A Good Day to Die
by Jim Harrison
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Their plans were conceived in a drunken excitement and resulted in more horror than any of them could have imagined. There was the poet able to retreat into beatific reveries of superb fishing in cold, fast streams; the Vietnam vet consumed by uppers, downers, and violence; and the girl who loved only one of them, at first. With their ideals ostensibly in order, they set out from Florida to save the Grand Canyon from a dam they believed was being built. Along with the tape deck for the car, show more the liquor, and the drugs, there was also a case of dynamite. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
JH's first novel is rough but what was to become classic JH was there. Fishing, food, women, and travel all wound in a story ending in violence with lost souls gaining no succor. His descriptions of the West and fishing carry the story and cover for his main characters continual self-loathing and obsession with Sylvia. Fortunately only 176 pages. read this in 2009 and gave it a 3.5.
Great characterizations, a headlong rush through lost lives, Kerouac-like. Not really very likable, but very well done.
This is my first read of Harrisons, and I will have to say it was perplexing. I love his prose....he is an incredible wordsmith. I hated the subject of the book though....the drugging drining driving pointless adventure....something Hunter Thompsonesque, who I dont enjoy. In between however, is a glimpse of an incredible writer...I hope the next read is more enjoyable however...without the drivel.
A great read, with an ending that stunned me to the point that I read the book all over again the very next day, which is the first and only time I've ever done that. A highly pleasurable read too, this one can be finished in a day if you set aside three or four hours, time which is of course hard to find but well worth it for this one. Posted on my blog, I wrote a short essay for a course in university called "The Open Road in North American Narrative," placing this novel in context with other road narrative films and books, from "On the Road" to "Easy Rider" to "Sideways." You can read that essay here:
http://larsaumueller.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/this-is-an-essay-i-wrote-for-a-cou...
http://larsaumueller.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/this-is-an-essay-i-wrote-for-a-cou...
Trying to explain why Harrison's writing is so compelling, is useless, I don't have the ability with words he does. The actual story line of this book holds zero interest for me, but in this man's hands, I devoured it in an afternoon, mesmerized by his words.
A meaner Kerouac, a less funny HS Thompson or Abbey. I'm glad I didn't read this when I was younger.
Edward Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang" meets Kerouac's "On The Road" meets Hemingway's "The Sun Also" Rises meets Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." More to come...
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81+ Works 11,877 Members
James Thomas Harrison was born on December 11, 1937 in Grayling, Michigan. After receiving a B.A. in comparative literature from Michigan State University in 1960 and a M.A. in comparative literature from the same school in 1964, he briefly taught English at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. During his lifetime, he wrote 14 show more collections of poetry, 21 volumes of fiction, two books of essays, a memoir, and a children's book. His collections of poetry included Plain Song, The Theory and Practice of Rivers, Songs of Unreason, and Dead Man's Float. He received a Guggenheim fellowship for his poetry in 1969. His essays on food, much of which first appeared in Esquire, was collected in the 2001 book, The Raw and the Cooked. His memoir, Off to the Side, was published in 2002. His first novel, Wolf, was published in 1971. His other works of fiction included A Good Day to Die, Farmer, The Road Home, Julip, and The Ancient Minstrel. His novel, Legends of the Fall, was adapted into a feature film starring Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. Harrison wrote the screenplay for the movie. His novel, Dalva, was adapted as a made-for-television movie starring Rod Steiger and Farrah Fawcett. He died on March 26, 2016 at the age of 78. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Un bon jour pour mourir
- Original title
- A Good Day to Die
- Original publication date
- 1973 (1e édition originale américaine) (1e édition originale américaine); 1985 (1e traduction et édition française, Pavillons, Robert Laffont) (1e traduction et édition française, Pavillons, Robert Laffont); 1989 (Réédition française, 10/18, Union générale d'édition) (Réédition française, 10/18, Union générale d'édition); 1998-12-03 (réédition française, Pavillons, Robert Laffont) (réédition française, Pavillons, Robert Laffont); 2003-05-07 (Réédition française, Domaine étranger, 10/18) (Réédition française, Domaine étranger, 10/18)
- Epigraph*
- Chaque tournant torpide de ce monde engendre des enfants déshérités auxquels rien de ce qui a été, ni de ce qui sera, n'appartient.
Rilke - Dedication*
- A Dan Gerger
- First words*
- [Préface de François Busnel]
[Edition français, 10/18, Collection domaine étranger]
Un jeune type du Nord-Michigan s'exile au soleil en Floride pour pêcher. [...]
Première partie
Prologue
Le bateau est encré au large de Cudjoe Key. [...]
1
Je retournai à ma chambre et traînassai, tout nu. Je pris une douche et examinai mes piqûres d'insectes et mes yeux tout injectés de sang. Est-ce que àa en valait la peine ? Non. [...] - Original language*
- Anglais (Etats-Unis) (Etats-Unis)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- 362
- Popularity
- 86,341
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- English, French, Italian, Spanish
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 25
- ASINs
- 4
