TGIF! Time for another Friday 56 and Book Beginnings! Like this:

Book Beginnings is a theme where readers share the first sentence (or couple of sentences) from your current read. It’s hosted by Rose City Reader every Friday.

The Friday 56 is hosted by Frida’s Voice. Share a sentence or two from page 56 or 56% in to your current read. Sound good? Perfect! Cuz here we go:

This week our Book Beginning and Friday 56 are from the same book: Home Waters: A Chronicle of Family and a River. By John N. Maclean. Yes, that Maclean. John is the son of famed writer Norman Maclean, author of the beloved classic, A River Runs Through It. So let’s dive in:

Beginning – Prologue:

“The trout rose in a smooth arc, took my tumbling salmon fly, and completed its curve in an undulating, revelatory sequence. A greenish speckled back and a flash of scarlet on silver along its side marked it as a rainbow. One slow beat, set the hook… in those first seconds I felt a connection to a fish of great size and power.

This could be the one.”

Beginning- Chapter One 

“Many go through life without glimpsing Heaven and Hell, but fishing with my father gave me an early appreciation of both places. Hell was when I lost a big fish in front of him. ‘What DID I BRING YOU HERE FOR? How could you have muffed him? You muffed him!’ When I hooked a big fish, however, he became so enthusiastic that on occasion he joined the fight.”

Friday 56

Page 56, also from Home Waters:

“Mule trains, ox trains, and emigrant wagons mixed with cowboys and saddle horses; stagecoaches were eagerly awaited with hopes of letters from ‘all the dear ones left behind.’ Indians passed through town, with chiefs leading the way and dismounting to visit the stores. That picture isn’t far off from my father’s description of Missoula during the family’s first years there, when the Flathead set up teepees along the Clark Fork in summer, main streets were built wide enough for a wagon and a team of horses to turn around – today’s Stephens Avenue is a broad reminder – saloons prospered and the population included a very rough element.”

About Home Waters

If you enjoyed A River Runs Through It, you’ll want to grab a copy of John Maclean’s lyrical companion to his father’s classic novella, Home Waters.

Told in pellucid prose, Home Waters is a gentle and intriguing memoir of the Maclean family’s four-generation tie to Montana’s Blackfoot River. The back story to Norman’s acclaimed 1976 novella is included.

Indeed, lovers of literature and the great outdoors will enjoy this artfully crafted and heartfelt tribute to family, nature, memories, and home.

Home Waters is the winner of the Montana Book Award – Honor Award and winner of AFFTA 202 – Best in Entertainment/Education.