Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan

Trout Fishing in America is a novel (some label it a novella) by Richard Brautigan.  It was written before A Confederate General from Big Sur, but published after it, in 1967.

The book is abstract in nature and has no conventional plot, although main characters reappear in the surrealistic vignettes.  The short chapters take place in three locations: the Pacific Northwest; San Francisco; and Idaho, with the author camping with his wife and daughter.  Objects such as a statue of Benjamin Franklin and a mayonnaise jar also reappear in various chapters.

The phrase "trout fishing in America" is enigmatic.  It is a character in the novel, a hotel, and the act of fishing.  According to most scholars, the theme of the book, inasmuch as it has one, centers around a humorous satire of American society and its values.

The book has resonated in popular culture.  Apollo astronaut Jack Schmitt named a moon crater "Shorty," a character in the novel.  Author W. P. Kinsella said that the novel was an important influence on his 1985 book, The Alligator Report.  There is also a rock band named Trout Fishing in America.

~William Hammett

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