Ron Irwin

Flat Water Tuesday by Ron Irwin shines! It delivers with emotional depth, making you think, and teaching you about rowing training, competitions and relationships. At first, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to read it because I have never rowed. Then I remembered watching the Olympic rowing races and being enthralled with them. Now I want to see more of them.

Rob Carrey, a documentary film maker for National Geographic receives an invitation to his 15th class reunion from a Connecticut prep school with a strong devotion for crew rowing. He had only been to the school for one year and rowed for one year the God Four (because not even God could beat them). But that year had a huge effect on him and the team. There was a tragedy and his sister had also died from drowning. No one knows if that was an accident or intentional.

There was an internal struggle going on within Rob. He had been a single rower and didn’t want to work with or depend upon a team. He had to learn to trust the team and learn the different requirements for crew rowing. That learning did not come easy. He and all the members of the team suffered tremendous fatigue and lost weight while preparing and racing. There is a description of one of the crew tending to Rob’s blisters on his hands that is unforgettable and will probably stave off many people from rowing.

The story switches around in different points in time but it was still easy to follow. The description of the races made me want to see them on film! The characters have such depth, several of them are so sad, for different reasons. This book could be called a coming of age book but it so much more.

There are passages so beautiful that they beg to be read out loud. This book is a treasure!

I highly recommend Flat Water Tuesday by Ron Irwin.… (mehr)