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Noted American businessman Bob Rich is an avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast who has authored five books, most of them focused on fishing, time on the water, or other sports-related topics.
Rich, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, fell in love with storytelling while attending summer camps in Northern Ontario, Canada. At an early age, reading Hemingway inspired him to write. As an adult, living on the shores of Lake Erie and in the Florida Keys has provided him with a wealth of his own tales to tell.
Reviewed by Michael White for Readers' Favorite
Looking Through Water: A Novel is Bob Rich’s coming-of-age story told through fishing lessons. William McKay’s grandson, Kyle, is troubled. The only way William knows how to help Kyle is by telling Kyle stories about his own past. William tells Kyle stories about an Adirondacks lake. Some of his stories take place in the Florida Keys. All of his stories have bright, engaging characters (which are as fun for the reader to hear as they are for Kyle). William puts himself out there for Kyle, talking about old wounds, love, grievances, threats, and understanding. Then it is up to Kyle to decide how he will take this knowledge and apply it to his current situation. It is a story about a family and how intimately shared stories can shape the way we look at one another and the way we look at life.
Looking Through Water: A Novel is a beautiful, heartwarming story that everyone should read. It has the potential to touch so many people. Fishermen will love the tall tales and the stories about the ones that got away. Readers will associate with William, the loveable and good-natured grandfather type. We can all relate to an older, wiser male relative that instilled some wisdom in us (or at least tried). We can also relate to the know-it-all teenager who is less likely to listen to that age old wisdom. Bob Rich did such a nice job of wrapping the fishing stories in with layers of family tension and drama. He brought it all together in an inspiring, wonderful read.
