Customer Reviews (5)

A sad and funny book
The book is the story of a guy who works at a bizarre library where strange people who can't get their books published bring their books to be registered and stored forever.One night, a girl comes in with a book about how she hates the attention her gorgeous body brings her; she and the main character have sex, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and she gets pregnant.They decide to get an abortion, and arrange to go to Mexico to do so.
The book, although casual in its treatment of abortion--including fetuses being flushed down toilets--does meditate a little bit on what was being lost, when somehow the couple's aborted baby, all grown up, shows up one night with a book full of blank pages, pages never written on, pages she never had a chance to write on.(Richard Brautigan's ambivalence on this subject is also reflected in his poem "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mining Disaster," where he compares birth control and a fatal mine collapse, and says something like:
"All those people...lost inside.")
Richard Brautigan really is a funny guy, though.He's also very much a child of the 1960s, and both his humor and his sixties idealism come through strong in this book.
The main girl has sex with someone she just met, gets an abortion, works at a topless place, and is perfectly happy.
The main guy arranges the abortion, quits his job, lives off his girlfriend, and is perfectly happy.
Politics aside, 1960s aside, this is an enjoyable read, though it ends on a somewhat disappointing note, and any suspense it maintains ends abruptly upon the couple's actual visit to the abortion doctor.
I laughed uncomfortably several times while reading it, but would probably recommend "Trout Fishing in America" over this.

A brilliant, but inane, writer manages to stick to a topic.
Richard Brautigan , the beatnick author/poet, has always been the type of writer who's books only leave you with a feeling; the type of books that when people ask you what the book you're reading is about you can only give a puzzled look. (like it was a stupid question.)I think a friend put it best when he said, "Brautigans books are just words; they're a relaxation technique for the mind."Of course, there is more depth and continuity to them than that, but not much. Howere, in his book "The Abortion" Brautigan not only manages to stick to one topic, but to make it nearly as moving as his other novels. "The Abortion" chronicles his life as a librarian.Of course, it is no ordinary library; it is a library where people who can't get their books published can put their works on public display. An obvious, but interesting, metaphor for his own struggle with writing. He doesn't quite capture the same amazing imagery that he did in "Trout Fishing in America".But, for new, or old, fans of Brautigan it is a fine (and linear) novel.

One of Brautigan's most personal, and creative novels
"The Abortion" stands as one of Brautigan's most personal novels, as well as one of his most creative.The book tells the story of a librarian for a library that stocks only books that have never been published, and will never be read.It gives the character satisfaction to stock these books by people who want their one chance to be a writer.Intertwined with this is the story of that same librarian's trip to Mexico for the procedure that is the book's title.In contrast to the humor of the first part of the book, this section is morose, and descriptive.It wraps you in the feelings of the protagonists.

If there is criticism, then, it is that the writing speeds up and slows down periodically.Thus, several chapters may go by with little happening, and then all hell breaks loose.But this is a minor critique; and the reader can always know that the book WILL pick up pace.A definite must for Brautigan fans.

Read Brautigan if you like, but not this particular book...
I read this book when it was published. It is all right, but some of the ideas are quite dated (especially some of the ideas about women!). If you want to read something representative of Brautigan's best, I recommend "Trout Fishing in America" or "In Watermelon Sugar".

a historical romance : 1977
One of Brautigan's best and least known, this book captures the soul and ideals of a dying generation.Richard Brautigan's simple words and weaving prose embrace the reader into an erotic story of life in Brautigan-land.The idea of a library for unpublished books is on of the most outstanding metaphors put onto paper during the twentieth century.Brautigan again tells a story in his own unique way, a true favorite of a select few.To discover Brautigan, The Abortion is a must.To discover life, Brautigan is a must ... Read more

Product Description
In all of the obituaries and writing about Richard Brautigan that appeared after his suicide, none revealed to Ianthe Brautigan the father she knew. Through it took all of her courage, she delved into her memories, good and bad, to retrieve him, and began to write. You Can't Catch Death is a frank, courageous, heartbreaking reflection on both a remarkable man and the child he left behind.
Amazon.com Review
His daughter was 24 when quintessential '60s author Richard Brautigan (Trout Fishing in America) killed himself in 1984, and the obituaries were almost as painful for her as his tragic act. "I did not recognize the dignified, brilliant, hysterically funny, and sometimes difficult man who was my father in anything they wrote," says Ianthe Brautigan, who makes it her business to capture those qualities in this poignant memoir. Her recollections of an unsettled childhood bouncing between two free-spirited parents' bohemian homes (in San Francisco, Montana, Hawaii, and Japan) are remarkably free from bitterness, even when she chronicles drunken phone calls from her suicidal father. Alcohol was Richard Brautigan's fatal weakness, prompted by severe depressions rooted in an impoverished, unhappy childhood. But Ianthe also depicts his tenderness and warmth, the magical sessions of impromptu storytelling with writer buddies like Tom McGuane and Jim Harrison, the glamour of meeting movie stars Peter Fonda and Margot Kidder. She comes to terms with the past that always haunted her father when she makes a trip to Oregon to see her grandmother, estranged from Richard for 25 years. Without presuming to solve the mystery of his death, the author reclaims the values of Brautigan's life and work in her touching, sensitively written book. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

"My father had money problems, family problems, and drinking problems, but the biggest problem was that he didn't want to live."
Having never heard of the memoirist's famous father, Richard Brautigan, author of, among others, Trout Fishing in America, I'm likely in the minority of those who've read this book by Ianthe Brautigan, his only child. In spite of that, I'm glad I read it. Those of us who've lost a parent tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the lives of our lost loved ones and dwelling on the circumstances of their deaths. I wouldn't even want to try to imagine what it must be like to have had a parent choose to check out. In Ianthe's case, she'd been forewarned repeatedly. Her alcoholic father would often go on and on about wanting to die. How would you get past the wonder that (maybe?) they didn't love you enough to want to remain on earth. It seems, though, that Ianthe has thought through it thoroughly and, thankfully, turned out pretty darn good in spite of it. Not only is there the usual stuff, memories of the time they spent together when she was growing up, which was sometimes spotty due to his mental state and the fact that her parents divorced when she was very young, but she also spends a lot of time recounting dreams she has about him after his death. From the view of an outsider (to the world of Richard Brautigan) book aficionado always happy to hear about a new author, especially someone as unique as he was, I'm thankful to have found him through her (although I read but didn't "get" Trout Fishing in America). However, I probably wouldn't recommend it to the average memoir fan unfamiliar with the father. You Can't Catch Death is exactly what the subtitle claims, "A Daughter's Memoir."

Important companion read: Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. Also good: The Mercy Papers by Robin Romm, The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Lea Helget, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

Touching Tribute
I loved reading this book about my favorite author, his devoted daughter, and the life they shared while Richard was alive.Richard Brautigan was a brilliant writer who deserves much respect.I read his works over and over.

It was interesting to learn about his personal life, and Ianthe shares her story so beautifully.I'm sure her father would be proud.Her writing style is wonderful, and her telling of her father's life is a touching tribute to a great American writer and his complexities.

Everyone should read Richard Brautigan books. And follow up with Ianthe's.

You Know You're Getting Old When -
Your favorite artistic hero from college days no longer rings a bell for many if not most. Richard Brautigan was one of the most innovative, creative, and "counter-culture" (as we used to say) poets of his day. His poetry was utterly refreshing and blew (literally) all the stuffy poetry elevated to a plane beyond God out of the room. As to this truly grand memoir by his daughter, Ianthe Brautigan, as much as a fan as I was - I did not know that her father's poetry revolutionized the genre and sold millions world-wide. Most profound of all, is Ms. Brautigan's literary gifts so evident in this book. For the price of a cup of good coffee, it is surely worth your time.

Far Better Than Expected
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Ianthe Brautigan stays on target throughout her memoir -- as the daughter of Richard Brautigan, and the daughter of a father who killed himself.Brautigan turns out to be an articulate author, and she expresses her feelings very openly.I feel callous saying that this is an enlightening read for R. Brautigan fans, because much of I. Brautigan's drive derives from her troubled feelings about him. But the book is also a biography of her father, the ways he lived (as well as the way he died, which is vividly described). While reading, I felt it was a reliable biography, from the POV of someone very close to him, who understood him, and had her own experiences with respect to growing up his daughter; it was a reliable/subjective biography, which turned out to have merits of its own that an outsider can't match -- for better or worse. What it loses in objectivity, it more than overcomes.

No doubt I. Brautigan has had many other life experiences too, but very impressively she keeps to her misssion to tell the story of her father, his life, his death, her relationship to and evolving feelings about it.I did not expect it to be as well-done as it is. Kudos, as well as my sympathy to the author who indeed had an unfortunate and difficult time due to his suicide. Regarding R. Brautigan, fans will appreciate her anectodes and stories, despite their coming from the place they do -- of having to learn that she can not "catch death."

More about her than him, but good
Ianthe is the daughter of Richard Brautigan, although this book is more her personal story of overcoming her father's suicide than a biography of him. I would have preferred the latter. Still, you get a good, if incomplete portrait of Richard Brautigan through the eyes of the person closest to him. You get to know his multi-faceted personality, including his tragic drinking habit, but never understand his life or what drove him to suicide (nobody, including his daughter, knows). Some great stories about the last of the beats. I think my favorite was when he sat with a friend in his Montana cabin and shot out the hours on the clock, each hour on the hour, with his handgun. ... Read more

Product Description
Torpedo is a short story anthology from Melbourne, Australia that showcases the best of new writing from established authors around the world and some newbies you might not have heard of, but soon will.

Volume 4 is a tribute issue to Richard Brautigan, with an introduction by his daughter Ianthe and fiction from writers who cite the great man as an influence. Released on the 25th anniversary of his passing.

Contributors: Ianthe Brautigan-Swensen, J.David Stevens, Ryan Boudinot, Ros Almond, Ruby Murray, Alicia Sometimes, Josephine Rowe, Sean Casey, John Holton, Caren Beilin, Andy Murdoch, Ryan Crawford, RICHARD BRAUTIGAN, Ben Jahn, Adam Golaski, David Beattie, Shawn Mitchell, Phil McNamara, Adam Ford, Chris Flynn, Kris Allison, Brian Evenson, Luke May, Dan Pope, Justin Taylor, Stanley Donwood.

Editor: Chris Flynn
Designer: Eirian Chapman
Cover: Kristian Olson

Print version includes comics from Jonty Bell and Paul O'Connell, with 8 double-sided full colour art cards featuring work from Pat Dalton, Mark Sarmel, Ricky Butler, Chris Bianchi, Gavin Dias, Julien Morel, Hubert Szyperski, Dylan Martorell, Tim Lee, Mehgan Trice, Andrew Gordon, Eirian Chapman & Adrien Duplan.

Order print copies through falconvsmonkey.com

“The heart of contemporary Australian fiction is beating loud and strong. Stupendous.” Herald Sun

“Torpedo marks the dawn of a new age for local fiction publishing.” 3000

“A sleek, handsome volume of new work by great writers. A brave endeavour.” Vice UK ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of 62 very short stories set in 1960s California, particularly around the author's home town of San Francisco. Richard Brautigan is the author of "Willard and His Bowling Trophies", "Trout Fishing in America", "In Watermelon Sugar" and "A Confederate General From Big Sur". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

like it !
If you know this man you like this man !
if you like is novels you be found in love with that kind of short strat of novel !

Angry chickens by the old pond
When I was a kid growing up in a small town north of Boston, I used to take care of a neighbor's chickens.It was only when the family went to the Cape for vacations. I had to let the chickens out of their coop in the morning.They always seemed glad to see daylight.Though they were hungry, they never got used to me.They'd run around clucking and squawking, wishing I'd disappear and leave them to their chicken business.When I threw food on the ground, they really got wild.They'd run around like crazy.I had to collect the eggs, take them up onto the neighbors' back porch and put them in a basket.The chicken coop stood just before a patch of weeds and brush by a old pond where turtles lived and I could catch tadpoles.I grew up.Then it was the Sixties and I started to read Richard Brautigan.I loved that guy's writing.And you know ?I still love it.He must be one of America's great twentieth century writers, but forgotten.I haven't forgotten him.He's all around, just like chicken.Maybe writing today is more like supermarket frozen chicken, but Brautigan has that feeling of early summer mornings when you hadn't been spoiled by too much living.His work is poignant, funny, sad, and beautiful.You can fill in your own adjectives if you read books like REVENGE OF THE LAWN.I strongly recommend that you do.A lot of his stories are pieces of genius.Describing them only destroys them.You have to read them, each a little haiku of its own.A haiku on a hundred bucks a month.Having a lot of money isn't everything.Just take a good look at life.Chickens are as good a place to start as anywhere.Brautigan killed himself and that was the world's loss.I still miss having more Brautigan stories.I've read them all several times.

As beautiful as a lover's smile
A friend introduced me to the works of Brautigan quite recently. I hadn't heard of him before, to my shame.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I was surprised, pleasantly. It's not something that I'd have picked up on a whim. It's not something that I'd have thought that I'd enjoy. I was wrong.

Some of the stories in this collection are achingly beautiful. Some are very short, but evoke a level of emotion that I'd not have thought possible. The brevity and the intensity of his use of language is astonishing.

This is a volume I think that I'll eventually read again and again. I've nothing else in my extensive collection that has the ability to make me laugh one moment, and have me on the verge of tears the next. How could I recommend this more highly ??

Best book
To my mind this is Brautigan's best book, and his finest work is the one-sentence Scarlatti Tilt.He manages to get a whole novel into one sentence.That sentence should be something that every college student reads.

I feel sad that so few will.

A long overlooked literary treasure
There is (was) no one quite like Richard Brautigan. I've been reading his stuff for more than 25 years and his writing never fails to make me smile or take me to new emotional depths. This classic collection of Brautigan short stories is the master at the height of his creative powers. What a range of creativity on display, from the pathos of "The World War I Los Angeles Airplane" (Winner of the 1969 Best Short Story of the Year) to the whimsical "1/3. 1/3, 1/3".

I used to be a teacher. When my students stumbled into my office, all depressed and angst-ridden, I always sent them home with a Brautigan. They never failed to come back with a smile and deep appreciation.

Richard Brautigan was a complicated man, pursued by demons he could never control. We lost him far too early in life, but thankfully, we have books like "Revenge of the Lawn" to read and treasure over and over again. ... Read more