I have been re-reading a book of great beauty given to me as a gift by my wife: A River Runs Through It, by Norman Fitzroy Maclean. A film based on it was made some years ago but I never saw it. The book was published in 1976. It was the author’s first book and written when he was past 70. It is a novella about family relationships and particularly the loving but tense relationship between two brothers. But it is also a classic account of fly-fishing in rugged country in Montana, an account given in marvelous detail and informed by a life-long love of the sport. It is beautifully, sparely written. The book ends with the lovely line which has become famous: “I am haunted by waters.” Anyone who loves the wild spaces of Guyana and fishing in its rivers should read this book.
