Finished: A River Runs Through It (Maclean) "Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." Wow, a beautifully written book that immediately takes you into the world of two brothers, brought up by their preacher father in Montana, learning the intricacies of fly fishing, along with life. I was drawn in from the first line, "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." Then, I was kept there by the beautiful prose and the relationship between the two brothers as they grew into young men. There wasn't any animosity between them, which I vaguely (but possibly wrongly?) remember from the movie years ago, but there was that closeness that only siblings can have, even when they're world's apart different. The younger brother, Paul, has become the far better fisherman than his brother, the author of the story, Norman. Paul has also become the wilder of the two, holding a steady job, but imbibing far too much, and apparently in debt to some bad men who run a major poker game. This doesn't ever really become part of the story, though. Norman knows that Paul may be in trouble, and tries to offer his help, but Paul won't take anything from him. Instead, Paul, now in his early thirties, says, let's grab dad and go fishing, just the three of us. It ends up being the last fishing trip they ever take together and has some beautiful, poignant moments. They don't know it will be their last trip, but the memory of everything they did that day, every fish they caught, and every movement of the river will be forever etched in the memories of the father and brother left behind. Paul is found murdered in a an alley not too many weeks after. The story is short, but very powerful, and apparently a true one from the author...and it has really moved me.