Paul Goes Fishing

Edition excerpt from Paul Goes Fishing (2008): Long lazy days stretch out while Paul's thoughts wander from the colorful characters at the fish and game camp to the lurking depths of childhood, a Holden Caulfield-esque adolescence. But the golden glow soon lifts off his vacation. It's not just the realization that outfitters have decimated the lake's indigenous species in favor of brook trout and are baiting wildlife for an easy fall hunt. According to Clément, Paul's brother-in-law, good fishing is all about knowledge and intuition, not sophisticated gear. So is storytelling, in Rabagliati's wistful and engaging account of everyday hopes and hardship. Beauty and meaning are even in the mundane in this compassionate story of expectation, disappointment and wonder.