As a practitioner of faith and fly fishing, I found the opening sentence of A River Runs Through It the most compelling. Norman Maclean writes, “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” The book is more about family and fly fishing than religion. It also becomes clear that rules for life in Montana are like some religious edicts; they remain flexible. Thus, the prohibition on drinking while fly fishing does not include beer drinking. The Scottish Presbyterian Maclean clan tolerates people from other faith traditions but has no respect for bait fishermen and “West Coasters.”
This book is character-driven with enough pathos to make it a compelling read. I enjoyed the many characters, but Old Rawhide has to be the most colorful. The description of Montana geology reminded me of Bretz’s Flood and Maclean’s description of the Megaflood that carved the landscape of Western Montana, Idaho, and Washington.