Customer Reviews

Home Waters: Fishing with an Old Friend: A Memoir

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4 star:		(1)
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This is a wonderful story about the relationship between a man and his dog. I've never gone fly fishing but I found the descriptions quite interesting. I felt like I was with Joe and Nellie on their adventues. Very moving! I highly recommend this book to everyone even if you don't have a dog!

This story is a tribute to life and the comfort and fine comapnionship our animals give us. It's also a refreshing read on flyfishing. Monninger's tone is avidly unpretentious. I absolutely loved his flashback on his first fishing experience as a young boy. Another scene that will remain in memory was when he was lobtser fishing with Nellie off the coast of Maine. His description of light, color and bouyancy is marvelous.

This is not a book about cancer! In fact, I believe the publishers made an error on the coverleaf of the book when they said she was diagnosed as having cancer. Monninger did not want a diagnosis. Nellie is very much alive, and stays that way.

Anyone who pays particular attention to their relationship with animals will be deeply moved by this tremendous story. Home Waters is the best story I've read in years, and to think I almost didn't buy it!

I originally bought this book for my sister, who has golden retrievers, but thought I could never read it because I don't fish and I'll cry for sure. We'll I was wrong! I said I would only read a few pages but once I started I couldn't stop.

The author has such a wonderful relationship with his dog Nellie and his outlook on life is great. I really enjoyed his descriptions about fishing and thought afterwards maybe this might be something to try. I also loved the fact that he let the fish go after he caught them.

One of the most touching parts was when he had Nellie get into his sleeping bag with him so she would stay warm. This man truly loves his dog as much as she loves him.

Very well written and I didn't cry after all. I just wonder where Nellie is today.

Anyone who loves animals in general will love this book and don't worry about the fishing part. It's a great book!!!

P.S. My sister loved it too!! And so will you.

In this memoir, author Joseph Monninger recounts a very special fly-fishing trip with his best friend, eleven-year-old Golden Retriever, Nellie. Nellie has been diagnosed with cancer and Monninger decides to let the illness run its course- but not without one last grand encounter with nature. The pair traverse the country by pickup truck- camping, fishing and otherwise enjoying nature and the company of each other. This is a great book for those who fish because there are lots of references to the techniques and joys of fly-fishing.But the touching glimpses of the bond between man and dog, and of dealing with the curves life throws at us, add memorable depth and make this wonderful story of interest to everyone, fisher-person or not.

Not being a fisherman, I wasn't sure if this book was right for me. But, this book isn't really about fishing. It's about a hearfelt relationship between a man and his best friend - a dog. I loved this book and have recommended it to everyone that I know. So far, no one has been disappointed. It's a must read for any pet owner who has a special bond with his/her pet.

Monninger uses all his senses in his prose. Unassuming details become necessary pieces of a fabulous story about a man's love for his best friend, one that can't verbally reciprocate the bond but shows an appreciation of the author through her patience and obedience. Bravo!

What a great book. The only time I put it down is when I had no other choice. The way Joe describes each place at which he stops makes you feel like you are there too. But, it isn't only his descriptive ability that keeps you involved. His recollections of times past give insights into his feelings of love with fishing, his dogs and humans in his life. I will recommend this book to anyone who will listen.

What a shame that books this worthwhile have to go out of print. In its quiet, unassuming way, I found this to be a classic work of animal-lover's literature. Like at least one other reviewer, I wondered whether I could get through the entire book after reading the first paragraph, which seems to be foretelling a tragedy. But I did, and instead shared something more like a triumph. I will never give up my copy of this book. I hope the used copies available here will be enjoyed by many more people.

The fact that Joseph Monninger manages to avoid sentimentality in this poignant story is a tribute to his writing talent. I own cats, I've never been fishing in my life, and HOME WATERS is the best book I've read this year. A perfect gift for Dad, too--buy two copies!

For those of us who are fans of Joseph Monninger's fiction (he has eight novels out and his short fiction is frequently published in literary and mainstream magazines) this book is something of a departure. A nonfiction memoir that is ostensibly a journal of a cross-country fishing trip with an ailing dog, the book is really about universal themes: life, death, relationships, man's place in nature. As with any of Monninger's prose, the descriptions are beautifully accurate and economical. You really feel like you are there with the author thigh deep in a Montana stream with trout sipping the water all around, or in some run down bar in the sticks surrounded by beer-drinking rednecks. Monninger is skilled at leaving just enough unsaid to keep the story flowing along at a good clip, and there is enough unpredictability to keep the reader's attention throughout. But what is truly wonderful about this book is its low-key optimism. Yes, life is worth living. Yes, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. This is a book to savor. Upon finishing it I wanted to load my fly fishing gear into my old truck, whistle the dog into the back, and start driving. (And I don't even own a truck. Or a dog.) Buy this book, read it, and keep it in a prominent place on your bookshelf. There are passages you'll want to keep coming back to. Don't lend it out--you'll never get it back!