A riveting, and at times deeply uncomfortable but authentic tale that was relatable and tragic and uplifting all at once. Wasn’t at all what i was expecting when i started reading this but i really enjoyed it and it was a great surprise

“A novel of flyfishing in bankruptcy”


Oh, My Goodness! In my more than a decade of blogging, this will honestly and truly, have to be about one, if not the, most challenging book review I will have had to write!

So rather than have a post-mortem about all the whys and wherefores right at the top of the page, how about I tell you about the story as I see it… because it is really amazing!

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In New York, Hyperion Castle Hedge Funds files for bankruptcy and whilst there is no question of fraud by Managing Director Frank Campbell and his partners, merely a naive over-confidence, leaving very large exposures, Frank and his wife Francesca (Francy) are personally bankrupted, as Frank unbeknown to Francy, had also sunk all of her money into the venture too. With nothing left to their names except their Lamborghini, the couple set off into the Hudson Valley, to claim what is left of Francy’s inheritance and hopefully a roof over their heads at least. By the time they get towards their destination, even Frank has to concede that Lamborghini has to go, as its unsuitability to handle the rough terrain is immediately obvious, with the dwelling being little more than a rundown shack, with a leaky roof, which has become home to a herd of goats. As they approach the property via a bridge over the river, they stop to observe and photograph, a man fishing in the river. He introduces himself as Jace, who lives in a renovated castle, with his current partner Joan, on the opposite bank of the river to Frank and Francy. He invites the couple over to join a gathering of his like-minded fishing friends, so that they can get to know people and hopefully be persuaded take up the sport themselves. Jace’s (AKA Felix and Kyle) friends are a very monied, eclectic, eccentric and superficial collection of humanity, and whilst Francy seems to be hanging onto every word they say, Frank was truly hoping that he had left those kinds of people behind him for good, as their very survival going forwards, depends on him being a hunter gatherer, not a dreamer.

Following a very permanent family disagreement with his brother, and almost as though it had been planned, one Mr Robert Taylor turns up at the property, with a strange business proposition for Frank. Robert offers his carpentry skills in bringing the homestead and outbuildings back to a habitable condition, in return for Frank making space available to him in which to establish his artisanal brewery, with living accommodation for himself. Robert is also willing to put up all the investment funds needed, if Frank and Francy will learn the basics of the trade and Frank will act as his sales agent. The couple readily agree to Robert’s plans, although rather than seeing them pull together to solve a problem as Frank had hoped, it seems that Francy has decided to distance herself from him as much as possible, and making one of the rooms her new studio, she has taken up painting again, something at which she had achieved moderate success back in the city. Frank and Robert form an instant friendship, so when Frank returns, successful and with orders, from one of his lengthier sales trips, Robert confides that he has witnessed Jace making several extended visits to Francy, and he doesn’t think that they are newly acquainted, as everyone had assumed. When Frank is finally able to engage in a meaningful conversation with Francy, she reveals that Jace has arranged for one of his acquaintances, who owns a very prestigious gallery in the city, to host an exhibition of her paintings, which she will display under her maiden name. Just to prove to his friend that Jace values her work, he has purchased one of the pieces for himself, for the amazing sum of $75,000 and a shiny new Mini, to give Francy back some independence from Frank, who has invested in a very second-hand pick-up truck for himself.

With Frank and Francy’s lives taking ever divergent paths and Robert very subtly taking control of the brewery, one of Jace’s group of friends, retired doctor Arthur, a devout fisherman and hunter, has taken a shine to Frank and wants to encourage him to pursue fly fishing as a means of therapy. He offers Frank everything he needs to get him started and sets him off at a suitable spot in the river, however he insists that Frank find his own way totally, without reading any manuals and taking no formal instruction. Frank discovers that he has a latent talent and when Arthur confides in him that he doesn’t have long to live and he would like Frank to agree to writing his own book about his fishing experiences across not only America, but the rest of the world too, Frank agrees without demur, little knowing that events not a million miles away, on that very same day, will shape that future challenge he has accepted, and will indeed accelerate it. In fact there are a series of ‘accidents’ which will leave two of Jace’s group injured, with three more losing their lives altogether.

After a few months have passed and with his friendship with Robert still rock-steady, Frank realises that now he only has himself to think about, Arthur had been astute and timely in the challenge he had set, so he packs up only what he will need for the trip of a lifetime and sets off to fulfil a solitary destiny which he has yet to forge. Having travelled and fished his way across not only his own continent, but those of the rest of the world too, Frank has learned almost every conceivable method of catching fish, whilst discovering and awakening, just about every aspect of his true inner self – or at least that is his belief, until he meets EJ and Lodice, in Guatemala of all places. Frank and EJ instantly recognise one another, as EJ had been CEO of a company which had been one of the biggest creditors at the bankruptcy hearing of Frank’s company. Frank is immediately on guard, not knowing how EJ will react to seeing him, but in just a short time and after meeting EJ’s wife Lodice, Frank is amazed all over again by the couple’s reaction and the proposition they have for him.

Even more surprising and totally unnerving for Frank, is the next person he meets, this time in London, as he is still unsure about the role she played in the tragic ‘accidents’ back home in the Hudson Valley, on that fateful day which changed his life forever. As a shared spirit, was she a part of defining his recent past, or will she play an important role in re-shaping his future going forwards, as it would appear that his life has now travelled full circle, but hopefully making him a much better person along the way, and who knows what awaits him at tomorrow’s dawning!

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And now for the almost impossible part of this post, to set down my thoughts in any cohesive fashion.

There is no doubt in my mind about the importance of this work and how much it often parallels and mirrors the real life story of the author and his wife, although there are obvious, discernible differences, which set it apart.

The inspired and compelling storyline is multi-layered, highly textured, haunting and definitely intriguing. The many subtle twists in the plot made what at first glance may have seemed a predictable storyline, into a journey of discovery, with its many strands being deftly and skilfully woven together by some evocative narrative and often disturbingly frank and honest dialogue.

Some vivid and visually descriptive scenes, make both the characters and locations leap from the page, to infiltrate my very thought processes and stimulate my senses. For any ‘armchair travellers’ reading this story, satisfaction is almost assuredly guaranteed.

Author Leigh Seippel, has Frank waxing lyrical about his life and experiences, combining them with his new passion for the great outdoors and of course, his beloved fly-fishing. However, I am left with so many difficult and unanswered questions shouting at me to lay them to rest, which is almost impossible, as the highly nuanced messaging and inferences are almost indistinguishable from reality, and it seems to have been deliberately left, for me the reader, to draw my own conclusions about so many things. There seems to be some not-so-subtle reflections on the issues surrounding race and racial equality, particularly prevalent in some of the many conversations which Robert and Frank share, although much of the push-back seems to come from Robert, himself a person of colour. However, he takes a surprisingly tough stance when Jace’s name comes up, despite their shared heritage. Much is also made about the surprising attraction between Robert’s usually aggressive dog and Frank’s equally rambunctious ram and when things get rather ‘physical’, I’m still not quite certain that my humour would have been the author’s desired response!

It was obvious that Robert and Arthur, but particularly Arthur, were the only people who realised the almost total and potentially catastrophic fragility and frailty of Frank’s mind and mental health following the enforced bankruptcy. This is the personal story of Frank’s solitary introspection, strengthening his mind, spirit, resolve and physical resilience, which has offered him a chance for new beginnings. Now it is up to him how he chooses to use that opportunity, in either shaping a new future, or regressing on all his many gains and reverting to kind.

Leigh has created a well-defined and developed cast of characters, who are, for all their outward show of strength, emotionally raw and passionate, yet also complex and vulnerable. Whilst this makes them addictive and authentic to the roles created for them, it also means they are often volatile, unreliable and almost impossible to relate to or invest in, as they are wont to manipulate a situation to suit their own ends.

I am still unable to decide whether Ruin is a sheer stroke of deliberate philosophical genius in the style in which it has been written, or if it is a book which simply needs to be proof-read, edited and re-edited until all those annoying kinks have been ironed out. This storyline needed to be read in solitude, word for word, to appreciate the many cadences and true inspiration in the way the individual words are used to create meaningful sentences, but without the use of any extraneous ‘joining up’ words. I think for me personally though, the fact that almost every single word which began with a ‘th’ sound, was missing the t and h, which made second guessing quite difficult sometimes.

This truly begged to be a 5* read, however I couldn’t get passed some of those glaring anomalies, which left me unable in all conscience to leave more than 4* I do however urge you, if you can get your hands on an inexpensive copy of the book, to read it for yourself and see where your journey leads you, but you will need to be patient and devote your full attention to the detail. I would love to know if you agree with my thinking, or if I am really missing something fundamental in my appraisal and I owe the author a genuine apology.

All that being said however, I still believe that what makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every new book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination, stir my emotions and stimulate my senses. This was definitely one of those “one of a kind” experiences, which had the power to evoke so many feelings, that I’m sure I won’t have felt the same way about it as the last reader, nor the next. I can only recommend that you read Ruin… for yourself and see where your journey leads you!

Sometimes reading something different from my usual selection of genres really is like a breath of fresh air.

A bit of a soul-search story. I liked this one and for that like metaphors will probably like this. Well written and I look forward to the author's next work.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

Reading RUIN feels like driving alone on dirt roads, one turn after another taking you further from your comfort zone until at last there’s a beautiful clearing and suddenly it’s obvious why you made the trip.

Told from multiple POV in a muted, descriptive style, Frank and Francy Campbell leave the reader with a lot to ruminate on.

He loses both of their fortunes, and they exile themselves in the country. Hello schadenfreude—eat the rich, it’s good for you.

She retreats into her artwork, turning inward away from their partnership. A marriage story. It gives him time to reconcile an unexpected tragedy that strikes during a fly fishing event: you kill one demon just to make room for another.

These and other internal issues power an intriguing cast of characters through a dense tale of picking up the pieces.

Thanks to City Point Press, Meryl Moss Media Group and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest interview.
This book was a challenge for me. Lots of symbolism, analogies, fly fishing and use of literary quotes to write about an investment banker who lost his clients millions of dollars and had to file bankruptcy. He escapes to upstate NY with his wife. He becomes immersed in beer distilling and fly fishing while his wife paints. It is a story of finding oneself and the deeper meaning in things while fly fishing. Tragedy strikes and there is more inner soul searching. Tough book. There is decent story in here had it not been for so many long and boring parts. Not for the casual reader, not for many readers. I wavered between and 2 and 3 star rating of his literary fiction work. Finally bumped it to a 3*** due to the decent discussion about Anthony Trollope my favorite Victorian author!

I cannot read this book as downloaded on my Kindle. It’s missing words, sentences are incomplete, paragraphs are jumbled. It’s just a mess. Sorry.

Review of eBook

Frank Campbell and his wife, Francy Desmorais, fresh out of bankruptcy in which they’ve lost virtually everything and are now en-route, via Frank’s cherry red Lamborghini, from Manhattan to the nonworking Hudson Valley farm left to Francy by her uncle Everhardt.

Realizing they are lucky to have Time Farm, they manage to settle in, goats notwithstanding, prepared for a life in which none of their former accouterments are necessary. Francy returns to her painting with a passion, Frank meets eccentric Robert Taylor and together they begin a brewery business.

As Frank and Francy were crossing the bridge on the night they were headed to the farm, they saw a flyfisherman in the water below. He introduces himself to them; later he invites Frank and Francy to join him at the next meeting of the Anamorphosis Flyfishing Club. There they meet an eccentric group of people including, Arthur, a doctor who seeks to ease Frank’s depression . . . he suggests Frank teach himself fishing in order to gain some confidence in himself.

As he seeks to adjust to this new life, and the decisions that brought him to this place, Frank takes to flyfishing. But there are difficulties on the horizon and Frank may find that he is once again in trouble. Can he save himself? Can he save Francy?

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The implosion of Frank’s business strains his marriage . . . he’d used his wife’s inheritance as a personal guarantee to cover the debt of the private equity partnership. With everything gone, Frank waxes philosophical; his life experiences and his adventures with flyfishing are intertwined.

The story here is complex, intertwining the fundamentals of flyfishing with Frank’s ruminations about the events in his life. It’s both vulnerable and haunting, vivid and compelling. With captivating characters, a twisty plot, and surprising revelations, readers will find themselves drawn into Frank’s world. Some unexpected twists along the way take the story in unforeseen directions, but Frank’s continuing evolution is mesmerizing.

The writing here is often lyrical; bits of Hopkins, Eliot, and Theocritus find their way into the telling of the tale as does Marty Robbins. Strong characters and a vivid sense of place support Frank’s journey of discovery through the vicissitudes of life as he searches for his way forward. Readers will find the finely-woven threads of this tale create a vivid tapestry filled with intrigue and sparkling revelation.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Meryl Moss Media Group, City Point Press and NetGalley
#RuinANovelofFyfishingBankruptcy #NetGalley

The writing is hard to follow. Maybe a sentence or two makes sense and then the rest is some kind of cipher. I read this with full concentration and I was struggling to find something positive to keep going. The ending was open-ended too. I would say that it's stylistically complex, but for readers, the cadence and the ideas feel like one is grasping on to a wriggling fish - not completely unpleasant, but discombobulating.

Just could not get into this one at all. The writing style felt odd and is told from multiple POVs. I will try to read it again later when it might be a better fit. I was excited to read it since it sounded unique but for some reason it just didn't land with me.