One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder

From a born storyteller (Seattle Times), this playful and moving bestselling book of essays invites us into the miraculous and transcendent moments of everyday life.When Brian Doyle passed away at the age of sixty after a bout with brain cancer, he left behind a cultlike following of devoted readers who regard his writing as one of the bestkept secrets of the twentyfirst century. Doyle writes with a delightful sense of wonder about the sanctity of everyday things, and about love and connection in all their forms: spiritual love, brotherly love, romantic love, and even the love of a ninefoot sturgeon.At a moment when the world can sometimes feel darker than ever, Doyles writing, which constantly evokes the humor and even bliss that life affords, is a balm. His essays manage to find, again and again, exquisite beauty in the quotidian, whether its the awe of a child the first time she hears a river, or a husbands whiskers that a grieving widow misses seeing in her sink every morning. Through Doyles eyes, nothing is dull.David James Duncan sums up Doyles sensibilities best in his introduction to the collection: Brian Doyle lived the pleasure of bearing daily witness to quiet glories hidden in people, places and creatures of little or no size, renown, or commercial value, and he brought inimitably playful or soaring or aching or heartfelt language to his tellings. A lifes work, One Long River of Song invites readers to experience joy and wonder in ordinary moments that become, under Doyles rapturous and exuberant gaze, extraordinary.