It is hard to separate the fiction from fact in this autobiographical parable. Ostensibly a series of musings upon fishing, this is a mystical blending of philosophies and religious beliefs woven into powerful stories of one man's relationship with the landscape within which he fishes. This landscape is physical, emotional, and spiritual. It includes the people that populate it but they are seen on several levels in a pagan merging of the godhead with the land. Berlin's language is poetic and rich in analogy. His illustrations are bold and assured. It is clear how deeply he loved his subjects. This unusual book is entertaining, thought-provoking, and affirming. ( )