What do you think?
Rate this book
Ruff
Rod Carley is back with another theatrical odyssey packed with an unforgettable cast of Elizabethan eccentrics. It's a madcap world more modern than tomorrow where gender is what a person makes of it (no matter the story beneath their petticoats or tights).
Will Shakespeare is having a very bad year. Suffering from a mid-life crisis, a plague outbreak, and the death of the ancient Queen, Will's mettle is put to the test when the new King puts his witch-burning hobby aside to announce a national play competition that will determine which theatre company will secure his favour and remain in business. As he struggles to write a Scottish supernatural thriller, Will faces one ruff and puffy obstacle after another including a young rival punk poet and his activist-wife fighting for equality and a woman's right to tread the boards. Will and his band of misfits must ensure not only their own survival, but that of England as well. The stage is set for an outrageous and compelling tale of ghosts, ghostwriting, writer's block, and the chopping block.
Will Shakespeare is having a very bad year. Suffering from a mid-life crisis, a plague outbreak, and the death of the ancient Queen, Will's mettle is put to the test when the new King puts his witch-burning hobby aside to announce a national play competition that will determine which theatre company will secure his favour and remain in business. As he struggles to write a Scottish supernatural thriller, Will faces one ruff and puffy obstacle after another including a young rival punk poet and his activist-wife fighting for equality and a woman's right to tread the boards. Will and his band of misfits must ensure not only their own survival, but that of England as well. The stage is set for an outrageous and compelling tale of ghosts, ghostwriting, writer's block, and the chopping block.
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2024
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Rod Carley
7 books16 followersGrin Reaping is award-winning author Rod Carley’s highly-anticipated third book. His second novel, KINMOUNT, won the Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the 2021 Independent Publishers Book Awards and was one of ten books longlisted for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour. His first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in Cloud Lake Literary, Blank Spaces Magazine, Broadview Magazine, the anthology 150 Years Up North and More, the Carter V. Cooper 2022 Short Fiction Anthology, and HighGrader Magazine. Rod was short-listed for 2021 Exile Quarterly’s Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize. He is an alumnus of the Humber School for Writers and resides in North Bay, ON. www.rodcarley.ca.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 26, 2024
This book was described as punk rock Shakespeare, and that's precisely up my alley. Two pages in, I realized this was going to be a commitment to finish.
First, the good: it's very obvious there was a lot of research done for the book, and a lot of care that went into it. There were plenty of historical tidbits, literary references, and genuinely fun humour. I did side Googling as I read and learned some new things!
Now, the issues I had: it felt like a lot of the exposition went nowhere. I thought the puns might be in the Shakespearean tradition at first, but they were relentless. I think the book was aiming for the anachronistic vibe of A Knight's Tale with the references and jokes, but I felt more confused than charmed within the setting.
The characters were fine, but I was blindsided when Maggie, without warning, telepathically communicated with a rat and learned the true cause of the plague - and then did nothing with the information, because the plague was more of a setting note than something that had bearing on the plot.
The dialogue was witty (I think it would have worked better as a play, or if I’d read it as an audiobook), but it felt often like the characters were making puns for the sake of puns. You could give me a line of dialogue and I wouldn't be able to tell you who said it because they all had the same speaking tone and sense of humour.
If you don't mind shifting universe rules, lengthy informational asides, cats telepathically speaking into wombs, and living inside a Dad joke, then you might really love Ruff.
There's an audience who will adore it; it just wasn't for me, and that's okay! Not every book is for everyone.
—-
Sampler quotes to help you gauge if this is your vibe:
“The Queen had serious daddy issues and the fat knight served her dysfunctional needs. She had wanted to see Falstaff in love - immediately.”
“Cawdor explained that he was a member of an ancient corvid family. ‘He says his mother was caw-casian.’”
“The older he got, the more Will understood why cocks screamed to start the day.”
“Grey-Malkin’s voice filled the women’s wombs.”
First, the good: it's very obvious there was a lot of research done for the book, and a lot of care that went into it. There were plenty of historical tidbits, literary references, and genuinely fun humour. I did side Googling as I read and learned some new things!
Now, the issues I had: it felt like a lot of the exposition went nowhere. I thought the puns might be in the Shakespearean tradition at first, but they were relentless. I think the book was aiming for the anachronistic vibe of A Knight's Tale with the references and jokes, but I felt more confused than charmed within the setting.
The characters were fine, but I was blindsided when Maggie, without warning, telepathically communicated with a rat and learned the true cause of the plague - and then did nothing with the information, because the plague was more of a setting note than something that had bearing on the plot.
The dialogue was witty (I think it would have worked better as a play, or if I’d read it as an audiobook), but it felt often like the characters were making puns for the sake of puns. You could give me a line of dialogue and I wouldn't be able to tell you who said it because they all had the same speaking tone and sense of humour.
If you don't mind shifting universe rules, lengthy informational asides, cats telepathically speaking into wombs, and living inside a Dad joke, then you might really love Ruff.
There's an audience who will adore it; it just wasn't for me, and that's okay! Not every book is for everyone.
—-
Sampler quotes to help you gauge if this is your vibe:
“The Queen had serious daddy issues and the fat knight served her dysfunctional needs. She had wanted to see Falstaff in love - immediately.”
“Cawdor explained that he was a member of an ancient corvid family. ‘He says his mother was caw-casian.’”
“The older he got, the more Will understood why cocks screamed to start the day.”
“Grey-Malkin’s voice filled the women’s wombs.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2025
You don’t need to love Shakespeare to love RUFF by Rod Carley. But it will make the reading experience that much greater, if you do. If you love fast paced dialogue stacked with puns, quick jibes, and modernist twists on historic turns of phrases, and you enjoy laughing at smart connections—the ones that either hit immediately or take a second to sink in—you’ll enjoy reading RUFF.
And yes, like Munday, one of the many characters, says, “I read Shakespeare when I need a sedative which guarantees me a good night’s rest,” some readers might worry this is a “Shakespeare Book,” but it’s not (I mean it is, but it isn’t). It uses a particular time in history to punch down some of the most important contemporary issues. Rod Carley has taken a preposterous cast of characters and gathered them on the stage for a story that centre’s the fragility of an artist’s ego, but that also tackles issues of gender identity, censorship, equality and the relevance of art in politically divisive times.
Laugh out loud moments, and others that have you singing Hotel California while a couple of characters are chatting inside the Tower of London. Smart and funny, are the simplest and most accurate words to describe this book. It was like watching a farce unfold on a stage, with a head swivelling number of set changes and cast turnover, but finishing the book, I had the same endorphin rush I’d have after watching a well-produced play in Stratford.
And yes, like Munday, one of the many characters, says, “I read Shakespeare when I need a sedative which guarantees me a good night’s rest,” some readers might worry this is a “Shakespeare Book,” but it’s not (I mean it is, but it isn’t). It uses a particular time in history to punch down some of the most important contemporary issues. Rod Carley has taken a preposterous cast of characters and gathered them on the stage for a story that centre’s the fragility of an artist’s ego, but that also tackles issues of gender identity, censorship, equality and the relevance of art in politically divisive times.
Laugh out loud moments, and others that have you singing Hotel California while a couple of characters are chatting inside the Tower of London. Smart and funny, are the simplest and most accurate words to describe this book. It was like watching a farce unfold on a stage, with a head swivelling number of set changes and cast turnover, but finishing the book, I had the same endorphin rush I’d have after watching a well-produced play in Stratford.
September 9, 2024
If you love wordplay and history, especially theatre history, this is the weekend read you've been waiting for.
This madcap Elizabethan venture is best summed up by the image of Rhetoric, one-eyed court jester to the misshapen young king of Scotland, shown juggling 3 stale bread rolls while simultaneously dancing a Scottish reel. This is not a highly impactful scene in the overall plot, just another in the endless tumble of puns and warped historical allusions that leave as little to catch onto as a pile of leaves whirling in an autumn gale. With about as much sense of direction for the first half of the book.
Costume seamstress Kate Harding’s brief scenes are oases of calm and relative clarity amid Will S's whines, Burbage’s bellows, and the self-absorbed gambols of Kempe the clown.
While the factual history underpinning the writing is prodigious indeed, the slippery overskirt of modernist asides and slang slithers across pages and stages with all the subtlety of a stage boat riding a rope-rocked set of appointed waves. It's a veritable storm of words and images and wordplay; the reader is just along for the ride and hoping not to be swept under.
This madcap Elizabethan venture is best summed up by the image of Rhetoric, one-eyed court jester to the misshapen young king of Scotland, shown juggling 3 stale bread rolls while simultaneously dancing a Scottish reel. This is not a highly impactful scene in the overall plot, just another in the endless tumble of puns and warped historical allusions that leave as little to catch onto as a pile of leaves whirling in an autumn gale. With about as much sense of direction for the first half of the book.
Costume seamstress Kate Harding’s brief scenes are oases of calm and relative clarity amid Will S's whines, Burbage’s bellows, and the self-absorbed gambols of Kempe the clown.
While the factual history underpinning the writing is prodigious indeed, the slippery overskirt of modernist asides and slang slithers across pages and stages with all the subtlety of a stage boat riding a rope-rocked set of appointed waves. It's a veritable storm of words and images and wordplay; the reader is just along for the ride and hoping not to be swept under.
October 3, 2024
Ruff is a puntastic and punderful riff on a Shakespearean tale that manages to weave together a compelling plot, memorable characters, and surely some of the most erudite wordplay since the days of the Bard himself.
Though reliable facts about the life of William Shakespeare are hard to come by, Rod Carley’s version feels utterly authentic, painted in vivid detail with facts about the late Elizabethan era of England as well as the history of the famous theatres and their most notorious characters. But Ruff is no dry history lesson. Tongue-in-cheek anachronistic splashes of modern culture (like punk madrigals) perversely serve to make the story even more real.
It's an entertaining glimpse into a pivotal moment in western civilization that might also make you see those iconic literary works in a new light.
Though reliable facts about the life of William Shakespeare are hard to come by, Rod Carley’s version feels utterly authentic, painted in vivid detail with facts about the late Elizabethan era of England as well as the history of the famous theatres and their most notorious characters. But Ruff is no dry history lesson. Tongue-in-cheek anachronistic splashes of modern culture (like punk madrigals) perversely serve to make the story even more real.
It's an entertaining glimpse into a pivotal moment in western civilization that might also make you see those iconic literary works in a new light.
December 20, 2024
Just finished Rod Carley's novel Ruff. It's an imaginative, entertaining romp, replete with wordplay and groan-worthy puns.
Set in the early 1600s in and around plague-ravaged London, Carley's tale features William Shakespeare (you may have heard of him; he wrote plays), fellow playwrights Kit Marlow and Thomas Middleton, some famous and colourful actors of the day and King James I, who initiates a playwriting competition that prompts a memorable rewrite of Macbeth by Carley. While the story is fictional, it's rooted in actual characters and events. (There's a fascinating coda in which the author shares his research into the real characters who populate his story.) We know surprisingly little about Shakespeare's private life, but Carley's fictional version is a never less than a delight.
Set in the early 1600s in and around plague-ravaged London, Carley's tale features William Shakespeare (you may have heard of him; he wrote plays), fellow playwrights Kit Marlow and Thomas Middleton, some famous and colourful actors of the day and King James I, who initiates a playwriting competition that prompts a memorable rewrite of Macbeth by Carley. While the story is fictional, it's rooted in actual characters and events. (There's a fascinating coda in which the author shares his research into the real characters who populate his story.) We know surprisingly little about Shakespeare's private life, but Carley's fictional version is a never less than a delight.
October 18, 2025
I was hooked by the first page. Rod Carley captured my imagination and carried me on a rollicking adventure that was more satisfying than a Thanksgiving feast. To me, it was an all you can eat buffet of historic nuggets, plot twists, delicious word play, and unforgettable characters. I often found myself rereading sentences just to delight in their brilliance. This is a book that I’ll treasure and definitely will read again.
I’m hoping it will be made into an audiobook and find its way onto the big screen. If you appreciate the genius of Shakespeare, buy this book!
October 4, 2024
Having read all of Rod’s other fine books, he reaches another level in RUFF. And the eclectic ensemble cast of characters is wonderful. It’s funny, thoughtful, modern (yes, modern), and relevant. I loved it.
October 12, 2024
Humour and incisive wit combine to create a compulsively readable and thought-provoking novel from Rod, who is a Leacock Award long-listed author.
November 16, 2024
This was OK - until it got quite tiresome... which wasn't very long into the matter.
Read
January 11, 2025DNF
January 30, 2025
A joyous romp through Shakespeare's time with uncanny parallels to today. An excellent and fun read indeed!
July 23, 2025
Two and a half stars generously rounded up because of a talking crow :)
Rod Carley is mixing the old with the new. Or rather he is projecting modern language and social attitudes onto Elizabethan era. The result is a patchy writing style. I enjoyed the parts where the author stayed true to characters and time period, and found parts where he tried to 'be current' annoying and distracting, breaking the spell of historical narrative.
Carley is aiming to be witty and funny. But here's the thing, most authors use humour as means to an end, weaving it into the narrative in subtle ways. Here, the attempt at wit seems to be an end in itself, thus sticking out like a sore thumb. If bad puns are your thing, this book is for you - it's full of them.
Rod Carley is mixing the old with the new. Or rather he is projecting modern language and social attitudes onto Elizabethan era. The result is a patchy writing style. I enjoyed the parts where the author stayed true to characters and time period, and found parts where he tried to 'be current' annoying and distracting, breaking the spell of historical narrative.
Carley is aiming to be witty and funny. But here's the thing, most authors use humour as means to an end, weaving it into the narrative in subtle ways. Here, the attempt at wit seems to be an end in itself, thus sticking out like a sore thumb. If bad puns are your thing, this book is for you - it's full of them.
January 5, 2025
Got an advanced copy of this book. I read 100 pages and gave up. I have other books waiting to be read.
I haven’t read any of his previous books so I might be missing something here.
I really, really, like Shakespeare and couldn’t find the humour in this book. Maybe it is similar to the difference between British and American humour - one I find hilarious, the other leaves me scratching my head.
I haven’t read any of his previous books so I might be missing something here.
I really, really, like Shakespeare and couldn’t find the humour in this book. Maybe it is similar to the difference between British and American humour - one I find hilarious, the other leaves me scratching my head.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews