Your remark about opening lines reminded me of one of my favorites:
“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”
What an incredible review of “Jayber Crow!” Your insights were so valuable. I also immensely enjoyed Hannah’s poem.
I read Jayber Crow a number of years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Your essay reminded me why.
Your remark about opening lines reminded me of one of my favorites:
“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”
--A River Runs Through It (Norman Maclean)