download with the Audible Plus programme.

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Something different

I enjoyed this one and found it entertaining and also an interesting experience.
There is something about it that makes me want to carry on listening that is hard to describe. However, the length of the book is short, which works well as it may become boring if longer. It is more like an experience than a story, and the experience goes on long enough.

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Playful Americana

Old Skool stuff that doesn’t stultify
Brautigan’s writing has genuine charm
Multiple layers of meaning that is even a little autobiographical
+ he personifies the title and it becomes surreal
FUN

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Everyone likes a good fishing story

Somewhat absurd, but very enjoyable! If you enjoy books like Catch 22 and Cats Cradle this might be for you.

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Trout in the Kool-aid

Read this years ago, loved it and went on to check out other books by Brautigan. Some better than others but never less than engaging and always beautifully written. I'm yet to read a better Brautigan than this one though.

Given the highly poetic quality of his prose, I was curious to hear how it transferred from page to air. I find it loses a little because the mental space between word and image he plays within is so visual that the shape of the language on the page is a significant absence in the audiobook version. That said, the music of the narrative comes across nicely enough to compensate pretty well.

What a remarkably original voice. A new consciousness brought to fiction. No wonder he seemed to be for the 60s what Kerouac had been for the previous decade. Of course it goes upstream and down but forget the idea that this is stream-of-consciousness stuff or a quirky variant of literary surrealism. Neither is it clunky cut-up. Influences yes, but this is a brilliantly composed work of fiction. Free and fresh as sun in a jar.

For me, the novel has all the depth and grace of The great Gatsby and is as perfectly a reflection of the America of its decade as Fitzgerald's masterpiece remains for the Twenties. I think its fluid, facetted perspective is more original though.

An advantage of this audiobook edition is that it contains an excellent forward by Billy Collins in praise of a stone classic. He got to read the manuscript in San Francisco back in '65 two years before publication and puts its counter-cultural impact in context.

If you are new to Brautigan my advice would be to start here. Forget the hype and just relax. Keep an open vista, settle back and enjoy the look and feel of the ride. Pretty soon you may well find yourself admiring the exquisite detailing, plush finish and lighter-than-helium heaviosity of this lovely trout.

Then you may want to experience the hard-copy. Accept no substitute for the feel of the look of the words.

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3 people found this helpful

I imagine one of the cardinal rules of surrealism

is complaining about not getting it, but...

I clearly need to continue to broaden my horizons and continue by surrealist adventure because Trout Fishing in America because, while immensely readable and of the kind of length that by itself makes it difficult to put down, I just didn't get the cult classic kick.

How do you describe a book like this? It starts off commenting on the cover, beginning a process of boiling down the whole book into mayonnaise. The funny thing is, the version on Audible (available in the included library) and various other editions don't have the original cover featuring the statue of Ben Franklin... Anyways, this book appears to be a series of vignettes and micro fiction that are linked around the theme of trout fishing and camping, varying degrees of commentary on America, and/ or none of the above, but the phrase, Trout fishing in America, prominently featured, regardless of whether it's a person, place, or chalk graffiti on the back of first year students.

The writing is really interesting in places, both in its form and quality, and in the content and commentary. At its best it is charming, funny, and insightful, at its worst its bumbling, boring, and on the nose/ off the mark, but mostly it chugs along rather affabley, carrying the reader along on with its bizarreness and chapter brevity.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if I am totally ignorant to much of what is going on, displaced as I am in time, geography, and artistic knowledge/ exploration. I also don't feel like I read the same book as the author of the almost sycophantic introduction. I will certainly mark this as something to look back on and possibly return to once I have more experience and context.

There is definitely some unfortunate language around race. Unlike, The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, it is a bit more prevalent, as are some stereotypes and perspectives that are racist. This is not a huge part of the novel and it seems to be more common tropes than anything particularly virulent, but it is not my place to judge. These things do need to be mentioned when they arise though, regardless of when a book was published

Ultimately, I did enjoy it for the most part and found it somewhat inspiring, for both complimentary and less so reasons. I absolutely did want it to be over and fully zoned out by the end. I do wonder how much the brilliant narration of Chris Andrew Ciulla made a difference and helped keep me focused.

My reviews are always my own random subjective thoughts, so you're mileage may vary, and this is never more the case than with the more uncommon and particularly styled movements/ expressions.

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