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A review by richardwells
The River Swimmer: Novellas by Jim Harrison
5.0
Some authors write like angels, some like wizards, Philip Roth and Jim Harrison (who are so similar, but seem to be at opposite ends of a class divide,) write like the devil himself. Then there's Cormac, THE Prince of Darkness, but that's a digression I won't get into.
In The River Swimmer, Mr. Harrison gives us two coming of age stories, from two points on the spectrum of age. In the first, "The Land of Unlikeness," we spend time with a 60 year old art critic/professor, not-failed but resigned artist, and bon vivant, as he returns home to spend some time caring for his partially blind mother. It's a story of rediscoveries that lead to discoveries and hope. A resurrection of sorts. It's beautifully handled. I don't know how Jim Harrison does it, but all his stories are a meander that go places they have no place going, and the places become exactly where we should be - and then he gets back to the main road. It's like a blessing to spend time in his creations. Mr. Harrison is a randy guy, and the story is full of the humorously risque. Like I said - he's a devil.
In the second, and possibly less successful, but hugely moving (as befits the current) The River Swimmer we're thrown into the life of a 17 year old boy whose medium is water, and whose talent is swimming. He's intent on swimming the rivers of the world, while supporting himself as a hydrologist. As can be expected, he's an odd duck (no pun intended). His girlfriend's abusive father incites the incidents that get him into the water, swimming from Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) to Chicago where his life turns in the arms and family of his new friend, Emily. Randy and risque from the perspective of a 17 year old - and as I recall, heat was an organizing principle in those years. Mr. Harrison takes a leap into magical realism, and though it's a bit off, it works ultimately, and the end of the novella literally took my breath away.
Five stars should go to Shakespeare, and etc., but I find Jim Harrison to be so lovable he gets the five cause there's no other way to express my affection, respect, and admiration for his work.
In The River Swimmer, Mr. Harrison gives us two coming of age stories, from two points on the spectrum of age. In the first, "The Land of Unlikeness," we spend time with a 60 year old art critic/professor, not-failed but resigned artist, and bon vivant, as he returns home to spend some time caring for his partially blind mother. It's a story of rediscoveries that lead to discoveries and hope. A resurrection of sorts. It's beautifully handled. I don't know how Jim Harrison does it, but all his stories are a meander that go places they have no place going, and the places become exactly where we should be - and then he gets back to the main road. It's like a blessing to spend time in his creations. Mr. Harrison is a randy guy, and the story is full of the humorously risque. Like I said - he's a devil.
In the second, and possibly less successful, but hugely moving (as befits the current) The River Swimmer we're thrown into the life of a 17 year old boy whose medium is water, and whose talent is swimming. He's intent on swimming the rivers of the world, while supporting himself as a hydrologist. As can be expected, he's an odd duck (no pun intended). His girlfriend's abusive father incites the incidents that get him into the water, swimming from Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) to Chicago where his life turns in the arms and family of his new friend, Emily. Randy and risque from the perspective of a 17 year old - and as I recall, heat was an organizing principle in those years. Mr. Harrison takes a leap into magical realism, and though it's a bit off, it works ultimately, and the end of the novella literally took my breath away.
Five stars should go to Shakespeare, and etc., but I find Jim Harrison to be so lovable he gets the five cause there's no other way to express my affection, respect, and admiration for his work.