Catch and Release: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life
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Book Overview
In Catch and Release , philosopher Mark Kingwell has written a book about fishing, or more accurately, about thinking about fishing that is unlike any book ever penned about this most unique and challenging of sports. This vibrant blend of memoir, travelogue, reflection, and discussion of the finer points of the art is framed around an annual fishing trip that he and his father and two brothers take each year to British Columbia. Between the drinking, cigars, and the piloting of a small dingy, Kingwell, previously of the belief that fishing is stupid,? finds that the sport does allow for one important thing?quite a bit of time to just think, allowing thoughts to wander and new vistas to open up. This realization?a kind of felicitous meandering and suspension in the delights of the moment?leads Kingwell through everything from falconry, male bonding, and procrastination to golf, cooking, and the relationship between reflection and action?not to mention the relative benefits of wet versus dry flies, the cast, and the ethics of fishing. Ultimately, and as this book engagingly shows, fishing is worth thinking about because of the thinking that fishing allows. Especially when the trout aren?t biting.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0670033340
ISBN13:9780670033348
Release Date:May 2004
Publisher:Viking Adult
Length:240 Pages
Weight:0.75 lbs.
Dimensions:7.9" x 1.0" x 5.3"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
This book isn't about fishing
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
You don't have to read very far before Kingwell tells you his book isn't about fishing. In fact, it's as much about fishing as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about motorcycle maintenance. It's more about what Kingwell takes to the water, other than gear, when he goes fishing. A large part of what he takes is family. Maybe if he were a more serious fisherman, his mind wouldn't wander as much. But he isn't, and he doesn't pretend to be. In any case, the wandering offers a lot of fun.
Excellent
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This charmingly perceptive and well-written book is a joy to read. Makes me wonder what Kingwell could have done had he been an ardent fly fisherman with years of experience. The beauty of Kingwell's language is what sets this book apart, a rare treat, indeed, especially in a genre often marred by sentimentality and journalistic prose. Very well done.
The New Male Status Symbol
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
"Catch and Release" is supposedly a book about trout fishing. That it is; however, much more is contained in this book by Mark Kingwell. I bought the book for a friend, thinking he would like all the fishing information. But as I leafed through the book, I found much more information on various subjects....cooking osso bucco, the measure of a martini glass, golf, writing and wrtier's block, philosophy, and Canadian masculinity. Canadian masculinity by the way, seems to be a cut above that of the US fisherman.It was rather neatly summarized with Kingwell's comment re: Cary Grant."If Cary Grant isn't man enough for you, there's something wrong with your picture of manhood." This was in reply to some men or women who think of Grant as effeminate. And as did also the previous reviewer think of Kingwell. So the Canadian fisherman is more like Cary Grant than Ernest Hemingway.....and I'll drink to that!!! \
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