Some Books Are Better Left In Our Past

Back in 2010, I heard a piece on NPR about Richard Brautigan. Was that ever a blast from the past.

I read several Brautigan books back when I was in high school because I had a wicked crush on my English teacher, and he recommended them. I kept buying more. I remember getting my mother to pick up a copy of The Abortion for me while she was in the big city of Rutland, Vermont and thinking that I was really pushing her buttons. My recollection is that she remained quiet on the subject.

When I was a freshman in college, I read selections from one of Brautigan's books for my Oral Interpretation class.

So when I heard him being discussed on NPR two years ago, I pulled out my copy of Trout Fishing in America and put on my TBR heap. I finally got to it this summer.

I made it to the halfway point. I still remember Trout Fishing in America Shorty with great fondness, but mainly, I think, because he and his creator made me feel rebellious at a time when rebellion was new and exciting. Now I'm used to it.