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The Ruin of Us All
It is 1969. The war in Vietnam rages on. Nineteen-year-old David Faust faces the loss of his student deferment and, consequently, the military draft, if he doesn't buckle down and study. But there are too many other things to worry about this summer. His older brother is MIA. His father, who lost the use of an arm in a mining accident, grows increasingly impatient and irascible. David's mother seeks solace in martinis. David himself is bored, he's friendless, he's worried, and he's a virgin. The best part of every day for David is dawn, when he rows a canoe through the morning fog while remembering his sole sexual experience and pretending to be a spy.
Then come the McParlands. The major, his wife Sharon, and little Jackie. They move into the home directly across the lake from the Faust dock. The major and his son are even more irascible than David's father. But Sharon McParland ... Sharon is young and sexy and very, very lonely....
The Ruin of Us All, like Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, perfectly captures adolescent angst and alienation. But this novel also captures the dark, looming fear of war and the crippling effects of loneliness -- as well as the desperate actions some will resort to in an effort to escape those conditions.
In this short but powerful novel, critically acclaimed author Randall Silvis once again plumbs the psyches of the lost and forlorn, and he does so, as always, with exquisitely rendered prose.
“Randall Silvis gets to the hearts and souls of his characters like few other, if any, novelists.” New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart
Then come the McParlands. The major, his wife Sharon, and little Jackie. They move into the home directly across the lake from the Faust dock. The major and his son are even more irascible than David's father. But Sharon McParland ... Sharon is young and sexy and very, very lonely....
The Ruin of Us All, like Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, perfectly captures adolescent angst and alienation. But this novel also captures the dark, looming fear of war and the crippling effects of loneliness -- as well as the desperate actions some will resort to in an effort to escape those conditions.
In this short but powerful novel, critically acclaimed author Randall Silvis once again plumbs the psyches of the lost and forlorn, and he does so, as always, with exquisitely rendered prose.
“Randall Silvis gets to the hearts and souls of his characters like few other, if any, novelists.” New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart
193 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2025
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About the author
Randall Silvis
48 books306 followersRandall Silvis is the internationally acclaimed author of over a dozen novels, one story
collection, and one book of narrative nonfiction. Also a prize-winning playwright, a
produced screenwriter, and a prolific essayist, he has been published and produced in
virtually every field and genre of creative writing. His numerous essays, articles, poems and short stories have appeared in the Discovery Channel magazines, The Writer, Prism International, Short Story International, Manoa, and numerous other online and print magazines. His work has been translated into 10 languages.
Silvis’s many literary awards include two writing fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award, six fellowships for his fiction, drama, and screenwriting from the Pennsylvania Council On the Arts, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree awarded for “distinguished literary achievement.”
collection, and one book of narrative nonfiction. Also a prize-winning playwright, a
produced screenwriter, and a prolific essayist, he has been published and produced in
virtually every field and genre of creative writing. His numerous essays, articles, poems and short stories have appeared in the Discovery Channel magazines, The Writer, Prism International, Short Story International, Manoa, and numerous other online and print magazines. His work has been translated into 10 languages.
Silvis’s many literary awards include two writing fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award, six fellowships for his fiction, drama, and screenwriting from the Pennsylvania Council On the Arts, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree awarded for “distinguished literary achievement.”
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 30, 2025
I deeply appreciate the unique perspective of this emotionally and stirring story, told thru the eyes of an older man reflecting on a life- altering event from his youth..a time when he stood on the threshold between boyhood and manhood. The narrative resonated with me on a deep, personal level, not only because I am of a similar age but because I lived thru comparable times and experienced kindred emotions.
The stories portrayal of how we sometimes define ourselves in response to the selfish actions of our youth... particularly those driven by lonliness, insecurity, self-doubt and self loathing..
Struck a powerful chord. It reveals the raw, narrow impulse to chase happiness, even at the expense of others, and how such moments echo across a life time.
The stories portrayal of how we sometimes define ourselves in response to the selfish actions of our youth... particularly those driven by lonliness, insecurity, self-doubt and self loathing..
Struck a powerful chord. It reveals the raw, narrow impulse to chase happiness, even at the expense of others, and how such moments echo across a life time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review