Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #863715 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. As in Hull's novel Pale Morning Done, fishing really is a lens through which Hull sees the world. And fortunately, the waters for this former fishing guide certainly run deeper than the Montana rivers and coastal flats where he fishes. Almost all the chapters, which read as individual essays, begin like an average outdoor magazine article, with Hull "obsessed with Permit" or chasing a record blue shark or a "legendary giant trout." But what makes these tales special and gives them the intensity of fine literature is that real life always intervenes in Hull's idyllic fishing trips. Sometimes the interruption is as simple as a missed connection with a dream girl at a bar or as newsy as environmental conservation, but oftentimes they are more dramatic, like the death of Hull's brother or his own stay in a psychiatric hospital. These pauses lend Hull's work a melancholy air, but they also allow Hull to outline his hope that life can also change for the better. Unlike many fly-fishing writers, Hull isn't afraid to let his guard down. Add in Hull's ability to bring his scenery and characters to life, and you have a book that will burrow into the hearts of anglers and nonanglers alike. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In these ruminations on fishing and life, Montanan Hull shows that it's hard to fish well--and harder still to be a good person. His eloquent essays cover a wide range of fresh and saltwater fishing across an equally wide span of the globe: trout and grayling streams near Montana, trout in Patagonia, striped bass and sharks in New England, white bass in Ohio, and bonefish in Belize and Tahiti. Of particular note is the essay "Wonder Time," an exquisite reflection on the pleasures of fishing at dusk. Hull is a strong fisherman but confronts difficult times off the water. He writes movingly about his brother's long struggle with anemia and cancer, and he explores with remarkable candor his own attempted suicide and psychiatric treatment. He also writes with self-deprecating humor about his difficult encounters with clumsy anglers, with poor men who fish to live rather than for sport, with Blackfeet Indians on their reservation. A fine example not only of outdoor literature but also of creative nonfiction. John Rowen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Customer Reviews

shared introspection
I freely confess bias. I love Labrador dogs. In fact, if reincarnation exists, I pray that I come back as a Labrador in my family because I'll get enough belly rubs, treats, ear scratches and crotch sniffing for more than one lifetime. But then I'm addicted to fly fishing too, with the rhythm of the line, the feel of haul, double haul, and the effortless side-flick of line under edge brush to coax out a bank-hugging 'Bow. "Streams of Consciousness" has all you want of both, but it seems rather deep, personal introspection on life, death and relationships. A Lab, a 7 weight, or a brother can be like a bright shiny fish, held for a magic moment by a thin filament of crafted attraction and purposeful force. But in the end if you release and free this shiny possesion that you can never really own, you will possess the richness of that experience forever.

John O'Donoghue in "Anam Cara" said, "Ironically, difficulty can be the great friend of creativity." Streams of Consciousness is forged, creative serious thought after the searing reality of the death of a loved brother, contemplation of one's own death, and the capricious impermanence of relationships slipping away like a gentle tug on a slipped Nail Knot. I hope Jeff Hull keeps writing.

Pierce E. Scranton Jr. M.D.
author, "Death on the Learing Curve"

A Great Second Act
Discovering a new author is a great pleasure in life. And so it was when I discovered Jeff Hull last year and his first book, Pale Morning Done, a page-turner of a book full of great flyfishing, side-slapping (or nearly so) humor, authentic dialogue, compelling characters, and a strong point of view. After tearing through Pale Morning Done, I couldn't wait for his second book.

Streams of Consciousness did not disappoint me. Although it is a book of short stories, rather than a novel, there are many similarities. You get more variety for your money but also the same compelling themes delivered in the same polished style.

In Streams of Consciousness, Jeff Hull takes us from spawning white bass in the sloughs of Lake Erie to his favorite streams near his Montana home and from first love to life threatening depression and the painful loss of a young sibling. He explores our relationships to each other and to our animals. He titillates us with exciting places to fish. And, he teaches us some interesting and uncomfortable facts about our endangered planet.

Whether you are a flyfisher like myself or a non flyfisher like my wife, who was drawn to the humanity of the stories, there is much to enjoy and ponder in Streams of Consciousness. It is indeed strong proof that Jeff Hull has more than one good story to tell and it whets my appetite for his third book.

Heavyhanded
Some of this author's chapters were heavy handed ethical or environmental statements disguised as entertainment. I nearly gave up reading more deeply into the book, but surprisingly it got better as it went. Maybe I'm being too critical; the book was OK. I just don't like being preached to.