While laid up this weekend I had the opportunity to catch up on some of my reading, and John Gierach’s latest tome, “Fool’s Paradise” was at the top of the stack. It was an amusing and light read, something I sorely appreciated while running between bathrooms.
I confess I’ve never read any of his books, not because of anything haughty, just “Old Guy Eyeballs” that are shifting from 20-20 vision to a different prescription every other week. Makes my reading difficult and downright painful at times.
A loose fabrication of short essays about fishing for different species, punctuated with some stellar quotes and humorous anecdotes. It’s a traditional coffee table book, light and airy – neither technical nor taxing, akin to listening to your favorite grandfather recounting stories of his youth.
“I necessarily fear change except that it’s so seldom for the better. It’s just that I can live with any number of things going straight to hell as long as these streams continue to hold up. If this amounts to living in a fool’s paradise, don’t waste your time trying to explain that to the fool.”
It’s plain that Mr. Gierach is “old school” – one foot in the sport of his forefather’s, and the other in “contemporary” fly fishing. The marriage of the two “halves” drives both mirth and reflection on past outings and fish. Absent the technical jargon that plagues angling literature, he’s at ease with his skills and the honest pleasure of fishing dominates his nimble prose.
“I try to stay abreast of broad trends in the sport, but I guess I missed the moment when steelhead flies began to look and sound like sex toys.”
Gear and flies are an afterthought, despite veiled reference to the pleasure of bamboo rods, and he’s quick to point out those aren’t viable for anyone’s budget – despite the recent resurgence of the “cottage” artisans.
The book poses the author against a backdrop of fish species, pals, and odd circumstance. The unique struggles or tribulations to be successful in pursuit of each, punctuated by the humans and fauna that surround them.
“We always seem to be looking for places that aren’t used up yet so we can begin to use them up in our own small, modest way.”
Time plays a pivotal role in most of the stories, and is met with the same tolerance of the inevitable; time lost, time squandered, and even perfect timing all play a part in every excursion. It’s as if the author wishes to reinforce that “time spent” is more important than all else, and both success and failure can be a worthy memory.
It’s a rare message akin to my own mantra, if it has fins and eats invertebrates there’s a helluva adventure waiting for someone.
“If things are going well and I’m getting out on the water every day, I’m probably getting enough fishing. If not, a fishing book just underscores what I want to be doing but can’t.”
Plenty of infirmity to underscore what I’d rather be doing, but I slurped my soup and let Mr. Gierach blaze the trail for me.
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