River Teeth: Stories and Writings - Softcover

Duncan, David James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553378279 ISBN 13: 9780553378276

Publisher: The Dial Press, 1996

Synopsis

In his passionate, luminous novels, David James Duncan has won the devotion of countless critics and readers, earning comparisons to Harper Lee, Tom Robbins, and J.D. Salinger, to name just a few. Now Duncan distills his remarkable powers of observation into this unique collection of short stories and essays.

At the heart of Duncan's tales are characters undergoing the complex and violent process of transformation, with results both painful and wondrous. Equally affecting are his nonfiction reminiscences, the "river teeth" of the title. He likens his memories to the remains of old-growth trees that fall into Northwestern rivers and are sculpted by time and water. These experiences—shaped by his own river of time—are related with the art and grace of a master storyteller. In River Teeth, a uniquely gifted American writer blends two forms, taking us into the rivers of truth and make-believe, and all that lies in between.

About this title

From the Publisher:

His novels The River Why and The Brothers K have been compared to everything from Catcher In The Rye to Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance and To Kill A Mockingbird, but David James Duncan's distinctly wies, rueful, funny, and luminous voice belies comparison.

In River Teeth, Duncan brings us stories of indelible characters: a solitary woman struggling to corral of flock of idiot sheep; a young girl who creates a strange fairytale that shatters her parents' love; a modern-day prophet waging war against all who would blaspheme his sacred river.

Interwoven with these tales are epiphanies from Duncan's own life, pieces he calls "river teeth", which resonate with the power and longing of memory. The phrase "river teeth" refers to the remains of old-growth trees that fall into Northwestern rivers and are sculpted by the water. In Duncan's rich metaphor, time is the river, trees are our experiences, and "river teeth" are the memories of our experiences shaped by the river of time. The stories and the "river teeth" inform and strengthen each other, allowing Duncan to create a complex and wondrous meditation on love, loss, passion, and of course, flyfishing.

"Poignant, funny, and artful, Duncan's 'river teeth' are like elongated American haiku, stretching their grainy syllables from the home plate of nostalgia to the outfield fences of eternity." -- Tom Robbins

"The man, David James Duncan, is touched, touched by the spirit, and he could be a prophet artist, but you can see that he chooses to tell just story -- for this is his mission on this go-around. Read him, digest him. He is a friend." -- Victor Villasenor, author of Rain Of Gold.

"David James Duncan is in love with water, the rivers and streams that have coursed through his life. Believe me, you will be swept up by his rivers, carried downstream, and deposited in a new place. In that new place, Duncan will build a fire and tell you a bunch of stories. What else could you want?" -- Sherman Alexie, author of Reservation Blues.

From the Back Cover:

"Exquisite."--Buzz

"Poignant, funny, and artful, Duncan's Oriver teeth' are like elongated American haiku, stretching their grainy syllables from the home plate of nostalgia to the outfield fences of eternity."--Tom Robbins

"To read River Teeth is to have a stranger's recollections loom up out of vagary and namelessness, and to grip you as if they were your own."--Los Angeles Times

"David James Duncan is in love with water, the rivers and streams that coursed through his life. Believe me, you will be swept up by his rivers, carried downstream, and deposited in a new place. In that new place, Duncan will build a fire and tell you a bunch of stories. What else could you want?"--Sherman Alexie

About this edition

• Publisher: The Dial Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0553378279
• ISBN 13: 9780553378276
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 259