I only just discovered him and I enjoy everything I've read and seen about him. How is it that those who we like best are always at such a distance, sometimes in cases like this, that distance is cosmic but still not yet too far.
I had read "Dalva" several years ago, liked it, but didn't grab me. About three months ago my wife, who worked at the library, brought home one of his books for me. Found it astonishingly good! Have since read all I can find. I guess his desire for privacy is the main reason his books are underappreciated. RIP Mr. Harrison.
When Legends of the Fall hit, you knew you were reading a voice completely original, powerful and mesmerizing. The first tale, Revenge, opens with an animal observing a man almost dying from being beaten very badly. That animal was Jim. So was the man -- who had tasted his mortality but would prove too strong for existence to defeat him. They never tamed Harrison. He had the soul of a wolf and the heart of a mountain. Civilized pissants back east trembled in his shadow. He just outLIVED them. You didn't snicker when you read Jim -- you laughed out loud. He made you feel more alive. I always hated finishing his stories. I'd feel a little lost and sad because I'd think, What now? What can be better than that?
I started reading his books around 2011, after reading a very good story from Outside magazine that was written by a son of one of Jim's friends. I found The River Swimmer to be one of my favorites. I recently borrowed 2 of his most recent books from the library and decided to look him up online. I didn't realize that he passed until now.
