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Description
The first biography of one of Montana's most celebrated writers
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories turned Norman Maclean into a late-in-life literary phenomenon and then a household name after the success of the Hollywood film based on the title story. Yet fewer know of Maclean's lifelong struggles to reconcile very different parts of himself: the revered teacher and writer in the intellectual hub of Chicago and the Montana man compelled by the wildness and traumas of his home state and family, including the tragic Mann Gulch fire and the murder of his brother.
Rebecca McCarthy's intimate portrait of Maclean draws on her long friendship with the author from the time she became a student at the University of Chicago through the rest of his life. Irrepressible as a teacher, Maclean shared guidance, advice, campus and city rambles, and loyal friendship with generations of students. Behind the scenes, he honed an art as meditative and patient as his approach to fly fishing. McCarthy's experiences intertwine with stories from friends, family, colleagues, and others to detail an incredibly rich life that seemed destined to remain divided--until the creation of his classic American story.
A vivid evocation of an iconic figure, Norman Maclean reveals the forces and events that shaped the author-educator and formed the bedrock of his beloved stories.
Product Details
| Publisher | University of Washington Press |
| Publish Date | May 14, 2024 |
| Pages | 272 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780295752488 |
| Dimensions | 8.5 X 5.9 X 1.2 inches | 1.2 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"Provides a new perspective on Maclean's most famous work [A River Runs Through It] . . . Reading this biography enlarged my understanding of Maclean."
--Michael Agger "Ralph Lauren Magazine""In this stylish and fittingly fluent blend of scholarship and reminiscence, McCarthy gives us multiple glimpses of her idiosyncratic subject."
-- "The Spectator""McCarthy returns to Maclean's struggles as an aspiring author throughout her book, but the strength of the portrait is spent with the man."
-- "Mountain Journal""[T]he first full-length biography of Maclean. . . is long overdue, and not only because his fiction cleaves so closely to his life that the two are best considered side by side."
-- "New Yorker""Drawing from her personal friendship with Norman, conversations with the Maclean family, and subsequent research over the last four decades, McCarthy looks beyond the common perceptions of Norman Maclean the author. . . In doing so, she broadens her reader's understanding of what contributed to Maclean's professional persona across his multi-decade teaching and writing career."
-- "Trout Unlimited""[P]art author bio, part literary memoir, told by Rebecca McCarthy, a former student of Maclean who kept a lifelong friendship with the Hyde Park legend."
-- "Chicago Tribune""McCarthy's portrait expertly blends personal recollections with a journalistic examination of the correspondence and other writings that Maclean produced throughout his life and career. Readers will find a wealth of insight into the creative output and encompassing world of this acclaimed author."
-- "Big Sky Journal""Norman Maclean is a wily old devil, and Rebecca McCarthy's Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers makes that slipperiness and devilishness more accessible. . . [Her] diligent discovery of what exactly in "A River Runs Through It" is fiction . . . offers what is probably most interesting to readers of a book about the famous author of the most famous fly-fishing story around."
-- "Missoulian""Just as [Norman Maclean's] stories were drawn from reality, but written with what he called "literary latitude," so [Rebecca McCarthy's] book is a braiding, combining her memories of a man who was a friend and mentor with what she learnt from his colleagues, former students and family. It's affectionate, but clear-eyed."
-- "Times Literary Supplement""What makes Norman Maclean such a pleasure to read is that it's written by an acolyte of sorts, Atlanta author Rebecca McCarthy, who brings a tremendous amount of intimacy and insight to the telling. . . A compassionate account of a compelling individual."
-- "Atlanta Journal-Constitution""McCarthy's personal portrait is noteworthy and unique among works about Maclean."
-- "Booklist""A profoundly intimate glimpse into the life of an enigmatic man who became most notable for his exquisitely rendered novella, A River Runs Through It. . . The witness McCarthy presents is supplemented by meticulous research, letters, and interviews that capture a well-rounded portrait of Maclean."
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