In fact, the influence of hemingway is hard to overlookboth in the submarine motions of the short stories and in mcguane s nonfiction accounts of fly fishing collected in the longest silence. Thomas is in a marital relationship with laurie buffet, with whom he shares one daughter named anne mcguane. His sheer writing skill is nothing short of amazing. Tom mcguanes the longest silence posted on september 30, 2009 by greg thomas there are very few writers penning consequential angling essays these days, mostly because there are few outlets in which to sell those words and because there. Thomas mcguane books list of books by author thomas. It leaves out obsession, mortality, the howling fantods, adventure, humor, awe, and a precisely noted reverence for the marvels of the natural world, to name only a few of the qualities that make both books worth reading. Infused with a deep experience of wildlife and the outdoors, dedicated to conservation, reverent and hilarious by turns or at once, the longest silence sets the heart pounding for a glimpse of moving water, and demonstrates what a life dedicated to sport reveals about life.
The language is sparse, but clear, leaning hard up against the modernism of hemingway. The great mood of his work is solitude, the effect of land and space on people. To describe the longest silence, by thomas mcguane, as a collection of essays about fishing is like saying mobydick is a novel about whale hunting. He is the author of ten novels, three works of nonfiction, and four collections of stories previous article. For the longest silence, mcguane has trolled his inventory and assembled 33 essays written over three decades. For the ardent fisherman, progress is toward the kinds of fishing that are never productive in the sense of the blood riots of the huntingandfishing periodicals. Since permit is about the hardest fish to catch on a fly, the expected futility of not catching one hooks mcguanes introspection, and he weighs in with trophy prose. Thomas mcguane is the author of many acclaimed novels and fishing books, including the sporting club, the bushwacked piano, ninetytwo in the shade, panama, nobodys angel, something to be desired, keep the change, nothing but blue skies, the cadence of grass, gallatin canyon, and driving on the rim. The longest silence by thomas mcguane book cover, description, publication history. Read the longest silence a life in fishing by thomas mcguane available from rakuten kobo. From the highly acclaimed author of ninetytwo in the shade and cloudbursts comes a collection of alternately playful and exquisite. Thomas francis mcguane iii, aka thomas mcguane, is a famous american writer and actor who was born on december 11, 1939, in wyandotte, michigan, unites states. But twenty years is twenty years, which means thousands of otherwise literate anglers might conceivably be unaware of this masterpiece of fishing literature, might now be struggling to express streamside notions. Thomas mcguanes obsession with fish has taken him from the river in his backyard to the holiest waters of the flyfishers world.
As for imitating his writing, well, lower your head, shake it and smileit aint happenin, bronot in this life. The longest silence sets the heart pounding for a glimpse of moving water, and demonstrates what a life dedicated to sport reveals about life. In addition to his fiction, he is the author of an outside chance, a collection that included some of these essays. The longest silence thomas mcguanes obsession with fish has taken him from the river in his backyard to the holiest waters of the flyfishers world. He is famous for his novel, ninetytwo in the shade. They introduce characters as varied as a highly literate canadian frontiersman and a devoutly mormon river guide and address. About the longest silence with ten books over a thirtyyear span, thomas mcguane has proven himself over and over again a virtuoso. The longest silence by thomas mcguane, paperback barnes. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to.
A life in fishing, which is being reissued in february, is not a new book. Vintage books emailed me a few months ago seeing if id do a cover for a reprint of the thomas mcguane fly fishing classic. Thomas mcguanes the longest silence features more flyfishing than a river runs through it. Thomas mcguanes the longest silence the american scholar.
The longest silence king county library system overdrive. From the highly acclaimed author of ninetytwo in the shade and cloudbursts comes a collection of alternately playful and exquisite essays borne of a lifetime. In the longest silence, a collection of more than 30 essays, the novelist thomas mcguane takes us with him as he fishes all over the world, seemingly with no constraints of. See all books authored by thomas mcguane, including the longest silence, and ninetytwo in the shade, and more on. Mcguane has treated his angling pieces the best of which are collected in his book, the longest silence. Thomas mcguane bio net worth, family, spouse, children.
Mcguane was inducted into the american academy of arts and letters in 2010. Interminable waitingunproductive hours on steaming waters under a hot suncan lead a man from fantasy to frustration when the fish finally show, then spook. In this latest effort thomas mcguane easily proves that he is one of the preeminent writers on fishing today, and for that matter of our century. A life in fishing was most likely the piece i would enjoy the most. He was born in michigan and now lives with his family in. An outside chance and live water also contain fishing pieces, and they may well be mostly reprinted in tls. To me, no painter has ever quite understood the light, the distances, the aboriginal ghostliness of the american west as well as maynard dixon.
Thomas francis mcguane iii born december 11, 1939 is an american writer. Thomas mcguane is the author of nine novels the sporting club, the bushwhacked piano, panama, nobodys angel, soemthing to be desired, keep the change, nothing but blue skies, the cadence of grass and ninetytwo in the shade three collections of essays and one of short stories. Megan wilson, the art director over at vintage lives near kingston and had recently seen my show more fish at. Thomas mcguane is the author of short fiction, screenplays, essays and several highly acclaimed novels, including the sporting club, the bushwacked piano and ninetytwo in the shade, which was nominated for the national book award. The longest silence shows what a life dedicated to sport reveals about life. The longest silence sets the heart pounding for a glimpse of moving water, and demonstrates what a life dedicated to sport reveals about lifemore. The longest silence by thomas mcguane penguin random. Yet when an author mines his obsessions as mcguane does in this ode to fishing there is always something interesting to learn.
What is most emphatic in angling is made so by the long silences the unproductive periods. But the spellbreakerthe permits take of the flyis the ultimate fishing experience. It flashes like the glint of a knife or the back of a trout holding in a pool, and marks these tales from novelist mcguane some horses, p. In thomas mcguane 1990, some horses 1999, and the longest silence. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the longest silence. The longest silence by thomas mcguane penguin books. For an angler, the longest silence is a fabulous armchair book, a record of journeys to some of the worlds legendary waters. With ten books over a thirtyyear span, thomas mcguane has proven himself over and over again a virtuoso. A life in fishing paperback june 26, 2001 by thomas mcguane author. Read more thomas mcguane s obsession with fish has taken him from the river in his backyard to the holiest waters of the flyfishers world. A life in fishing by thomas mcguane 1999, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. The longest silence by thomas mcguane overdrive rakuten. Thomas mcguanes obsession with fish has taken him from the riv.
The forty pieces in the longest silence including seven collected here for the first timetake the reader from the tarpon of florida to the salmon of iceland, from the bonefish of mexico to the trout of montana. A life in fishing 1999reflect mostly on leisure and the outdoors, especially his passion for flyfishing and horseback riding. The longest silence by thomas mcguane penguin books new. At this point i did not know that thomas mcguanes writing matched my taste, but i quickly learned that i would likely enjoy most of his work. To describe the longest silence, by thomas mcguane, as a collection of essays about fishing is like saying mobydick is a novel about whale. Interminable waitingunproductive hours on steaming. Thomas mcguane lives on a ranch in mcleod, montana. We could do well to understand that trout and other game fish are entirely lacking in sporting instincts. From the highly acclaimed author of ninetytwo in the shade and cloudbursts comes this collection of breathtakingly exquisite essays borne of a lifetime spent.
Read an excerpt from the longest silence on midcurrent. After perusing his books online i decided that the longest silence. In the longest silence, his precision of language and love of sport conjoin in a lifes body of fishing essays. Read more from the river in his backyard to the holiest waters of the flyfishers world, thomas mcguane s obsession takes him to ireland, montana, argentina, new zealand and russia. The longest silence paperback february 12, 2019 by thomas mcguane author.