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In April 1976, an academic press published a book containing two novellas and one short story, all set in the American West. It was written by a slight, craggy-faced man named Norman Maclean. It had been snubbed by the publishing literati, deemed unmarketable.
But Maclean would have the last word.
Thanks to the titular novella, “A River Runs Through It and Other Stories” went on to sell more than a million copies, and is now considered a classic. It was adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie, directed by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt, and helped supercharge the fly fishing industry. And it remains beloved by generations of readers and writers.
“The novella is one of the great American stories of the 20th century, a lesson on how to write,” said the author Annie Proulx.
“It’s romantic and erudite and filled with visceral excitements,” the author Thomas McGuane added. “And there is so much under the surface in this short work. It has a huge power-to-weight ratio.”
“A River Runs Through It” turns 50 this month. In getting to its exalted place, the book had to navigate a tricky set of rapids. Though it sailed through them, a question lingers half a century later: Would a book like this, with its regional setting and its male and outdoorsy focus, face different challenges in today’s publishing world?
