I was digging through some old books today and came on this one. I don’t remember much about it but I do know that it requires some kind of altered mental state to read it. Do they still make Ripple?
I own that book by Richard Brautigan. You are right but I’m thinking shake-shake. Do they still make Santa Fe white port and unsweetened lemon juice?
Cannot begin to count the number of times I have thought about the great hump-backed trout and fishing in telephone booths (remember those?).
Actually Sombrero Fallout, Willard and His Bowling Trophies, The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, and several other RB books are the ones that require the altered state.
And thinknig about it more the scene of RB as a kid shooting at ducks far too high still resonates with my memories of youth…
I sort of remember Loading Mercury With a Pitchfork. Sort of.
Brautigan was a great author. He wrote a number of other books including a Gothic Western entitled The Hawkline Monster. His poem 32 Pound Fountain Pen is visually stunning! He was, apparently, a dedicated trout angler. Read it again without the pharmaceutical aides. You may enjoy it. Much of his work was considered very avantgarde in the 1960s. Most would be considered sophomoric or mildly humorous now. He passed away in September, 1984.
The Return of the Rivers - 1958
The Galilee Hitch-Hiker -1958
Lay the Marble Tea - 1959
The Octopus Frontier - 1960
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace -1963
A Confederate General from Big Sur - 1964
Trout Fishing in America - 1967
In Watermelon Sense - 1968
Please Plant this Book - 1968
The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster - 1969
Rommel Drives on Deep in to Egypt - 1970
The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 - 1971
Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork - 1971
Revenge of the Lawn - 1970
The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western - 1974
Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery -1975
Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel -1977
Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 - 1977
The Tokyo-Montana Express - 1980
So the Wind Won?t Blow It All Away - 1982
An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey - 1982/1994
I read it last night after the ball game with just a single can of beer. It has held up to time much better than some of the other older books I have re-read lately.
A Confederate General from Big Sur was one of my favorites… the shouting “Campbell’s Soup” at frogs to quiet them was especially funny.
You mention his passing in '84 but the sadest part was the fact it was a suicide and undiscovered for a significant time… He had gone pretty much over the edge into being completely alone.
Richard walked to a different drummer. He was our next-door neighbor the first winter we spent here in Montana. He died in San Francisco. He had one daughter the same age as my youngest and they were in 4-H together. I have occasionally wondered what became of her. He was friends with the local group of writers/artists, Tom McGuane, Gates Jorstesburg, Russell Chatham…at the time Paradise Valley had quite an artist ‘colony’ - (and it still does.)
Trout Fishing in America - The book was o.k., but the Grammy nominated band is awesome! I’ve been attending their concerts for over 30 years and have a bunch of their cd’s. Check 'em out! They even made it to Wikipedia! HA!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trout_Fishing_in_America_(band)