Customer Reviews

Catch and Release: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You don't have to read very far before Kingwell tells you his book isn't about fishing. In fact, it's as much about fishing as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about motorcycle maintenance. It's more about what Kingwell takes to the water, other than gear, when he goes fishing. A large part of what he takes is family. Maybe if he were a more serious fisherman, his mind wouldn't wander as much. But he isn't, and he doesn't pretend to be. In any case, the wandering offers a lot of fun.

"Catch and Release" is supposedly a book about trout fishing. That it is; however, much more is contained in this book by Mark Kingwell. I bought the book for a friend, thinking he would like all the fishing information. But as I leafed through the book, I found much more information on various subjects....cooking osso bucco, the measure of a martini glass, golf, writing and wrtier's block, philosophy, and Canadian masculinity. Canadian masculinity by the way, seems to be a cut above that of the US fisherman.It was rather neatly summarized with Kingwell's comment re: Cary Grant."If Cary Grant isn't man enough for you, there's something wrong with your picture of manhood." This was in reply to some men or women who think of Grant as effeminate. And as did also the previous reviewer think of Kingwell. So the Canadian fisherman is more like Cary Grant than Ernest Hemingway.....and I'll drink to that!!!
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This entry in the new genre of "fly fishing and the meaning of life" breaks no new ground; not interested in sibling rivalry and the author's fascination with drinking. In fact, it sheds no light on fishing nor on being a man in the 21st century.

A question mark hovers over the autobiography written before, say, the age of forty. Maybe the same short of suspicion should exist when someone writes, about fly fishing before the ink is dry on first license. But then again, what if it was a really good book? We will have to wait to test that out - this is an awful book.

What's it about? Fishing, life, philosophy? Who cares, my brain hurts hearing his Philosophy 101 approach molded to a new subject. That's Kingwell's gift, he's the talking head they call, in Canada, when a news subject requires some tedious philosophical pandering. Yes, you will find this all immensely edifying - if this is the first book you have ever picked up.

For someone who is looking for some philosophy and fishing, consider Fishing and Thinking by A.A. Luce. A little old fashioned, Fishing and Thinking is nonetheless worth the time.

This charmingly perceptive and well-written book is a joy to read. Makes me wonder what Kingwell could have done had he been an ardent fly fisherman with years of experience. The beauty of Kingwell's language is what sets this book apart, a rare treat, indeed, especially in a genre often marred by sentimentality and journalistic prose. Very well done.

The shortest glimpse at a life worth living and the author, Kingwell is so inspired he decides to write a book about it. Somewhere between the weakish rants about the wearing of baseball caps and the somewhat self-aggrandizing culinary tid-bits, Kingwell displays the too prevalent concept of fly-fishing as a fashionable sport, ie, a sport of fashion.

He comes across as a pansy that wears a cell-phone whilst fishing, is basically what I'm saying I guess. He attempts to display his own renaissance-man activities and proclivities and demonstrates, instead, the type of guy you pray to god is not on the river when you are, and how this type of guy spends his "free-time." I wouldn't be surprised if he owned a beret or two.