Jim Harrison’s fiction is diverse in its genres, protagonists, and settings: from novel to novella—from comically masculine rogue to the psychically scarred female—from wilderness to city. This study examines the metaphors Harrison uses to offer critical entrance into his fiction—food, place, ecological concerns, journey, "soul history," and region. Harrison's fiction contains the underlying currents of alienation and lost identity, and he uses these currents imbedded in modern life to explore the viability of the mythic quest and the American Dream. This study, the first full length critical analysis of Harrison's work, illuminates Harrison's diversity and range, placing him in the top echelon of contemporary American authors. Through personal association and a passionate attachment to Harrison’s work, Patrick Smith uses close readings and contemporary literary theory to produce criticism that sketches the scope of Harrison’s influence.
