| Title | : | Brian's Return (Brian's Saga, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 |
| Publication | : | First published September 11, 1999 |
Brian's Return (Brian's Saga, #4) Reviews
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It was about 20 years ago in school that my teacher read to us The Hatchet. It was always one of my favorite books. One that I would come back to and read occasionally as I got older.
I started re-visiting classics that were popular when I was a child. So with the power of the internet, I was able to discover, much to my surprise, that Gary Paulsen hadn’t been idle with his young character, Brian. Naturally I knew about The River, but not that fans had badgered Mr. Paulsen to write an alternative to The Hatchet’s ending. Which, is invariably, how fans came to have Brian’s Winter. Anyway, with all that being said, I lost track of time and once again I went researching Gary Paulsen and discovered he’d written more Brian adventures. Here are my thoughts on the series thus far…
I believe that Mr. Paulsen had kept the integrity of the character. The writing sounds the same, as does young Brian.
Of course, being an adult, the story felt a little too short, but keeping in mind that this book wasn’t made for an old fuddy-duddy like myself, I felt was a good fit. Young readers will delight in Brian’s return to the wilderness. Personally, I was most captivated by the knowledge of Brian, and all that he explained about living in the wilderness.
As for the story itself, I think of this like a combination of The Hatchet and The River. Brian sets off to visit a trapper family he met in Brian’s Winter. He flies out the first leg, but the second leg he gets out his canoe and paddles the rest of the way.
The entire book is simply as I’ve stated, although there is a climax at the end of the story, like most books usually do.
Overall, a good continuation to the series. I might be a little too old for these books, but I really do think young readers will enjoy them. -
This was much much better than 'the River' the #2 in the series. I didn't mean too, but I skipped Brian's Winter. Still, this ended up being a nice read.
I like the idea 'the woods get into you'. I think Brian is very hardcore, but I could see how once you live in sync with nature, it would be very difficult to try and live in society and care about stuff. There is an afterward that Gary says many of these experiences that Brian had were things he went through. He lived in the woods for 12 years. He is writing from experience.
What I really enjoyed about this book is there was no gimmick like in 'the River' to get Brian to the woods. Brian was in therapy and I loved that part of the story and then Brian planned on going back to the woods. There isn't the usual drama, but the peace of being in nature and using his considerable skills to survive. The big scene is with a bear.
It's an interesting little book. I appreciate it's quiet and calm. If people loved hatchet and they love the outdoors, then I can see them enjoying this book. I would go from Hatchet to this one and skip The River. I'll read Brian's Winter and decide if that is worthy of the series later. I also like the quick story, in and out. I also enjoyed the Indian that shows up in the story. He is a good character. -
Again a good sequel in this series. I only wished it had some more mystery or drama in it, like maybe more about that Billy guy he met. Or maybe an end to the story at the end. However, I really enjoyed it. Brain really started to grow on me.
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Brian's camping trip
Brian's Return is book 4 of
Brian's Saga, by
Gary Paulsen. As the story begins Brian is living at home with his mother again. (For those who have become a little confused about the timeline, here is how I think we're supposed to understand it. The first 53 days of
Hatchet occurred as recounted in that book. However, subsequent events are as described in
Brian's Winter -- Brian was not rescued on day 54, but spent the winter in the wilderness, until he stumbled on a family of Cree trappers, the Smallhorns, who hooked him up with a pilot who got him out. Then the events of
The River happened mostly as described. The most visible consequence of
The River is that Brian now has the kevlar canoe that Derek gave him in gratitude for his rescue.)
So, Brian is back in civilization and high school. Alas, Brian has been ruined for the modern world. He can't bear the noise, the constant activity, and can't bring himself to care about the things a person living in the modern world needs to care about. A dramatic event, which I will not spoil, makes it evident that Brian needs to get out -- back to the woods.
A friend suggests that Brian visit the Smallhorns. Brian now becomes acquisitive -- he starts buying camping gear. In addition to the canoe he already owns, he buys a tent, a bow and arrows, and various other survival gear. We thus have a chapter that is almost entirely about Brian's shopping for camping gear. He calls it the List. Well, you all know how that works, Once you've gone shopping and bought a bunch of goodies, you can't resist the urge to use them. Thus Brian returns to the wilderness with all this cool new gear.
Stuff happens. I don't want to spoil the story, so I'll leave it at that.
I found
Brian's Return disappointing because it all felt too ordinary. It felt like Brian went shopping, then took a vacation to go camping, the way any ordinary person might. Now, obviously, Brian's version of a camping trip is extreme. It involves what most of us would call great danger and hardship. At this point, however, you have read three books about Brian living rough in the woods with nothing. With a canoe and a couple backpacks full of the highest quality gear, you KNOW he can hack it. The stakes just never feel high enough to matter.
The book ends with an Author's Note that makes it clear that Brian is, to a very large extent, modelled on
Gary Paulsen himself. He begins the Note with these words, "This is the final book about Brian, ..." which, since
Brian's Hunt exists, is clearly not literally true. Change of plans? I'm looking forward to reading it.
Blog review. -
I just finished reading "Brian's Return" by Gary Paulsen, I thought that the book was excellent, I could picture the experiences of the book in my head, like how he describes how the trees moved or the sunsets over the lake. When Brian decided to go back, I thought he was crazy, but then when he is there and makes the choice to never leave and live the rest of his life there, it blew my mind that after all that Brian went through, he would want to stay there.
The main character of the book, Brian, is an outgoing young kid who went through horrible things that no one should ever have to go through. Brian was stranded in the Northern woods alone fighting for his life and goes back because he feels he no longer fits into the world he used to know and love. Caleb is a former cop who was blinded and then became a therapist for troubled kids. He was Brian's therapist and was also the one who gave him the idea to go back to the woods to help him find himself.
The beginning of the book takes place in a modern day city where Brian lives with his family and talks about everyday struggles that teenage kids go through these days. The second part of the books takes place in the woods where Brian feels more at home than any other place in the world.
I feel the author's purpose in writing this book is to show that everyone is different in their own way and that everyone is special and unique. No matter how much it goes against the flow, do it anyway to find yourself and who you are. Make your own path and show everyone what you are capable of.
I thought this was an amazing book. I would recommend this book to anyone. Everyone can relate to this book in some way. I rate this book five out of five stars. -
I liked reading this book a lot because I enjoy the outdoors like Brian. Brian Robenson survived living on his own when his plane crashed in the book "Hatchet", when Brian goes back home and realizes civilazation doesn't really fit who he is. Brian talks to his school counselor and lets out how he is feeling, the counselor enjoys listening to Brian talk and tells stories when and how he survived being in the wilderness the first time. Brian wants to return back to the wilderness. Brian wants to get back in the woods to discover who he really is and were he truely belongs.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the outdoors or being outside. I wouldn't recommend this book to a person who wants a really long book with a different variety of outdoor activities and surviving skills. I would recommend Hatchet or Brian's Return. -
All my reviews can be found at:
http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will appear on my site on May 27, 2021.
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As a part of May’s prompt for #Diverseathon2021 I am continuing the Brian’s Saga series by Gary Paulsen. In Brian’s Return, Brian realizes he cannot live the way he used to. Provoked by another student over a girl, Brian severely beats another boy, but in Brian’s mind he was being attacked and he was defending himself. After talking with a counselor, Brian decides to return to the Canadian wilderness, though more prepared (a tent and some more items) than when he crash landed. Brian is more at home in the wilderness and yes he faces the perils of outdoor living again. But at the end he is at home and peace in the wilderness.
I don’t know what it was about Brian’s Return, but it just wasn’t really for me once he got back into the wild, Maybe it was a ‘been there, done that’ scenario since I listened to the other three novels back to back. Brian’s Return was meant to be the final book in the series and you can tell by the ending of the book as there is a conclusion. But there was so much reader feedback that Paulsen wrote one more book: Brian’s Hunt.
At times while listening to the audiobook I was confused because Paulsen kept referencing Brian surviving in the winter, but that book was a ‘what if’ scenario and not what actually happened to Brian as he was rescued before winter came in Hatchet.
Peter Coyote was back as the narrator for the audiobook version; I was happy about that as he definitely has that story telling voice. -
This fourth book in the series has Brian back at home in the city, but longing to be back in nature and really not fitting in. He manages to convince his counsellor and his mom that he should head back out to the wilderness.
This one was super short, so only about ½ of it was in the wilderness. Which for me is the most interesting part. Also, very unrealistic – to think the adults would let him go back on his own (he was supposed to be meeting up with someone, but how come an adult didn’t accompany him that far?). I did find the author’s note at the end very interesting, though. -
I love the way the author describes the setting. The Descriptions really brought the story "to life." Brian's return is a very compelling story about a boy's itch to be one with nature. I recommend this to anyone who likes adventure.
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It is safe to say that the books following Hatchet didn't need to exist.
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I really am about two seconds away from buying myself a canoe and running off to the bush for the rest of my life, solely because of this series.
4.5/5 stars -
I like this ending of Brain's journey.
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I think that much of what makes Brian Robeson such a compelling figure is the way that his character reflects the life and philosophy of author Gary Paulsen. Brian is an intensely autobiographical creation, and the spirit of personal independence and craving for nothing more than to just be a part of the wilderness—a craving that had its origin in the first book of his adventures, Hatchet—is clearly the heartfelt desire of Gary Paulsen played out on the page, in a situation that he has imagined into being so that he can vicariously live out his own dreams of life in the wild through Brian's unique odyssey.
From what I can tell, Brian's Return is a sequel to the storyline as it runs through The River, rather than through the alternate sequel, Brian's Winter. It's not easy to tell for sure, but references in Brian's Return indicate that Brian had returned once before to the wilderness spot where it had all started with his plane crash, rather than that he had spent the winter out there alone and had learned to survive the experience of the ungodly cold, as was the case in Brian's Winter. Then again, maybe there's a way to reconcile the story so that the reader can choose to go with either sequel as the basis for Brian's Return. Is it possible that the events recorded in Brian's Winter could have actually occurred before those of The River, so that the first sequel could be brought into accord with either original storyline? Readers who have gone through all of the books about Brian will wonder about these things, and there's a lot of information to pay attention to in order to be able to mentally set it all right.
It's just not always easy to readjust to regular life after a shakeup like the one that hit Brian when the small plane he was in crashed and he became stranded on his own in the woods for so many weeks, with nothing to help him survive but a rudimentary hatchet and his own wits. Brian is back home, now, but though he has left the woods behind, the woods haven't returned the favor; he has been changed by the harrowing trials of his ordeal into a different person, and trying to get along in the "real world" as if nothing essential has changed proves to be an impossibility. After crossing a line with a violent act (albeit in self-defense) against a high school peer, Brian goes to see a counselor to help him decide what his next move should be. Caleb, a tall man built like a linebacker but with the thoughtful consideration of a philosopher, coaxes Brian to speak about what it was like living by himself in the wilderness. Having gone blind due to a freak illness several years back, Caleb can imagine the glorious outdoor settings that Brian describes with a rich intensity that eludes most other people, and the incredible tales that Brian tells open a window through which Caleb can once again experience the visual majesty of the world around himself. Caleb soon realizes that there's nothing wrong with Brian; he simply needs the wilderness, and there's nothing that can be done to take that desire out of him now that he's experienced its wonder and lived to want more of it.
With the encouragement and support of Caleb, Brian convinces his mother to let him go back again to the place where he feels he first came to understand his own soul, and live there indefinitely. The trip is not an impromptu one this time around, though, and Brian plans and plots carefully to bring along the exact kinds of equipment that he will need to subsist in the wilderness for a long time. He is going back to where it all started, and of his own volition, but this time Brian will have the tools at his disposal to have a realistic shot at dealing with whatever surprises nature has in store for him.
There is an adjustment period even for an experienced woodsman like Brian, but the real test of his ability to reassimilate to the dangerous outdoors will come when he's faced with a threat so raw and unpredictable that his response could never be tested ahead of time. Only if Brian can face down the greatest terrors of nature will he have proven his ability to become part of that nature and rise above its ever-present perils as a hunter, not becoming one of the unfortunate hunted. Will he be able to make it by himself in a world where eat or be eaten reigns as the supreme law of the land?
I sort of found myself wishing that this book were longer, and covered more of what happened after Brian made his decision to return to the wilderness that had so claimed his heart and soul. Brian's Return is a very short book, and leaves off not far into Brian's latest adventure. The story ends before his time back in the wild really has progressed far at all, and I'm sure that it left readers with a strong desire for a fifth book, a desire that would eventually be satiated with the publication of Brian's Hunt. All in all, I think that Brian's Return is a good wilderness adventure story, with even more to offer from a nonfiction standpoint of describing survival techniques and tips than the previous three Brian Robeson novels, and I believe that anyone who enjoyed those first three will definitely want to read this one. I would give two and a half stars to Brian's Return. -
3 + Quick read! Although my first Brian novel, I enjoyed it and want to read some of the earlier novels.
This was supposed to be the last in the Brian saga, however the fans cried "More - More" so there is one more novel [Book: Brian’s Hunt] which I have just put on my “TBR” list.
Brian's story was an enjoyable about his survival after a plane crash. ( This story was especially pleasurable after listening to “Lethal White”.) -
Pretty good
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I picked this one up out of curiosity, to see how Mr. Paulsen got Brian back to the wilderness. (Besides, it's short and a quick read.) You can see from my
previous
Goodreads
reviews that this series has been hit and miss for me. Brian's Return, the fourth installment of the saga, was mostly a hit.
After his extended period of time alone in the wilderness, Brian has a hard time readjusting to "real life," even after being back for more than a year. In what would undoubtedly be diagnosed today as a reaction triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder, Brian seriously injures another teenage boy, Carl, who makes the mistake of swinging a fist at him after hurting two of Brian's friends. Brian's instincts take over.In that instant Brian totally reverted. He was no longer a boy walking into a pizza parlor. He was Brian back in the woods, Brian with the moose, Brian being attacked--Brian living because he was quick and focused and intent on staying alive--and Carl was the threat, the thing that had to be stopped, attacked. Destroyed.
As a result of the attack, Brian starts seeing a counselor, Caleb, a seven-foot-tall, blind retired cop, who gets Brian to articulate the beauty he found in the woods and his longing to return and to reconnect with the person he was in the wilderness. Finally, one day Caleb "sighed and said, 'It's time for you to go back, to find what you're looking for.'" Brian "had to know what it was that pulled him and made him feel empty." Caleb helps to convince his parents, Brian makes the arrangements to visit the Cree family who found him, and he's off, back to the woods he so desperately misses.
To read the rest of this review, visit
Build Enough Bookshelves. -
Genre: Adventure
Pages: 144
Brief summary: It is about a kid named Brian and he comes back from his trip from the wilderness. He comes back and he goes to school but he is not a normal kid he went to the wild stayed there he knows what is like. So he was interviewed a while back when he came home but a couple years passed by and this girl wanted to get to know him better. So they go somewhere to eat but when they do this football player really likes the girl that Brian was with so he gets mad and right when the walk out he opens the door really hard and hits the girl he likes right in the nose and she fell down. Then he started attacking Brian and then Brian had to use self defense. I don't want to give you to much information about this book so you have to read it to find out the rest.
Comments: I think that this a great adventure book and that it is a good book for a 7th grader to read. If you like adventure books a lot then I think that you should read this book. But their are a lot more interesting things that happen later in the book but you just have to read it and see if you like it!
