"Rolling Back the River is a lyrical and unflinching journey through wild streams, wild hearts, and the wilderness of loss. With humor, heart, and hard-earned wisdom, Paul Guernsey reminds us that the rivers we love—and the lives we build—can never flow backward." —Joshua Caldwell, fly fisher, director of the feature film Mending the Line
While fly-fishing on a remote river in southern Argentina, a veteran outdoor writer from Maine finds himself swept into a cascade of bizarre events, all connected to an enigmatic, billionaire environmentalist and his cosmopolitan twin nieces.
Vincent Mapp, former adventure-traveling editor-in-chief for an international fly-fishing magazine, now leads a life centered around teaching at a small Maine environmental college and obsessively fishing his home waters for just about anything that swims. But after his wife of many years abruptly upends his world by ditching him for someone who doesn’t fish all the time, Vincent decides to accept one last far-flung assignment as a fly-fishing journalist, and he heads off to Patagonia with the goal of catching some of the few remaining, fast disappearing, Argentinian landlocked salmon—all of which are descended from fish originally introduced to Argentina from Maine. Even at the literal end of the earth, however, and exploring an enchanted landscape of devastating beauty, Vincent finds himself unable to avoid conflict. He arrives at an isolated ranch on the Perca River just as a mysterious predator has begun attacking pets and livestock—and it’s not long before he experiences his own terrifying nighttime run-in with the creature. He also discovers that the reclusive American owner of an adjacent ranch—multi-billionaire wildlife conservationist and avid fly-angler J.T. Allman—has been commissioning some unsettling environmental experiments on his vast property. One serious complication in Vincent’s attempts to get to the bottom of all the strangeness: Allman holds a simmering 20-year-old grudge against him for events connected to his time as a magazine editor. Turbulent waters become increasing treacherous after Allman’s cultured, equestrian, and attractive twin nieces, unaware of their elderly uncle’s animosity toward Vincent, invite him to a bizarre festival on the grounds of the Allman estate. Through it all, Vincent and his faithful fishing guide, Sancho Nelson, try very hard to catch some salmon.
Industry Reviews
"Rolling Back the River is great fun, a crisp and rollicking read that artfully mixes humor and meaningful contemplation, often on the very same page." --Monte Burke, author of Lords of the Fly, Saban, and Rivers Always Reach the Sea "Rolling Back the River is a lyrical and unflinching journey through wild streams, wild hearts, and the wilderness of loss. With humor, heart, and hard-earned wisdom, Paul Guernsey reminds us that the rivers we love--and the lives we build--can never flow backward." --Joshua Caldwell, fly fisher, director of the feature film Mending the Line "A delightful book. The characters and their relationships are honest and believable. Well-known names in the fly-fishing community are seamlessly woven into the tapestry of the story, and there are rich literary allusions throughout. Most importantly, the descriptions of fishing are truthful and not overdone. I found myself rooting for the hero, and hope he makes a comeback in future books, like Joseph Heywood's Bowie Rhodes, or Jim Harrison's Brown Dog." --Bob White, sporting artist, author, Argentina and Alaska fishing guide "A thoroughly enjoyable, absorbing, and darkly comic novel about the delicate balance of the natural world." --David Coggins, author of The Believer: A Year in the Fly Fishing Life "Great fishing novels capture anglers and non-anglers. They're scarce as coelacanths, but one has surfaced here. With wit and superb writing, Guernsey takes us to beautiful places and develops characters who are real people, most of whom we want to know, all of whom we get to know." --Ted Williams, conservation journalist, author, guide "I've known Paul Guernsey since his days with Fly Rod & Reel magazine. Paul was promoting wild native fish and real conservation when doing so put readership and advertising at risk due to potential blowback from the industry and angling community. But Paul is also a fly fisherman, and he manages to find a balance between fish and fishing in his book, which is important." --Bob Mallard, writer, former fly shop owner, fly-fishing guide, founding member and Executive Director for Native Fish Coalition "I've never read anything quite like this. It grabbed me, compelled me, and made me assess all the reasons why I care so much about fly-fishing. The writing is nothing short of masterful and laden with legitimate substance. It is so deeply honest and imaginative, it left me speechless." --Kirk Deeter, Editor, TROUT magazine "Imagine Carl Hiaasen's environmental urgency crossed with John Gierach's dry wit and Norman Maclean's quiet reverence for trout water. That's the sweet spot Paul Guernsey hits in Rolling Back the River--a terrific novel celebrating friendship, fly-fishing, and the tangled comedy of growing older and wiser on a rapidly changing planet." --Tim Schulz, author of A Cast Away in Montana "In Rolling Back the River, Paul Guernsey has written a novel of nuance and meaning that brought me moments of laughter, joy, curiosity, and almost sentimental reflection. I loved this story." --Steve Ramirez, author of Casting Forward and the Lyons Press Casting series "It doesn't take more than a few sentences to realize that Paul Guernsey is a writer who fly fishes, rather than the other way around. When he is describing time on the water, the authenticity is clear, but what really carries the narrative are his skills as a writer--a fine eye for detail, an acute sense of life's absurdities, and a profound sense of humanity. While anglers will certainly enjoy this book, its appeal goes far beyond its sporting subject." --Phil Monahan, Editor-in-Chief, MidCurrent
