Richard Brautigan was a perfect fit in San Francisco.

His poetry, with its oddball notes and goofy short stories, managed to attract a following not only among the Beat generation of the 50's but also among the Hip crowd 25 years later.

Recently, while browsing through a local thrift shop, I came across a copy of "Trout Fishing in America". It was like taking a trip back in time.

I must tip my hat to the late Mr. Brautigan. He truly had a one-of-a-kind imagination.

His works were a reflection of the times, filled with a sense of quirkiness and a unique perspective on life.

Reading his stories and poems, one can't help but be charmed by his creativity and the way he presented his ideas.

Brautigan's influence can still be felt today, as his works continue to inspire new generations of writers and thinkers.

He will always be remembered as an important figure in American literature, a pioneer who dared to be different and to express himself in his own unique way.

I didn't finish this. I only read a small part of it, "sectionally" (in other words, different sections). After all, I only have so many hours left in my life and I choose not to waste too many of them.

Maybe I'm one of those people who doesn't have a regular name, maybe it depends on you? Right. Can you string a group of contradictory words together (I heard through my eyes the feel of orange), can you line up non sequiturs in sentence and paragraph form? Then you too can write poetry as Brautigan can.

How about putting together a somewhat pretentious pseudo-spiritual novella, possibly based on your experiences in a couple of failed communes? Yeah right.

I've read raves about In Watermelon Sugar with claims of spiritual breakthroughs and discovery of transcendental peace. Right. The book puts me in mind of a minor character in The Fountainhead. A writer who writes a book that everyone reads (though the sales figures don't seem to reflect that) and everyone thinks "they understand while no one else does". It gives them a "spiritual feeling" for "some reason". Later even the author gives a wink and a nod over it.

If you think you've found the mystery of life through "In Watermelon Sugar" let me suggest you read One Door Away from Heaven by Dean Koontz. This book might offer a different perspective and perhaps a more profound exploration of the human condition and the search for meaning. It could challenge your assumptions and make you think more deeply about what it means to find true peace and understanding in life. Give it a try and see if it changes your view.

This was the very first book that I owned and read within my collection.

I grew up during the vibrant decades of the '60's and '70's. It was a pen pal from Santa Rosa, CA who introduced me to the amazing work of Richard. From then on, I owned and devoured every single one of his books that I could lay my hands on. I had this wonderful dream of one day having a big house that would feature a magnificent library. In this library, all the books I have read would be on display, and Richard's collection would definitely be a part of this glorious showcase, filling the shelves from floor to ceiling. I am ever so grateful to have had the opportunity to own his works and to have thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of them!

It is truly a remarkable experience that has enriched my life and my love for reading.

I will always cherish these books and the memories associated with them.

The collection kicks off with "Trout Fishing in America". It is a series of rather short stories or prose poems (opinions may vary on the classification, but most would concur that either label fits). They are cohesively yet loosely connected. The use of metaphor and the transformation of America from one era to another is both masterful and highly entertaining. The significance of words and history also plays a crucial role, as noted by various literary critics. Even if not all the symbolism clicks with you, the pervasive sense of something wonderful evolving into something unknown is hard to ignore. There is an America that was, is, and will be, mirrored in the narrator's life as it undergoes a similar transition.

"The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" is often oddly misinterpreted, in my view. Many people who encounter this type of Beat/post-Beat poetry for the first time struggle with it. Brautigan's style is not the most accessible to begin with. Although there are some shining moments, and I have come to appreciate this collection more with each reading, overall, it doesn't make it to my list of favorites from that era.

"In Watermelon Sugar" is a very emotional piece of writing. It contains numerous instances of exaggerated symbolism and operates on that premise without always being overly blatant about what it's trying to convey. This is a delicate balance. While "Trout Fishing in America" leans on a more complex writing style, the narrative voice in "In Watermelon Sugar" is straightforward to the point of often seeming childlike in its simplicity. It invites even more interpretative analysis than "Trout Fishing in America", but as a result, it may seem to have less substance. It feels a bit out of place. Having said that, I truly enjoy it and find it interesting to discuss. It manages to evoke quite compelling moods and emotions, disguising its depth within its direct and uncomplicated narrative style.

All things considered, "Trout Fishing in America" far outshines the other two works. However, "In Watermelon Sugar" is still definitely worth a read, and "The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" goes by quickly. You'll likely find something to like about it due to its strange diversity. And when you reread it, more connections will surface, making it more enjoyable than the first time. Those who don't like this work either don't appreciate that "getting it" can be a somewhat模糊 and unrewarding achievement. Whereas I think the essence of experiencing Brautigan's works lies in reading and enjoying the creative style, as well as some of the implications it offers for exploration.

Here is the rewritten and expanded article:

Three short ones that are equal parts sweet, tough, and mysterious.

They possess an alluring charm that is both captivating and enigmatic. The sweetness in them is like a gentle breeze on a warm day, bringing a sense of comfort and delight.

Yet, they are also tough, able to withstand the challenges and hardships that come their way. Their strength is hidden beneath their seemingly delicate exterior.

And the mystery that shrouds them only adds to their allure. One can't help but wonder what lies beneath the surface, what secrets they hold.

These three short ones are a fascinating combination of qualities, making them truly unique and unforgettable.

Into all of our lives come Mysteries of the Zeitgeist. These mysteries are like enigmatic puzzles that seem to have no immediate solutions. There are no cures but time and patience. We must wait and endure, hoping that eventually, a new Zeitgeist will emerge to tolerate the old one.

Imagine digging up the sands of Egypt. Beneath the ancient The Book of the Dead and a Betamax copy of "The Scorpion King," there lies a hidden treasure. You will find a book by an Egyptian Brautigan. This discovery is like a rare gem, waiting to be unearthed and explored.

The mysteries of the Zeitgeist and the hidden book in Egypt both hold a certain allure. They make us wonder about the unknown and the hidden aspects of our world. Perhaps by delving deeper into these mysteries, we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and the times we live in.

I found myself enjoying "Trout Fishing in America" and "The Pill vs. the Springhill Mine Disaster" to a greater extent than "In Watermelon Sugar".

In the initial two novels within this volume, Brautigan employs exquisitely crafted analogies to depict every single thing.

On the surface, they frequently appear to be nonsensical. However, curiously enough, if one simply goes with the flow, they are rather easy to comprehend.

Conversely, in "In Watermelon Sugar", I discovered that I was less capable of simply going along with it.

The storyline, for me, was just a touch too linear.

Nevertheless, it was still a solid read that offered its own unique charm and literary value.

Despite its linearity, there were certain aspects of the novel that managed to engage my interest and keep me turning the pages.

Perhaps it was Brautigan's distinct writing style or the vivid imagery he created that made it a worthwhile read, even if it didn't quite capture my attention in the same way as the other two novels.

Overall, I would still recommend "In Watermelon Sugar" to those who enjoy experimental and thought-provoking literature.

An Homage to Richard Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America


Every now and then, I have a strong urge to re-read some works of Richard Brautigan. He, together with Charles Dickens, Albert Camus, and Robert Frost, served as the pied pipers that led me to choose writing as my vocation. After delving into the works of Dickens, Camus, and Frost, I was amazed by the way Brautigan manipulated the English language. He jumbled it like Scrabble tiles scattered across a tiled floor and then picked up letters, words, and phrases in a completely new way. While the anxieties of Dickens, Camus, and Frost about the world drove their work, I was stunned to find someone like Brautigan who truly loved every little thing in the world, even the tiniest details that the rest of us might overlook.


Compared to other serious novelists I read as a teenager, Brautigan was a symbol of freedom. Writing, for him, was an adventure that we could all share. In high school, I was almost forced to read John Updike because my father admired him so much. However, there was something about Updike that I resisted from the beginning and eventually came to resent. I mention this in this review because Brautigan was, for me, the antidote to Updike’s poisoned pen.


Is it heresy to say so? Maybe. Today, literary critics often dismiss Brautigan as a one-trick pony of a particular era that has passed along with all the burdensome paraphernalia of the 1960s. For some reason, Updike remains a literary god. But, to be honest, if you had to choose one of them to meet for an afternoon stroll around a big city, who would you pick? I would choose Brautigan without hesitation.


For one thing, Brautigan loved life. He truly loved life, although this is a sentence he would never have written because he had no time for adverbs. Updike, on the other hand, mainly loved himself. If you take some of Updike’s novels off the shelf and dust them off, you will find that, by and large, he thought most people were too stupid to worry about and that the world was a rigged game designed to play cruel tricks on us. When he wrote, the real creativity was often in his adjectives and adverbs, rarely in his nouns. This is because Updike had long ago decided that he knew everything about what things really were, and now it was his vocation as a novelist to tell the rest of us how to think about those things in a proper Updikian way.


This was the opposite of Brautigan’s constant exploration of the world. The key to Brautigan’s writing lies in his use of nouns, especially proper nouns, like “Trout Fishing in America.” You might think this was the title of some PBS nature documentaries or perhaps a department at Cabela’s. In fact, those four words are a character, a living and breathing character. Seriously.


What is even more astonishing about Brautigan’s literary leap is that he was not a young writer. He was definitely not a Baby Boomer. Although he was younger than Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, he carried with him all the old stuff that was part of my father’s generation. You could find the vintage “tells” throughout his writing. Brautigan liked to call wealthy people “swells” like Cole Porter. He thought about gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger and movies like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. What self-respecting young writer today even knows these references?


I am pointing out these old references in Trout Fishing in America because they were all part of the scattered Scrabble tiles that Brautigan found on his floor when he began struggling as a writer in the 1950s, dealing with the traumas and demons of his early life growing up in poverty and later struggling with mental illness. The fact that he could burst forth in the 1960s with something resembling a celebration of life is truly miraculous.


Brautigan wasn’t trying to tell us what to think about the things in our world. It was the things themselves that fascinated him. Each day was a revelation. He didn’t preach at us like a latter-day Updike. He was too busy lifting up every bit of stuff around him, turning it this way and that, and discovering that things weren’t really what we thought they were in the first place.


And this is how my love for Brautigan as a teenager led to my vocation as a journalist, writing and editing. Brautigan never let his curiosity stop him. In many ways, he was like an ethnographer without a scholarly degree, a journalist without a newspaper, and ultimately a pied piper for so many of us. Thank God. He was a visionary who showed us that even the most absurd ideas might reveal wisdom if we only examined them carefully enough.


Like, why did he write Trout Fishing in America?


Answer: Because he always wanted to write a book that ended with the word mayonnaise.


I am not kidding.

I have this distinct feeling that I'm somehow not getting the full picture.

Metaphors, they were truly amazing. They added a layer of depth and mystery to the works. However, when it came to trying to uncover a coherent plot, it was an extremely challenging task. In fact, with "Trout Fishing in America," it felt almost impossible to do so.

"In Watermelon Sugar," on the other hand, had a plot that was a bit more easily recognizable. But still, it managed to leave me completely perplexed.

I think I need to do some more in-depth exploration and continue to grapple with these texts. Maybe with more effort and a different perspective, I'll be able to understand them better and not feel like I'm constantly missing out on something crucial.

I'm determined to keep at it and see if I can finally unlock the secrets that these works seem to be hiding.

I had read two out of the three books here before, around 1970. So, this was supposed to be a walk down memory lane for me. Or it would have been, but to be honest, I remembered so little from the first reading that it felt like reading them all for the first time.

One of the standard questions in the Shelf Awareness interview is something like “What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?” Based on my experience, if you wait long enough, it stops being a hypothetical question. You can re-read everything you've ever read, and it'll seem like a brand new experience.

This collection of three books might be all the Brautigan that anyone needs, or ever needed for that matter. Rating the books individually, "Trout Fishing in America" gets five stars. It was just as enjoyable the second time around as it was during the Nixon administration (I remember at least that much). It's light, humorous, entertaining, and completely unique. It set a standard that Brautigan was never able to match again, or even get close to. He had a real talent for expressing himself humorously, and the stories here, which are clearly based on his own life, can be really funny on their own. In his later books, he created characters and plots, but he wasn't nearly as successful at that.

"The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" gets three and a half stars, and "In Watermelon Sugar" also gets three and a half stars.

This guy is really weird!

He always does things in an unexpected way.

For example, he might wear clothes that don't match at all, or say something completely out of the blue during a conversation.

His behavior often makes people around him feel confused or even a little bit scared.

But despite his strangeness, there is also something kind of charming about him.

Maybe it's his unique perspective on life, or the fact that he's not afraid to be himself.

In any case, he's definitely a person who stands out from the crowd and makes you take notice.

Whether you like him or not, you can't help but be intrigued by his oddities.

I looked into this book after seeing that the rear-seat passenger of the car next to me in rush traffic had "In Watermelon Sugar" tattooed on her forearm. I was immediately intrigued. I googled it and decided to check it out. However, this kind of stuff really isn't my style. I have always been quite vocal about my dislike for poetry.

But to my surprise, this book was all phenomenal. "Trout Fishing" felt like a dream, taking me on a journey through a world that was both strange and captivating. "The Pill" was a collection of some of my favorite poems. Honestly, it was my favorite part of the book. The poems were so well-written that they made me feel emotions I never thought I could feel from reading poetry.

"In Watermelon Sugar" did a great job of tying it all together. I was relieved by the consistent narrative and more standard structure. It made the book easier to follow and understand. Overall, I was really impressed with this book. The writing was beautiful throughout, and it made me realize that maybe I don't dislike poetry as much as I thought I did.