CATCH AND RELEASE: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life

Using a family fishing trip as a catalyst for this memoir, Kingwell reflects on the actions and ideas that the rhythm of "casting and reeling, casting and reeling" conjures up in his mind. Kingwell is only a novice fly fisherman, so his thoughts on the oft-written-about sport stick to the ABCs, but are filled with a sense of joy and awe, so they can hardly be considered basic. Ever the philosophy professor (he teaches at the University of Toronto), Kingwell's musings on angling inevitably lead to in-depth essays on the inherent nature of and reasoning for various aspects of fishing, such as casting, killing, patience and outdoorsmanship. To flesh out his theories, Kingwell quotes from a varied list of sources including philosophers (Aristotle, Nietzsche), writers (Tom Wolfe, Hemingway) and fishing scribes (Izaak Walton, John Gierach). Thankfully, the author never forgets that, despite its philosophical characteristics, fishing, even fly fishing, should be fun. To that end, he livens up his prose with humorous tales about his family (his battles with his brother Sean will speak to anyone with a sibling), Canadian men (a "weird conjunction of manliness and dandyism") and the undeniable virtues of the "boat-beer" ("well known to tone you up and improve both coordination and judgment"). Though, in the end, he gets skunked in his fishing expedition for the meaning of life, Kingwell does create a book that finds a nice balance between the meaningful and the meaningless. Illus. not seen by PW . (May)