The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 2 April 2008
by David James Duncan
You could do a lot worse than to go fishing with Gus Orviston, the weird protagonist of this coming-of-age novel set against a family backdrop of devoted anglers and the misty landscape of coastal Oregon. Gus is a determined fisherman, more dedicated and more successful than either of his parents. Ma is a bait fisherwoman, dad, H2O (Henning Hale-Orviston), is a fly caster, and their constant bickering about technique and history is the fish stew that Gus grew up in. His little brother Bill Bob, though, has somehow escaped the watery obsession of the rest of the family. Anyway, the first chapters of this novel are an hilarious trip through Gus's childhood. Ma casts a folksy grit on the path, behaving much like a mother lion from, say, Appalachia. H2O has a British upper-crust nature, given to long pointless meditations on the perfection of fly fishing. Now, the reader doesn't need to be a fisherman to enjoy this book, but a fisherman might get a little more out of the many descriptions of fine or foul fishing technique. Duncan doesn't dwell on technical details, though, and the story moves quickly through Gus's meditative youth. He finally leaves home, settling in the coastal flats beside the Tamanawis River. He pursues his Ideal Schedule of fishing the absolute maximum number of hours per day and quickly finds that this is a relatively empty existence. The last half of the book is Gus's journey from fishing youth to conscious adult. He walks the grim path of a dying stream in his home in suburban Portland. He walks the length of the Tamanawis. He runs into the girl of his dreams and he discovers the enriching joys of community and friendship. The book is a fast-moving but sprawling narrative of Gus's journey. The tone turns more somber as the tale progresses, but Duncan has a deep love for his topic, the great rivers of the northwest and their fishy inhabitants. That love is the point of the book. A rewarding journey.
Also by Duncan: [The Brothers K]