Jim Harrison is one of America's most beloved and critically acclaimed authors, and this collection of novellas is Harrison at his most memorable—a brilliant rendering of two men striving to find their way in the world, written with freshness, abundant wit, and profound humanity.
In "The Land of Unlikeness," sixty-year-old art history academic Clive—a failed artist, divorced and grappling with the vagaries of his declining years—reluctantly returns to his family's Michigan farmhouse to visit his aging mother. The return to familiar territory triggers a jolt of renewal—of ardor for his high school love, of his relationship with his estranged daughter, and of his own lost love of painting. In the title story, "The River Swimmer," Harrison ventures into the magical as an Upper Peninsula farm boy is irresistibly drawn to the water as an escape and sees otherworldly creatures there. Faced with the injustice and pressure of coming of age, he takes to the river and follows its siren song all the way across Lake Michigan.
The River Swimmer is a striking portrait of two richly drawn, profoundly human characters and an exceptional reminder of why Jim Harrison is one of the most cherished and important writers at work today.
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"There's so much more to like about Harrison than to dislike. To like: he writes about Northern Michigan; he always weaves bird watching and long, solitary walks in the deep woods into his works; he is a "foodie" and easily integrates that; his stories take unexpected turns that feel natural and normal; he doesn't end his tales at the climax, if there even is a climax, but often at an average stop in the road and, maybe most astonishingly, he is 75 and still so good. To dislike: he's always seems to come up short with his female characters and at times his phrasing seems forced. All of the above can be found in his two latest coming-of-age novellas, the first about a 60 year old art dealer and the latter about a 17 year old water baby. Harrison, who is perhaps more known in France than at home, is a direct descendant of Hemingway, Faulkner and Melville and we are lucky to still have him around."
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Tom (4 out of 5 stars)