It's decent American fabulist fun.

A lot of these pieces seem to build to a punchline or anti-climax.

So your experience reading will vary based on how well that form and content bit works for you.

Unfortunately for Brautigan, I will always associate him with the protagonist of Korine's The Beach Bum.

We will always have Moondog reading "The Beautiful Poem" under the cheap fluorescent lights of the fake Pulitzer Prize ceremony.

This association perhaps colors my perception of Brautigan's work in a certain way.

It's as if that one image from the movie has become intertwined with my understanding of his literary output.

However, despite this, there is still something charming and engaging about his fabulist style.

The stories he tells have a certain quirkiness and a unique charm that can draw the reader in.

Whether or not the punchlines or anti-climaxes land, there is always something interesting to discover in his words.

I had some truly great talks with Nathan regarding why this is such a cool read.

It's really interesting to note the Oregon references throughout the text. They add a unique flavor and a sense of place that makes it even more engaging.

Moreover, it's always a delight to come across a new and innovative way of writing. It keeps the mind fresh and open to different perspectives.

What's also really cool is the opportunity to dive into some poetry. Poetry has the power to express emotions and ideas in a concise and yet profound way.

Overall, this read has been a wonderful experience, filled with interesting discussions and new discoveries. I look forward to seeing what else Nathan has in store.

Disclaimer: I have only read "Trout Fishing in America" and not the other novelettes in the book.

I had no idea what to anticipate. I sort of thought it might reach the literary level of Jonathan Franzen, but it turns out to be quite accessible once you realize that there won't be a continuous narrative throughline. Instead, each chapter functions as its own vignette, with recognizable signposts. Emerging from the late Beat generation, there is a certain blend of 'Murica and hippie lifestyle patriotism within it, along with magical realism-style thinking and storytelling. This is most notably exemplified in the way he anthropomorphizes the concept of Trout Fishing in America. TFiA can be a person, a location, or a prank his 6th-grade self played on 1st graders. I still am not completely certain what TFiA is supposed to stand for, but it has its own allure.

I don't think this book wowed me as much as it has many others, but I'm glad to now have it in my vocabulary. The section of TFiA is approximately 110 pages long, so you can likely breeze through it quickly.

Richard Brautigan is an iconic counter-cultural poet and author.

He is perhaps most renowned for his 1967 novel, Trout Fishing in America. His novels artfully blend magical realism, satire, and black comedy.

I recently delved into an omnibus that encompassed two novels, Trout Fishing in America and In Watermelon Sugar, along with a collection of poetry titled The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster.

Understanding an author's life is crucial when critically engaging with their novels. For me, Wikipedia is typically the starting point, often leading me down an internet rabbit hole. Richard Brautigan had a fascinating life with interesting ideals. Later in life, he was diagnosed with both paranoid schizophrenia and clinical depression, even undergoing electroconvulsive therapy多达 twelve times in an attempt to treat his condition. He lived as a recluse in his later years and ultimately died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The exact time of his death remains uncertain as his body was discovered much later.

The significance of author context is evident in Brautigan's book In Watermelon Sugar. The novel narrates the story of iDEATH, a futuristic utopian commune that has found a way to subsist off the land, specifically watermelon sugar. Told from a first-person perspective, Brautigan could be regarded as the protagonist. However, given the context of his life, I believe Richard Brautigan saw himself more as the antagonist disrupting this perfect society. Either way, it makes for an intriguing read, and In Watermelon Sugar was the highlight of this omnibus.

Trout Fishing in America was a strange book. I had become accustomed to Richard Brautigan's style and knew what to anticipate. Nevertheless, Trout Fishing still left me perplexed. I understand it is a social critique, but I was never able to fully fathom what Brautigan was attempting to convey. The term "Trout Fishing in America" became a character's name, a hotel, a place, and served as a modifier for just about anything. It was a peculiar novel, and I likely need to conduct a great deal more research to fully understand it.

Richard Brautigan's poetry is just as unique as his novel writing. Most of his poems are short yet pack a powerful punch. There is profound depth within the poems, and at times, they have the capacity to shock. For instance, the title poem from this collection, The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, compares birth control to a mining disaster that claimed the lives of 75 people. He believes that both the pill and the disaster leave life buried forever. Not all his poems are as impactful as this one, but I thought this poem was a good illustration of what to expect.

I don't think I would have read Richard Brautigan without the encouragement of Jake from the YouTube channel Tales from iDEATH. This may not be entirely accurate, as Brautigan is on the 1001 Books list, and I still need to read Willard and His Bowling Trophies. I appreciate the nudge to read Richard Brautigan. He is a strange author, but I enjoyed the experience. His style might irk many people, but I liked the surrealist nature of the three books I read in this omnibus.

The review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev...

Silly, warm, sincere, biting and very odd. These are the words that come to mind when I think of Richard Brautigan's works.

"In Watermelon Sugar" was my favorite of the three. It's an unsettling account from a surreal post-apocalyptic commune that never really explains itself. I suspect it deceives you into thinking there is more to ponder than there really is. The language is beautiful and the imagery is vivid, but the story is somewhat lacking in substance.

"Trout Fishing in America" was all over the place in terms of quality and narrative. I'd read through a few snippets without anything grabbing me, and then hit something like "Trout Fishing in America Terrorists" that would bowl me over. Given the lightness and style of the book, this inconsistency doesn't really hurt the work. It's a fun and easy read, but not one that will stay with you for long.

I'm not a fan of poetry, but I enjoyed "The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster". Some of the poems are genuinely good and many are interesting as captured thoughts. I love the idea of using poetry to record quips, observations and other small thoughts that most of us release forever, minutes after catching them. Overall, I found Brautigan's works to be unique and entertaining, but not necessarily profound or life-changing.

I'm truly glad that I've taken the time to read this particular work. However, I find myself in a bit of a quandary as to whether I actually enjoyed the reading experience.

There were certain elements that definitely caught my attention. For instance, a few of the poems in the second section (or perhaps it was a book within the collection?) had a certain charm that captivated me. Their words seemed to dance off the page and draw me in.

Similarly, a few of the chapters in the first novel (or was it a section of a larger work?) managed to make me laugh out loud and also made me think about the Pacific Northwest in a completely different light.

But when it comes down to it, did I really enjoy reading it? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it was a bit of a mixed bag. Nevertheless, I'm still glad to have read it, as it has exposed me to new ideas and perspectives.

Who knows, perhaps upon a second reading, I'll have a clearer understanding of whether this was truly an enjoyable read for me.

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Possibly my favorite book of all time is "In Watermelon Sugar" by Richard Brautigan. If you haven't read Brautigan yet, this is the perfect place to start your literary journey with him. "Trout Fishing in America" is like the steak, a substantial and satisfying work. The empty, seemingly disconnected yet haunting metaphors in his poetry in the middle section are like the key lime pie, adding a touch of mystery and flavor. And "In Watermelon Sugar" itself is like the port wine, rich and intoxicating. Once you start reading, you will find yourself getting drunk on the beautiful and unique language and ideas that Brautigan presents. It's a book that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page, leaving you with a sense of wonder and a desire to explore more of his works.

Synopsis: It was truly awful! Let's just move on.

Explanation: When I was a teenager, my father's store was right next door to a small and cramped bookshop. This little shop boasted of selling second-, third-, and fourthhand books of all genres. It was here that I discovered fat paperbacks with curling covers. These were my favorites from the seventies, the books that made me the romantic book lover I am today. There were works by Go ask Alice, Hunter S Thompson, John Steinbeck, William Burroughs, Kurt Vonnegut, and of course Richard Brautigan. The books were everywhere - on shelves, on stools, or in stacks on the floor, piled up to the ceiling. Shopping here always reminded me of the scene from Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf is digging through scrolls at Minis Tirith.

I had warm feelings towards Brautigan and his story "The Hawkline Monster". However, time marches on, and it has been a while since I last read a Brautigan novel. Last year, I picked up "Dreaming of Babylon" and wrote that it was "A comedy that is not very funny. It feels forced and lacking in substance. The plot runs on zaniness, relying too heavily on some tired joke about dreaming of Babylon that wasn't all that funny the first dozen times I read it. I was very disappointed." This Christmas, we were traveling, and as I love to do, I visited bookstores along the way. I found a nice one with a wide selection of the types of books I enjoy reading. There was a collection of three Brautigan stories. Even though the last book I read of his was terrible, I decided to give it one last chance to see if I could recapture the magic. But no, not even close. This year, I made a decision not to give up on a book even if I don't like it anymore. I added it to my "Can not finish list" and just gritted my teeth and moved on. Well, it took longer than I would have liked, and I regret buying this book. Brautigan is dead to me now, especially after this awful book. Maybe one or two poems were not that bad, but the rest of this was the ravings of a shallow and not so talented writer who took too much LSD and thought the insipid musings that flowed out of his mangled conscience were of interest to anyone. At least not to me. One star and a great waste of my reading time.

My favorite is Brautigan. His works are offbeat and poetic, which have introduced me to a whole genre of writing that I still find it difficult to classify conveniently. He is a brilliant and yet sad man. His unique style and profound thoughts have left a deep mark on me. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his works will always be remembered. I often think about his words and the emotions they evoke. His writing has the power to transport me to another world, a world full of strange and wonderful characters. Brautigan's works are a testament to his creativity and his ability to see the world in a different light. I will always cherish his works and the inspiration they have given me.

This book only reads at the three star level.

Man, if you follow every third sentence with, "man," in your best Steve Zahn voice.

There were some smirk-inducing moments.

Man, but I wasn't a huge fan here.

I feel like I've rated a lot of books at lower than three stars.

Man, that I liked better than this.

The story had its闪光点, but it didn't quite grip me as much as I would have liked.

Man, some of the characters were interesting, but others felt a bit flat.

The pacing was okay, but there were times when it dragged.

Man, overall, it was an average read for me.

I'm sure there are others who will enjoy it more than I did, but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Man.

A friend recommended "Trout Fishing in America" nearly a decade ago. However, it wasn't until it was repeatedly mentioned in other books I was reading that I seriously decided to seek it out. Eventually, I found a volume that combined it with two other books by Richard Brautigan: "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" and "In Watermelon Sugar". I'm glad I chose this collection as the last one turned out to be my favorite.

"Trout Fishing in America" lacks a central plot. Instead, it consists of a series of anecdotes divided into chapters, with a few recurring characters and themes. Brautigan's writing is conversational and quirky, filled with many genuinely funny moments, like the rat-shooting scene or the guy buying a used trout stream by the foot. There are also some hilariously bizarre moments, such as the one where three children are pulling an old granny by her legs while drinking rub-a-dub and she shouts, "Let the Civil War come again, I'm ready to fuck!"

The humor is very dry and non-sequitur, which suits my taste but may not be for everyone. As for what "Trout Fishing in America" is meant to be, I can't quite say. Half the time it's about what the characters are doing, and the rest of the time it seems to be a character itself. It could be a metaphor for the American dream or something about "mainstream" society, but I could never quite put my finger on it, which I'm sure was intentional.

It's a fun and short read, but I did wish there had been a central plot with "main" characters. I would have liked the shepherd who looked like "a young, skinny Adolf Hitler, but friendly" to have been featured more, not because he was a great character, but because it was always funny whenever Brautigan referred to him as such.

★★★½

Brautigan's writing style remains the same in his collection of poems, "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster", but it is much less successful. While I understand that the style is intentionally "anti" poetry, with short lines and simple language, some of these poems sound like excerpts from Brautigan's journal entries. For example, in "Automatic Anthill", he writes about having a forced bachelor dinner and struggling to decide between Chinese food and a hamburger, saying, "God, I hate eating dinner alone. It's like being dead."

Is this raw and unpretentious poetry for "regular folks", or is it largely uninteresting because it presents common observations in a common way? I admit that I enjoyed some of the poems, like "The Fever Mountain", "Xerox Candy Bar", and "At the California Institute of Technology", not because they were profound but because they were comical. I also liked "The Horse That Had a Flat Tire", but the repetition didn't make sense and the "punchline" felt rushed. "Star-Spangled" Nails was a really good anti-war poem, and the titular poem was an impressively meaningful comment on a heavy conversation (birth control), especially considering it is only three lines long. I also appreciated "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace".
However, there were also several poems that were juvenile, forgettable, not as witty as Brautigan thought he was being, or just dumb. While there is a certain immediate gratification to Brautigan's poems, I don't think most of them leave a lasting impression.
★★

"In Watermelon Sugar" was a pleasant surprise. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the residents of a small community use primarily watermelon sugar (and sometimes trout oil) to make everything. The story also has elements of magical realism, with each day having a different-colored sun that produces different colored watermelons (and the black ones don't make sound), and there used to be tigers that could talk, sing, and do math.
The inhabitants carve statues out of blocks of watermelon sugar, but the narrator is no good at it, so he decides to write a book - the first in 35 years. Through the narrator, the reader learns of the growing tension between the majority of residents and a small faction led by a man named inBOIL, who believes he has found out the "truth" about iDEATH (the main building around which the community is centered) in a mysterious area known as The Forgotten Works.
It's a really intriguing world, and Brautigan does a great job of building tension and suspense up to inBOIL's revelation about iDEATH. The climax is wild and ends up being even wilder because it reveals nothing! Just ignore the minor inconsistent detail about the tigers.
As with "Trout Fishing", I'm not exactly sure what message Brautigan was trying to send, but I thoroughly enjoyed this imaginative novella.
★★★★★

Average: 10.5/3 = 3.5 stars, rounded down because other than "In Watermelon Sugar", I only really liked a handful of anecdotes from the first and a few poems from the second.