Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America, the Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, and in Watermelon Sugar Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Brautigan Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0385288603 | Format: EPUB
Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America, the Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, and in Watermelon Sugar Description
About the Author
Richard Brautigan (1935–1984) was a god of the counterculture and the author of ten novels, nine volumes of poetry, and a collection of short stories.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
- Hardcover: 358 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence (September 1969)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385288603
- ISBN-13: 978-0385288606
- Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
I was thrilled to see that "American Humorist" Richard Brautigan had gone digital. THE PILL VERSUS... was my first introduction to the author's work. When I read his novels, I already knew of him as a poet. A genius with words. Brautigan creates textures and evokes emotions and he does it as economically as Count Basie played the piano. No wasted notes, no wasted words. I'm happy to have it on my Kindle and will always cherish my old, tattered copy.
I guess I should not have been surprised to see the 1 and 2 star reviews, as I am sure Brautigan is not everyone's cup of tea. It's impossible to respond to the criticism of reviewers like "John" who writes:
Everyone who likes this book praises it with as much ambiguity as the text itself. The reviews all say "Mind blowing," "real," "provocative," "revolutionary," and "Satirical." When asked to elaborate on why the text is all these things, no other relevant aphorisms are given.
No relevant aphorisms? How about this: "An aphorism ought to be entirely isolated from the surrounding world like a little work of art and complete in itself like a hedgehog."
(Friedrich Von Schlegel)
The "problem" is that you either get the poetry in his prose, or you don't. John actually searched these reviews and the internet looking for the answer as to why we appreciate this man's talent...
His advice: If you want to read literature that makes fun of the well known absurdity of the modern (postmodern) world then you will be better off reading Vonnegut.
I love Vonnegut. Brautigan was not Vonnegut. The only thing they had in common was a profound sense of humor that permeated their best work. Whether he was writing TROUT FISHING or SOMBRERO FALLOUT, he approached each word as a poet.
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