Book description
"Among the most indelible American novelists of the last hundred years. . . . [Harrison] remains at the height of his powers." Dwight Garner, The New York Times
"Trenchant and visionary." Ron Carlson, The New York Times Book Review
A New York Times best-seller, enthusiastically received by critics and embraced…
Why read it?
1 author picked The River Swimmer as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I wanted to include a work of fiction on this list and if it was to be fiction about the Great Lakes region it had to be Jim Harrison. If it could only be one Harrison book, then The River Swimmer is the book that best captures the freshwater magic of the Lakes.
This is not like the other works on my list—the title story follows the adventures of a northern Michigan teen named Thad who is an adept swimmer and uses his skill as a river traveler to journey all the way to Chicago. Sprinkled with elements of fantasy,…
From John's list on The best books to navigate the history and majesty of the Great Lakes.
If you love The River Swimmer...
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Lea's second novel chronicles the unlikely friendship of Ivy-educated George Mayes and elderly Maine woodsman Evan Butcher.
It memorializes the all but vanished oral culture from which Evan derives; it also plumbs the depths of addiction and the glories and challenges of recovery. Evocations of the natural world are lyrical…
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