Just Before Dark [Paperback]

Jim Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992

Selected from over 25 years of writing and from sources as diverse as Esquire, Antaeus, Sports Illustrated, and Psychoanalytic Review, this collection chronicles the explorations, passions, and devoted concerns of an original American writer whose works have been translated and published in nine languages.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These magazine pieces, written over four decades, reveal as much about Harrison himself as they do about the topics that define the book's three parts: "Food," "Travel and Sport" and "Literary Matters." Illustrated.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Poet, novelist, gourmet, and self-described "amateur naturalist," Harrison's wide interests make eclecticism one of the hallmarks of his writing. This volume, drawn from over 25 years of work, collects pieces that first appeared in forums as diverse as Sports Illustrated , Antaeus , and The Psychoanalytic Review , as well as several unpublished essays. While not all the material has held up equally well, few of the pieces are without moments of insight or pleasure, and some, such as "Passacaglia on Getting Lost," are near-classics. The unifying thread is Harrison's passion for the genuine, for a life lived exuberantly and deeply. Whether describing the pleasures of a good poem, a good meal, a fishing trip, or a walk in the Michigan woods, Harrison is really celebrating the things he loves. For larger collections and where interest warrants.
- Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395613299
• ISBN-13: 978-0395613290
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,590,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Harrison Treasure, June 18, 2000

By 

Joshua Johnson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Before Dark (Paperback)

Harrison's Just Before Dark sets itself apart from other works of non-fiction and leaves the reader astonished. Out on the landscape of Hemingway's A Movable Feast, Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie, and Faulkner's Go Down Moses; Harrison has brought forth his expedient andric style in this collection of indelible truths. Divided into Food, Travel & Sport, and Literary Matters the book is saturated with wisdom, humor, and insight into every subject from, bird hunting with a French Count, to bar pool, to Ernest Hemingway, to Zen writings. Whether it's sharing with the reader travel tips through America's dirt roads or showing us the complex simplicity in a walk at dusk, Harrison gives the reader an escape that is based in reality yet woven in the fantastic. In my personal copy stars or markings may appear next to titles or lines. By doing this I realize that I am inevitably suggesting that one story transcends another and therefore is somehow healthier than the rest but no assumption could be more crooked. My tattered, marked, and exhausted copy sits as reminder that some books are truly priceless.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven, but 100% Harrison, February 18, 2010

By 

Timothy J. Bazzett "ReedCityBoy" (Reed City, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Before Dark (Paperback)

This is vintage Harrison, but some of it in the sense of simply "old," rather than good. Oh, they're not really bad, because they all contain that strange mix of machismo, arrogance, and self-deprecating humor we've learned to expect from Harrison. But these essays, dating from the 70s and 80s are, many of them, from his still-struggling-to-make-it days, when he was forced out of necessity to write magazine pieces for quick cash. There are, however, some gems scattered here and there amongst the gravel. Harrison fans will very likely differ on which pieces here are the best ones, depending on where they are "coming from," both in a literary sense and a geographic one. Since I come from Reed City, where Jim spent his own formative years, I tend to enjoy most those essays in which he remembers those rural Michigan times - "The Violators," "Night Walking," "The Last Good Country," and, my personal favorite, "A Memoir of Horse Pulling," in which Harrison remembers watching those mighty heavyweight mammals - Belgians and Percherons - who were once the main attraction at county fairs all around Michigan and the Midwest, back when his dad was agricultural agent based here in Reed City. There is also the crazed, Jabberwocky fun he has in "A Chat with a Novelist," in which he "interviews" his old Michigan State college chum, Tom McGuane. And there are some concise and interesting reviews of books too, by John D. MacDonald, Peter Matthiesen, Farley Mowat, and even Ernest Hemingway.

Just Before Dark is, admittedly, an uneven sort of collection, but if you take it in small doses (I suggest you keep it in the "powder room") it can be quite palatable. I'm happy I read it, if only for the already mentioned favorites. In the intervening years since these pieces were written, Jim Harrison has become much more than just a Michigan writer. He is on his way to becoming a permanent fixture in American literature. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stay Home and let Harrison bring the world to you, December 11, 2009

By 

A. Nieradka "what matters most is how well yo... (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Before Dark (Paperback)

I own almost every Jim Harrison story collection and I haven't found a dud tale in any of them. Whether his subject is Native American malaise or the bored-with-everything sex lives of Ivy League wives and ex-wives...he tackles them with heart, humor, and an almost invisible touch of the Author's Voice. To call him a Naturalist isn't quite enough. Think Thoreau, only re-incarnated in Bukowski's body.
So we all know his fiction is amazing...but this non-fiction collection is a revelation! Here and there I've come across his magazine pieces and they alone merit the cover price of whatever mag they're in. But to have all these in one sleek, trade-paperback edition is priceless.
Life is hard and full of boredom and too much work. And none of us have time to experience all that we wish we could...Enter: Just Before Dark by Jim Harrison. Everything becomes an adventure...eating, reading, traveling, culture, art, America, nature...it's all there and rendered with that same invisible touch.
And each piece is short enough to be digested in one sitting. Do yourself a big favor and pick this one up. Go about your busy day and grab just fifteen minutes or so and let Harrison bring the great big world to you.