BOOK REVIEW: Paul Quarrington

From the Far Side of the River 

Paul Quarrington's latest book, From the Far Side of the River, could easily be called Zen and the Art of Angling. This small but feisty compilation of fishing 'tails' is written by a man avid about both angling and writing. He brings his two obsessions together in this collection of humorous and enlightening adventures-set for the most part, out there on the water, chasing the Big One.

In a more sober moment, Quarrington tells us, "If literature is meant to engage our emotions, exercising more rarified sensibilities like mercy and grief, then fishing is the activity for the fundamental feelings. It is plunging your finger into the beating heart of something."

And getting to the heart is what Quarrington does best. Whether angling for Steelheads on Vancouver Island, Muskie on Lake of the Woods, or Bonefish in the Bahamas, Quarrington is often hilarious, insightful and edifying on the subjects of fishing and life-and most everything else in-between.

The 50 year old Toronto based author has written more than a dozen books and numerous plays and screen plays. He has won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his novel King Leary, and the Governor General's Award for his book Whale Music, which was made into a feature film.

In his current book we meet some colorful characters, like Wray McQuay, conservation officer with the Ontario Ministry of Natural resources. "You really care about this stuff (conservation), don't you" Quarrington asks him. "Hey," McQuay points out, "if I don't care, who's going to?" McQuay is a hard assed law enforcement officer who makes it a point to go soft on at least one worthy law breaker every day, just to stay in practice.

Along the way you'll also meet odd ball character, mentor, and world-class fly caster, 'Old Guy' Gordon Deval. Then there's Uncle Burt, Jake the Muskie Man from Kenora, and Ansil Saunders, Bonefish Legend and the man who took Martin Luther King out in his boat in the Bahamas, and found a quiet spot for the famous civil rights leader to write his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

Quarrington explores the Art of the Freebee at the $1000.00 a day Tsunami Lodge in BC, compt to him because he promised to write an article extolling the virtues of the establishment. Years later he's still planning to write it. And on the subject of stretching it a bit, Quarrington has this to say about big fish stories. "Anglers only lie to 'improve the narrative', and as such are latter-day practitioners of an age-old oral narrative art form."

The fib, as a form of show biz, you might say. So it's not like an angler is lying when the 2 lb. bass he live released, puts on a few pounds. Exaggeration is in the best interest of the listener's entertainment needs.

And if we stretch it a bit, the Zen Koan, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" sounds a bit like theatre-entertainment for the monkey mind, you might say. Pointing out the absurdity of trying to think your way through understanding what life is all about.

Need to sort things out. Find some peace. Quarrington might tell us to get out there on the water. Feel the moment, smell the air, read the river, listen to the waves rocking against the shore. Be here now, waiting and watching for the Big One to take your hook. As Quarrington says, "enlightenment-like a fish-is where you find it."