marksanders's review against another edition
5.0
Top notch analysis of the malaise of mid-life and the transcendence that an unsettling experience can produce.
nancyinoregon's review against another edition
5.0
I'm probably one of the few people who never read the book OR saw the movie, have just read dozens of references to it and formed an impression of what it was about. But the story was NOT what I expected, and it had a psychological bent. Well written. This one feels like it will haunt me for a while, as I could actually imagine being in a situation that gets out of control like this one did. Will Patton as usual nailed the narration.
wincher2031's review against another edition
3.0
Dickey's poetic style lends a lucidity to the lush descriptions of nature and comradery between the four protagonists. The creeping allusions to the works of Georges Bataille (especially Story of the Eye) help to evoke the darker side of the story, which deftly bleeds into the waters of the river journey. It's impressive to say the least, yet by the end the overall plot feels unfortunately lacking.
While the style of the prose elevates it a bit from the bog-standard thriller fare, it often goes overboard. Capsizing itself with a rushed ending devoid of the novel's earlier poignancy.
While the style of the prose elevates it a bit from the bog-standard thriller fare, it often goes overboard. Capsizing itself with a rushed ending devoid of the novel's earlier poignancy.
dalet3's review against another edition
4.0
A surprising combination of all of the terror and action I was expecting from having seen the film but with the quite unexpected quiet, philosophical, poetic voice of the narrator. A little bit like No Country For Old Men in that regard perhaps.
pbanditp's review against another edition
5.0
This was so much more than I expected. I figured it was going to be a action/suspense type book but it turned into an incredible character study. Sure there is suspense and action but that is not the main theme.
Four friends go on a canoe trip to an uncharted river through a gorge and rapids. Inexperience, testosterone, and the chance to experience the wild. This weekend trip turns into an experience that will last a lifetime, well, at least the scars will.
I made some parallels to Stephen King’s The Long Walk with this book mainly due to the main characters thought process and with no option to turn around once begun.
Four friends go on a canoe trip to an uncharted river through a gorge and rapids. Inexperience, testosterone, and the chance to experience the wild. This weekend trip turns into an experience that will last a lifetime, well, at least the scars will.
I made some parallels to Stephen King’s The Long Walk with this book mainly due to the main characters thought process and with no option to turn around once begun.
drewjameson's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. It's a tense, nerve-wracking tale of survival because the men are not unstoppable killing machines; they're frightened yuppies who know they're in way over their heads, and who know that what they're about to do to survive is morally wrong. Dickey's voice is shockingly elegant, his characters round and human, his plotting tight. He implies broader social themes about nature vs. society, but they never ever get in the way of his story. This is not a macho book; it's a masculine one.
bmgoodyear's review against another edition
3.0
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Deliverance
de·liv·er·ance [dih-liv-er-uhns]
noun
: the state of being saved from something dangerous or unpleasant
Deliverance is the deceptively simplistic story of four ordinary men from Atlanta that decide to go on a canoe trip in the Georgia wilderness. The river they plan to traverse is destined to disappear soon because of a new dam that will flood the area. Soon into their trip, they encounter two men who live in the nearby mountains and their weekend wilderness adventure quickly morphs into a struggle for their very survival.
‘The river was blank and mindless with beauty. It was the most glorious thing I have ever seen. But it was not seeing, really. For once it was not just seeing. It was beholding. I beheld the river in its icy pit of brightness, in its far-below sound and indifference, in its large coil and tiny points and flashes of the moon, in its long sinuous form, in its uncomprehending consequence.’
Unlike most who have either read this book or experienced the movie, I went into this story completely blind, oblivious of the horrors to come. Being a fan of southern gothic fiction though, it was essential I read the original classic that helped to generate the genre. Published in 1970, Deliverance was Dickey’s first novel and the one he went on to be most known for. In 1965, he won the National Book Award in Poetry and those poetic abilities showed through the darkness of Deliverance. The surprisingly beautiful poetic quality added a much-needed delicacy to this tale so as to make it a much more agreeable read.
“Here we go, out of the sleep of the mild people, into the wild rippling water.”
The river itself, the Cahulawassee River, has much more symbolism than one would initially recognize. The Cahulawassee River is being forced into modern times and will cease to exist in a matter of weeks. These four men are forced into changes as well due to the harsh situations they are involuntary put through. It changes their mindset and state of being and forces them to make choices they never expected to have to make. These changes necessitated the realization that while they felt like ordinary men in comparison to the abominations that they faced, they were more than able to transform similarly all in the name of survival.
Deliverance is a dark and dismal read but is permeated with skillfully beautiful writing that makes it a completely necessary read for any fans of the genre.
Deliverance
de·liv·er·ance [dih-liv-er-uhns]
noun
: the state of being saved from something dangerous or unpleasant
Deliverance is the deceptively simplistic story of four ordinary men from Atlanta that decide to go on a canoe trip in the Georgia wilderness. The river they plan to traverse is destined to disappear soon because of a new dam that will flood the area. Soon into their trip, they encounter two men who live in the nearby mountains and their weekend wilderness adventure quickly morphs into a struggle for their very survival.
‘The river was blank and mindless with beauty. It was the most glorious thing I have ever seen. But it was not seeing, really. For once it was not just seeing. It was beholding. I beheld the river in its icy pit of brightness, in its far-below sound and indifference, in its large coil and tiny points and flashes of the moon, in its long sinuous form, in its uncomprehending consequence.’
Unlike most who have either read this book or experienced the movie, I went into this story completely blind, oblivious of the horrors to come. Being a fan of southern gothic fiction though, it was essential I read the original classic that helped to generate the genre. Published in 1970, Deliverance was Dickey’s first novel and the one he went on to be most known for. In 1965, he won the National Book Award in Poetry and those poetic abilities showed through the darkness of Deliverance. The surprisingly beautiful poetic quality added a much-needed delicacy to this tale so as to make it a much more agreeable read.
“Here we go, out of the sleep of the mild people, into the wild rippling water.”
The river itself, the Cahulawassee River, has much more symbolism than one would initially recognize. The Cahulawassee River is being forced into modern times and will cease to exist in a matter of weeks. These four men are forced into changes as well due to the harsh situations they are involuntary put through. It changes their mindset and state of being and forces them to make choices they never expected to have to make. These changes necessitated the realization that while they felt like ordinary men in comparison to the abominations that they faced, they were more than able to transform similarly all in the name of survival.
Deliverance is a dark and dismal read but is permeated with skillfully beautiful writing that makes it a completely necessary read for any fans of the genre.
brandonjones05's review against another edition
5.0
I'd seen the movie a few times and loved it, figured I'd check out the book. Dickey was apparently quite a character and I have heard some funny stories about him being on the set of the movie. He is everything I love in an author. Poetic language (always helps when you start as a poet), engrossing plot, characters that are fleshed out well, a story that sticks with you when you finish, and in reality he is bigger than life. Reminds me of Twain in ways. This book sucked me in quickly and never let go. 5 stars.