Wrecks and Ruins
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“Quirky and surprisingly endearing … a charming and moving story.” --Robin Black, Life Drawing “Goodman pieces together with flinty empathy the conflicted psyche of a man who finally confronts his fragmented life.” --Judith Krummeck, Old New Worlds “Goodman is a talented storyteller.” --Charles Rammelkamp, Catastroika “With a cast of sympathetically human characters, Wrecks and Ruins spins its way to a wholly satisfying conclusion.” --Sally Whitney, Surface and Shadow “Captures the mirrored life-cycle of a romance and a plague of insects the way they deserve to be depicted.” --Timmy Reed, Tell God I Don’t Exist “Goodman probes the way identity is formed and its fluidity.” --B. Morrison, Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother |
Stuart believes romantic love is like the cycle of a cicada: a few months of excited buzz—romance, lust, excitement—followed by a monotonous silence that can't live up to the promise at the start.
He strings together more than broken relationships, seeking art in the defective. After finding love, sabotaging it, and rekindling the fire again, Stu comes to understand that his drive to end relationships prematurely and his attraction to damaged goods are connected to his fear of being broken himself. Part romantic comedy, part buddy novel, Wrecks and Ruins finds beauty in the most unusual places.
He strings together more than broken relationships, seeking art in the defective. After finding love, sabotaging it, and rekindling the fire again, Stu comes to understand that his drive to end relationships prematurely and his attraction to damaged goods are connected to his fear of being broken himself. Part romantic comedy, part buddy novel, Wrecks and Ruins finds beauty in the most unusual places.
The Official Book Trailer for Wrecks and Ruins
Advance Praise for Wrecks and Ruins
“Caught between the reality of life’s impermanence and his suspicion that the dream of everlasting love is not a bit real, Stuart is as quirky and surprisingly endearing a figure as you’ll find anywhere. Through him, and — oddly — through the life-cycle of cicadas, Goodman takes on the big questions, the ones about life’s meaning and about where beauty is best to be found. The result is this charming and moving story of one man’s evolution, his loves, and his gradually dawning realizations about it all. I enjoyed every page!
--Robin Black, author of Life Drawing and If I loved You, I Would Tell You This
“In a prose style that evokes Stuart’s compulsion about things that are broken and fleeting, Eric D. Goodman pieces together with flinty empathy the conflicted psyche of a man who finally confronts his fragmented life.”
--Judith Krummeck, author of Old New Worlds and Beyond the Baobab
“Music is an important element in Wrecks and Ruins. Stu is like the protagonist of the old Rolling Stones’ song, “Sitting on a Fence.” Part of the charm of the novel is that chunks of time are related out of place, filling in the blanks of our understanding. Goodman is a talented storyteller.”
--Charles Rammelkamp, author of The Secretkeepers and Catastroika
“Great novels inspire readers to see things in a different way. After reading Wrecks and Ruins, I will never see shards of glass, twisted bumpers, raw relationships, or tattered souls in the same way again. Stu’s quest to make sense of the pieces of life is entertaining and enlightening. With a cast of sympathetically human characters, it spins its way to a wholly satisfying conclusion.”
--Sally Whitney, author of When Enemies Offend Thee and
Surface and Shadow
“Wrecks and Ruins captures the mirrored life-cycle of a romance and a plague of insects the way they deserve to be depicted, as humans and bugs. Goodman's writing on relationships is cleverly pieced together and connects to our recent brood. Dig it up.”
--Timmy Reed, author of Kill Me Now and Tell God I Don’t Exist
“As a young man, seeing that everything breaks eventually, Stuart decides to live life every day, hanging out with his friends, playing the field. Yet whenever the cicadas sing again, he must reevaluate his decision. In this engaging story of a man navigating the currents of his life, Goodman probes the way identity is formed and its fluidity.”
--B. Morrison, author of Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother and Terrarium: Poems
“A good novel always confronts the reader with a moral question. That’s what Wrecks and Ruins Does. This is a buddy novel that offers four different models of how a man should decide about mating. Should he marry young or wait until middle age? Or should he just play the field? Goodman doesn’t answer the question for you. He gives all the evidence and lets you decide.”
--Tom Glenn, author of Last of the Annamese and Coming to Terms
“The buzz about Eric D. Goodman’s latest novel is loud and laudatory. Synchronizing the cycles of the cicadas with evolving stages of romantic love, its premise is original, characters are entertaining, and theme is thought-provoking. Wrecks and Ruins is a captivating read!”
--Toby Devens, author of Barefoot Beach and Happy Any Day Now
--Robin Black, author of Life Drawing and If I loved You, I Would Tell You This
“In a prose style that evokes Stuart’s compulsion about things that are broken and fleeting, Eric D. Goodman pieces together with flinty empathy the conflicted psyche of a man who finally confronts his fragmented life.”
--Judith Krummeck, author of Old New Worlds and Beyond the Baobab
“Music is an important element in Wrecks and Ruins. Stu is like the protagonist of the old Rolling Stones’ song, “Sitting on a Fence.” Part of the charm of the novel is that chunks of time are related out of place, filling in the blanks of our understanding. Goodman is a talented storyteller.”
--Charles Rammelkamp, author of The Secretkeepers and Catastroika
“Great novels inspire readers to see things in a different way. After reading Wrecks and Ruins, I will never see shards of glass, twisted bumpers, raw relationships, or tattered souls in the same way again. Stu’s quest to make sense of the pieces of life is entertaining and enlightening. With a cast of sympathetically human characters, it spins its way to a wholly satisfying conclusion.”
--Sally Whitney, author of When Enemies Offend Thee and
Surface and Shadow
“Wrecks and Ruins captures the mirrored life-cycle of a romance and a plague of insects the way they deserve to be depicted, as humans and bugs. Goodman's writing on relationships is cleverly pieced together and connects to our recent brood. Dig it up.”
--Timmy Reed, author of Kill Me Now and Tell God I Don’t Exist
“As a young man, seeing that everything breaks eventually, Stuart decides to live life every day, hanging out with his friends, playing the field. Yet whenever the cicadas sing again, he must reevaluate his decision. In this engaging story of a man navigating the currents of his life, Goodman probes the way identity is formed and its fluidity.”
--B. Morrison, author of Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother and Terrarium: Poems
“A good novel always confronts the reader with a moral question. That’s what Wrecks and Ruins Does. This is a buddy novel that offers four different models of how a man should decide about mating. Should he marry young or wait until middle age? Or should he just play the field? Goodman doesn’t answer the question for you. He gives all the evidence and lets you decide.”
--Tom Glenn, author of Last of the Annamese and Coming to Terms
“The buzz about Eric D. Goodman’s latest novel is loud and laudatory. Synchronizing the cycles of the cicadas with evolving stages of romantic love, its premise is original, characters are entertaining, and theme is thought-provoking. Wrecks and Ruins is a captivating read!”
--Toby Devens, author of Barefoot Beach and Happy Any Day Now