James Dickey's first novel--he'd published several volumes of poetry--and it's rightfully famous, although probably more people see the film nowadays than read the book. They're both good, one of those rare occasions when a first-rate film is made from a first-rate book. I particularly loved the first section of this novel, when the four men plan their trip down the river over drinks at a bar. It's a scene that's not in the movie, and one that captures perfectly the American specimen of the weekend warrior. The book, as it goes on, gets a little too heady and metaphysical, especially the hunting scene along the cliff but it all comes back together in the final section. A haunting book.
It's really true that both "Deliverance" the book and "Deliverance" the movie are excellent which is super rare. If you ever find yourself wanting for something to read there is a really good biography of James Dickey out there and also a book about Boorman making "Deliverance". I can't remember the titles or authors right now, so thats not really helpful.
ReplyDeleteOh, it was Chris Dickey, James' son, who wrote a book called " Summer Of Deliverance."
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