Deliverance (Paperback)

by James Dickey (Author) "IT UNROLLED SLOWLY, forced to show its colors, curling and snapping back whenever one of us turned loose..." (more)
Key Phrases: green canoe, other canoe, full draw, Deputy Queen, Kitt'n Britches, Lewis Medlock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A novel that will curl your toes...Dickey's canoe rides to the limits of dramatic tension."--The New York Times Book Review

"A brilliant and breathtaking adventure."--The New Yorker

"A novel stunning power."--The Nation

"A tour de force."--The New Republic -- Review

Review
"A novel that will curl your toes...Dickey's canoe rides to the limits of dramatic tension."—New York Times Book Review

"A brilliant and breathtaking adventure."—The New Yorker

"A novel stunning power."—The Nation

"A tour de force."—New Republic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Delta (September 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038531387X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385313872
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,775 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Squealing Pig, October 9, 2004

By	Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

No doubt you've seen, and likely enjoyed, "Deliverance", the movie. And in many ways, that terrific film was a faithful rendering of James Dickey's classic. Yet, as with most successful films based on successful novels, the written form allows much more interest, more depth, more nuance. "Deliverance" the novel is so well written that a single sentence can conjure 1,000 frames of film, a paragraph an entire scene. James Dickey is better known for poetry than fiction, and the lyrical quality of his prose is well evident in this journey of four Atlanta businessman down a raging north Georgia river. Told in the first person by Ed Gentry (Jon Voight in the film), "Deliverance" is a gripping adventure story, but also of one humiliation, murder, tragedy, and ultimately a soul searching study of one man's struggle with courage, morality, and ethics. Dickey offers an unapologetic and unflattering portrait of the hill people of northern Georgia, yet without malice or prejudice - simply the necessary backdrop to serve as the physical manifestation from which there can be "deliverance". Fiercely told and every bit as suspenseful as the excellent film, this great classic should be read by all lovers of American fiction.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For adventure, you can't do much better than this..., September 5, 2000

By	A.J. (Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

James Dickey's "Deliverance" is a study of how a civilized, peaceful, law-abiding man chooses a "kill or be killed" mentality when he is trapped in a life-or-death situation by an unforeseeable danger. The novel opens with four middle-aged white-collar men from Atlanta planning a weekend canoe trip down a river in northeastern Georgia. Lewis Medlock is the experienced outdoorsman and adventurer of the group; he seeks to conquer the wilderness and boasts of the injuries he's received and hardships he's overcome in his fishing and hunting excursions. Ed Gentry, the narrator, a graphic design consultant by profession, is an avid archer but does not quite share Lewis's love of the outdoors. Accompanying them are the sensible Drew, a sales executive for a soft drink company, and Bobby, indecisive, emasculated, and almost completely out of his element.

The river flows through rocky, mountainous terrain, one of those areas in which all the human inhabitants are presumably related to each other. Some of the locals try to discourage the men from tackling the river with canoes, but Lewis is resolute, and they set off down the river as planned. The trip goes smoothly the first day, but the next day, Ed and Bobby run into trouble -- a terrifying encounter with two murderous, animalistic backwoods goons. Lewis and Drew arrive in time to save Ed's and Bobby's lives, but not without a price. When the four men try to escape down the river, Lewis, the strongest and best hunter among them, breaks his leg in a passage through some vicious rapids. Trapped in a gorge and stalked by a vengeful assailant, the men must rely on Ed to save their lives.

"Deliverance" could be a simple tale of revenge and bravado, but what separates it from generic adventure stories is the sheer descriptive power of Dickey's writing. He evokes the refreshing water spray and stunning scenery of the ride down the river, the violence of crashing against rocks through rapids, the feel of a tense bowstring in the hand of a man who is fighting for his life, and the struggle of Ed's desperate white-knuckled climb up the treacherous cliff face to escape the gorge. "Deliverance" shows that great literature and harrowing adventure are not mutually exclusive.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Action Adventure, December 5, 2002

By	suetonius "seutonius" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This remarkable book was James Dickey's first novel. The story is familiar to everyone who has seen the John Boorman-directed movie for which Dickey wrote the screenplay. I reread this recently after reading it over a decade ago and was stuck by how little action there actually is this the quintessential adventure story. Much of the novel is Ed Gentry's inner monologue. He thinks about his life and his dissatisfaction with his job. The canoe trip of this story is taken at the instigation of Lewis Medlock, the character played in the movie by Burt Reynolds. Ed regards it almost as a chore to be endured in order to please his friend. He goes through the motions without any passion until placed in a kill or be killed life threatening situation. You could say that Ed's ordeal is a rite of manhood. Despite being a man in his late thirties, he has not yet proved his own worth to himself. Like a manchild of a primitive tribe, he is sent out into the wilderness and must survive by his owns wits and courage or die trying.