Literary Fiction · TenseFour men from a Georgia city take a weekend canoe trip down a river about to be dammed
Deliverance
by James Dickey
Four city men canoe a Georgia river before it is flooded by a dam
Four middle-aged men from a Georgia city set out on a weekend canoe trip down the fictional Cahulawassee River, which is about to be dammed to create a reservoir. Ed Gentry, a graphic artist, narrates in the first person, and the group includes Bobby Trippe, Drew Ballinger and Lewis Medlock, the experienced outdoorsman who plans the trip. The journey takes a dangerous turn when they meet hostile locals in the isolated wilderness. Houghton Mifflin published it on 1 June 1970, as Dickey's debut novel after his poetry.
More about this book
Who
Ed Gentry, who narrates, Bobby Trippe, Drew Ballinger and Lewis Medlock.
World
The northwest Georgia wilderness, along a river about to become a reservoir.
What makes it different
Dickey was a poet before this debut novel. He also wrote the screenplay for John Boorman's 1972 film.
Feel
Fast and tense.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- DeliveranceWikipedia