An imaginative man, a used book-seller, looks for creative remedies for a multi-faceted mid-life crisis.
Guy Ridley runs a second-hand bookstore near a large Midwestern American university. He copes with several challenges. He is separated from the wife he loves. He tries to resolve the scandal that prompted her to leave the university at the beginning of her life as a professional. A mental illness that takes the form of visitation from demons troubles him.
One part of his journey seems to go well. Guy writes fictional sketches about university that are included in the novel. Besides that, he is a great fan of Don Quixote. Like Cervantes knight, he does his best to help most of the people who come his way. That part of his life turns out well, too.
Excerpt
Miranda stood at the kitchen door waiting for Mum. She pressed her nose to the glass and ran a finger through the moist spot she’d created.
Mum stood behind her. “Okay, let’s go.”
Miranda touched the door-handle, which she could reach now. She went out to the cement steps and looked at the traffic on University Boulevard. Red car. Blue car. A truck: rum-rum. A station wagon full of children on the way to kindergarten. A spaniel whisked by. She reached out but couldn’t touch its tail. “Doggy, doggy.” Spotted dog. Tall trees. Big people. A man in a brown topcoat walked by. She touched her own buttons, wavy like the inside of a seashell on her father’s desk, where he liked to sit after supper rubbing his face and crumpling paper.
She sat on a yellow swing at the park while Mum pushed her, not as high as Dad, but she could pump her legs and lean back and feel the fizziness in her tummy. She talked with Paul and his sister Marfa and watched them play ball. Paul threw the ball and Randi went after it. It rolled and jumped and stopped at the fence. Paul got to the fence before she did. She watched them from the sidewalk after that. Mum talked with her friends, who laughed more than she did. Their voices went up and down.
Randi wanted to sing. She made up a song about how she rescued her toy clown Alfredo from a blue cloth dragon that was twice as big as she was. She ran around the playground and squealed when Mum caught up with her. She liked to hear Mum laugh. Mum got down to her size, put arms around her, and wiped her lips and chin with her hand. “It will be all right,” Mum said, “when Dad figures out how to finish his dissertation.”
What’s that, Randi thinks, duh-sert-ation. Like ice cream?
They walked along Kendall Street. Mum stopped in front of a store to talk with another friend. She kept on talking, even when Miranda pulled at her hand and put her arms around one of her legs.
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Reviews for "Guy Ridley"
Reviewed by E Harris
12/21/2017
Guy Ridley, a novel by Richard French, is the story of a unique and complex man. In addition to owning a second hand bookstore, Guy Ridley is a writer and a deep thinker. His life may not have gone the way he hoped, but he tries to make the best of things. However, there are problems and obstacles to deal with. Can he triumph over them?
The author has crafted a powerful, deep and meaningful story. His attention to detail, for both the characters and the setting, is impressive. This novel is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Authors Den. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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