Richard Brautigan Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan was a writer, poet, and novelist. He was born January 30, 1935 in Tacoma, Washington and died September 14, 1984 from a self inflicted gunshot wound. He has been described as the Hemingway of the sixties, one with a playful sense of humor.

Brautigan grew up in Tacoma, and spent time in Eugene, Oregon during bleak times like The Depression and World War II. Some of his work reflects some of his experiences during his childhood.

During this time, he did not know his biological father and had many stepfathers, and would leave behind all of his family ties when he moved to San Francisco. Richard Brautigan was married two times and had a daughter.

His debut novel was released in the year 1966, and was called “The Abortion”. It is the first of his twelve novels; he also published six nonfiction essays, a story collection, ten collections of poetry, and a record album of spoken voice recordings.

In 1956, he was living in San Francisco, with a determination to become a writer. His breakout as a writer would come when he published “Trout Fishing in America” in the year 1967. He became an international sensation overnight.

His biggest period was during the seventies, and he saw his biggest success during this time. Some work of his was banned in the state of California. In the late seventies and early eighties, however, his popularity began to wan. He was still popular in Japan, and would visit there for some extended periods.

At the time he died, he was largely ignored or, even worse, negated by pundits and critics who would trivialize the contribution that he made to American literature.

Through all of his work one is able to see Brautigan’s easy to read yet idiosyncratic style of prose, offbeat combination of whimsy, strange and detailed observation, imagination, humor, and satire.

After his death, Ianthe Brautigan (the only child Richard had) found a manuscript of “An Unfortunate Woman”. The book had been finished just over a year earlier, but had never been published. She found it too painful to see her dad’s presence on page after page, and set the book aside. After finishing a memoir about her dad, she picked up the book again. Clear eyed, she finally saw that it was her dad’s work at its best and just had to be published.

“The Abortion” is the first stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1966. A young man works in a library in San Francisco for unpublishable books. Life’s losers (a great number of which happen to be writers) are able to bring their manuscripts to the library, and it is here that they will be registered, welcomed, and shelved. They will not be read, but they will be cherished.

Vida comes in with her manuscript. It is about her gorgeous body, inside of which she feels uncomfortable. The reclusive librarian makes her feel comfortable, and they live in the back of the library until a trip to Tijuana that changes them both in ways neither had expected.

This is a charming and lovable book, and finds a way to feature subject matter as abortion while still maintaining its optimism and innocence. The characters are superb, and the premise is unique.

“Willard and His Bowling Trophies” is a stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1975. San Francisco during the early seventies. Willard is a papier mache bird and shares the front room of an apartment with some bowling trophies that were taken from the Logan brothers’ home. The human tenants, John and Pat, who just got back from a local movie theater after seeing a movie with Greta Garbo.

Bob and Constance live near them, they are a married couple going through a rough patch. Due to this failing relationship, Bob starts being depressed. At the same time, the Logan brothers are trying to hunt down their stolen trophies. The brothers have transformed their happy life made up of bowling into one of vengeance.

Brautigan is fast, sharp, funny, unique, and one of the best writers ever. This book never fails to be odd and entertaining, and often dives off into close to ridiculousness. The characters seem comical, while the plot is sparse but imaginative. The book was tough to put down, as you just want to see if there is a point to any of what happens.

“The Hawkline Monster” is a stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1974. The year is 1902 in eastern Oregon. Magic Child, who is a fifteen year old Indian girl, goes into the wrong whore house looking for the right guys to kill the monster that dwells in the ice caves underneath the basement of Miss Hawkline’s yellow house.

Brautigan has penned a great meditation on psychedelic fantastical realism with this story. Here is a book that is for those who love a wickedly dark sense of humor and pure imagination. This was tough to put down read, that for some is their favorite Brautigan novel they have read.

“A Confederate General from Big Sur” is a stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1970. Lee Mellon, whose great-grandfather may or may not have been a Confederate General during the Civil War.

Lee holes up in Big Sur, and writes a friend an urgent invite, saying that he has a garden that grows the entire year, a 30-30 Winchester for deer, and a .22 for quail and rabbits. He has The Journal of Albion Moonlight and some fishing tackle. Lee tells his friend to come on to the party and hurry to Big Sur and reminds him to bring the whiskey.

Elizabeth and Elaine, as well as a pork chop eating alligator come to the party. Roy Earle with his one hundred grand is next to join, to hilarious effect.

Brautigan once again wrote an immensely excellent novel that is a perverse, playful, poetic, and psychedelic read. For some, this is a wonderful novel that would be easy to read many times again and again.

2 Responses to “Richard Brautigan”

1. Kim Lane: 3 years ago

   Richard Brautigan’s words have been in my life for many,many years.
   An enormously talented writer that I quote to this day.
   A writer that made me think, laugh and eagerly await his next publication.

   Reply
2. Kalikiano Kalei: 3 years ago

   A very handy and useful author chronology of Brautigan’s writings. I am convinced that there will be a resurgence of interest in his droll, if conflict roiled, take on the absurdities of life in the future. He stands unique, almost alone in his perceptions, a quality that therefore makes his ‘take’ all the more priceless and valuable to those of us who also experienced that 70s’ milieu in the SFO Bay Area but who were unfortunate in not having ever met him personally. Thank you.

   Reply