Traplines: Coming Home to Sawtooth Valley

By John Rember

Book Overview

In 1987, John Rember returned home to Sawtooth Valley, where he had been brought up. He returned out of a homing instinct: the same forty acres that had sustained his family's horses had sustained a vision of a place where he belonged in the world, a life where he could get up in the morning, step out the door, and catch dinner from the Salmon River. But to his surprise, he found that what was once familiar was now unfamiliar. Everything might have looked the same to the horses that spring, but to Rember this was no longer home. In Traplines , Rember recounts his experiences of growing up in a time when the fish were wild in the rivers, horses were brought into the valley each spring from their winter pasture, and electric light still seemed magical. Today those same experiences no longer seem to possess the authenticity they once did. In his journey home, Rember discovers how the West, both as a place in which to live and as a terrain of the imagination, has been transformed. And he wonders whether his recollections of what once was prevent him from understanding his past and appreciating what he found when he returned home. In Traplines, Rember excavates the hidden desires that color memory and shows us how, once revealed, they can allow us to understand anew the stories we tell ourselves.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400031117
• ISBN13: 9781400031115
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Words for what I did not know I lost

In her book, "but Enough About Me," Nancy Miller says that "Memoir reading works like a kind of interactive remembering -- where the [process] prompt the construction of memory itself" (7). Hole in the Sky (Kittredge) and Breaking Clean (Blunt) are compelling to me because I have a vague memory of the West that comes from living in close proximity, culturally, socially and physically. Traplines casts the same spell, but in an entirely different way. While memoirs might help us make sense of our lives by reviewing the life of others, Traplines helped me make sense of my point of view about what has become of Nature. While Judy Blunt and Bill Kittredge connected with me through honest and courageous tellings of the West, John Rember connects with me through his fine intellect, through his flint-edged philosophies about what we have lost. He helps me find voice to my feelings and frustrations. It helps that I was raised on a similar chunk of heaven, one that has not yet been discovered entirely, or one that has been discovered by a gentler surge of humanity. Still, the Steelhead are nearly gone and the Salmon are all breeders. Nature suffers the loss without telling me how painful its been. Rember helps me to understand.

The world changes, and the world changes us

Reading this book, you get a sense of wonder at the great distance we've managed to carve between ourselves and the natural world. Traplines re-invests significance in the things we take for granted -- from the smallest gestures to the extinction of whole species. It is breathtaking, sad, funny, angry and peaceful, all at once. This is the story of how we got here today, and how we will reckon with that in the future.

A Trustworthy Narrator

I am awestruck at Rember's ability to seamlessly string together opposing topics and events of his life. Traplines gives the reader a violent shove out of his or her comfort zone immediately, challenging any preconceived ideas and providing new insight about subjects such as death and nuclear war. It's not often that I read a memoir that teaches, while maintaining the trustworthiness characterized by the style.

No matter where you live...

...you should read this book. The setting is Idaho's Sawtooth Valley, but the lessons are universal. It's about finding a place in the world and making it your own...about how place affects who we are...and about finding peace of mind in a world that is all too transitory. On top of all that, the book is beautifully written. Rember is one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking authors you'll ever encounter. Do yourself a favor and read this book. You'll find it a welcome respite from today's headlines.