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Summary
Summary
A stunning saga of love, sport, and buried secrets
Rob Carrey is a successful documentary filmmaker who has returned from a shoot to New York City, where he's prepared to separate from Carolyn, his long-time love. But when he finds an invitation to his boarding school reunion in his pile of mail, Rob begins a painful journey into his past--one that will alter the course of his life forever.
Years ago, Rob was a scholarship student at the elite Fenton School, where he became a star member of the rowing team. Generations of Fenton men had led the rowing team, known as the God Four, to victory--and Rob would be no exception. But as the team's most important race drew near, and tempers and lusts reached the boiling point, Rob found himself in a dilemma: If he sacrifices everything to win he stands to lose everything that matters. Which is the right path--and where will it lead him and the ones he loves? That is the question at the heart of Ron Irwin's Flat Water Tuesday , a deeply affecting novel about what it means to fight for love and victory, in sport and in life.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Irwin's debut novel alternates between Rob Carrey's present, which chronicles the events leading up to the demise of his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Carolyn, and 15 years into his past as a scholarship student at the prestigious Fenton School. Coming from the fictional working-class town of Niccalsetti, NY, Rob is recruited to row with the God Four, Fenton's varsity rowing team, in his final year of high school-with the main purpose of beating the Warwick School in their annual competition. To do so means guaranteed admission to Harvard, something Rob would never accomplish otherwise. Irwin does a terrific job creating tension as Rob, used to being a single sculler, is pushed to work as part of a team and Rob's need to compete against Connor Payne, the team captain whose family's legacy is well known at Fenton. The strain between Rob and Carolyn is clearly palpable in the events that lead to their breakup, as Irwin accurately captures the somberness when one knows a relationship is about to end. Irwin's story on love, loss, and tragedy marks his as a distinguished new voice. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Irwin debuts with movingly rendered literary fiction about love and loss, youth and maturity, ambition and its cost. Rob Carrey is a champion. He's won prizes propelling a single-seat racing scull with two oars. Carrey's been recruited for a "post-graduate" high school year by the Fenton School, a posh private Connecticut academy. Carrey, a working-class boy, is alien among legacy children and intends to continue his quest for solitary medals. Instead, he's drafted to fill a slot in the four-man racing crew. His father's ambition is that the Fenton sojourn will earn his son entrance to an elite university. There is a second narrative thread with Carrey, in his 30s, no college degree, turned documentary filmmaker. He's in love with Carolyn, a film editor. Carolyn was once pregnant with Carrey's child, a baby miscarried while he filmed in Africa. Left shattered by Carrey's response, Carolyn wants to end their relationship just as Carrey confronts the suicide of one of his former racing crew. The narrative segment following young Carrey's Fenton year is a powerful study of the muddled, stumbling steps from youth into adulthood, a time when Carrey learns "You will lose things....When you do, there will be no river to run to." Other characters shine: Connor, best of the Fenton rowers, scion of wealth, never able to fulfill his family's ambitions, beautiful and damned in the fashion of a Hemingway hero; Ruth, coxswain, first female to drive the boat, petite, ambitious, focused, yet another boarding-schoolrich-family throwaway. Irwin's descriptions are observant and intimate--"as if the boat had found some kind of grace, like a giant bird expanding its wings." Readers become immersed in the Darwinian cruelty of the young reflected against the loneliness of a lost, jaded teacher, then confront a man finding purpose, and close the book after bathing in a deeply evocative, hope-filled conclusion. An elegy to love and loss and reconciliation.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
While in rehab, John writes to his old crew buddy, Rob, and alludes to a tragic event that took place while they were at school. Upon receiving the letter, Rob is taken back to his days at Fenton, an upscale boarding school where he rowed on the school's elite, four-man crew team. In this beautifully dark drama, Irwin artfully weaves a tale that shifts back and forth in time from Rob's crewing days at Fenton to his present life as a filmmaker for National Geographic. The structure of the story starting at the end and slowly unraveling the events that lead up to the climax helps create tension and propels the reader forward, seeking to discover what went so terribly awry. The characters are well drawn and complex. Rob is a flawed but ultimately sympathetic man who habitually flees from situations that he can't handle emotionally. Rowing plays a critical element in the book, but even those who are uninterested in the sport will find themselves gripped by this compelling story of coming to terms with the past.--Gaus, Eve Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
The "God Four," Fenton Prep's scull crew, has won its share of meets, but for the past five years, it has lost to Warwick. The coach recruits a young phenomenon from a working-class background to row for them. But Rob isn't a team player, and he's got a chip on his shoulder against the privileged class, which includes almost everyone he meets at Fenton. Coach and teammates eventually bring him around, but it's not easy. When the fateful day comes, it brings with it an awful event that alters the lives of those involved. Fifteen years later, Rob is faced with what he's made of himself. VERDICT The plot is too tidy in this otherwise fine first novel. The sculling scenes are exciting, however, and readers will care for Rob and his teammates and coach. Irwin should trust his strengths; he doesn't need plot twists to write. His affecting account of one young man's coming of age should appeal to the general reader but especially to aficionados of the little-known sport of sculling. [Library marketing; see Prepub Alert, 12/16/12.]-David Keymer, Modesto, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.