The characters and incidents in Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It are largely actual, but nevertheless the book is labeled fiction and not memoir. It is a lyrical, moving tribute to Maclean's younger brother, Paul, an expert fly fisherman whose self-destructive life ended young and tragically in a dark alley.
The Macleans grew up in Montana, the sons of a Presbyterian minister who drew "no clear line between religion and fly fishing." Maclean uses fly fishing is a metaphor for the pursuit of meaning, the river a metaphor for the unpredictable nature of existence.
Paul is gifted at fly fishing but reckless about life, often in trouble for fighting, gambling, and womanizing. Norman and their father want to help him but are unsure how. A major theme is that those we love the most may be the most difficult to know and help. When Norman gets a call that his brother's battered corpse has been found, it doesn't come as a surprise.
Maclean's writing is beautiful, but readers who aren't into fly fishing may think there is too much discussion of types of flies and rods and fishing techniques.
Robert Redford turned the book into a movie in 1992.
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