Home Pool

by Bruce Ducker, Duke Beardsley (Illustrator)

Finalist in the 2009 Colorado Book Awards16 short stories about fly fishing: The Specter at Grizzly HackleUte Creek PassTying the Whip FinishFor the Sport of ItThe View from Buffalo MountainThe Home PoolPlus 10 moreSixteen short stories evoke the passion of fly fishing and those who are entranced by the waters. Ducker dedicates this collection to his favorite "uncounted mountain lakes and twice as many unnamed streams" where he finds the inspiration for his fiction. His colorful characters include a cantankerous old man who refuses to leave his home and brings the sophisticated city developers to their knees, a young wife who outfishes and outsmarts the staid "good old boys" fishing club, a Hassidic scholar who astounds his fishing companions with his beginner's luck, and a father who can only understand his son when they share a rare afternoon of trout fishing. The enchantment of the water and the land fill these stories and remind readers of the magic of fishing their own home pools

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2008

About the author

Bruce Ducker is the prize-winning author of eight novels and a book of short fictions. He has over 100 poems and stories in the nation’s leading literary journals, including The New Republic; the Yale, Southern, Sewanee, Literary, and Hudson Reviews, and Poetry Magazine. A jazz pianist, instrument-rated pilot, and fly fisherman, he’s also written the book, music and lyrics for three musical comedies. He was born and raised in New York, educated in the East, and has lived for years in Colorado.

Reviews

[Pz4real · Rating 1 out of 5]

To quote Home Simpson- “boring”

[Benjamin Stinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable collection, this--not the usual Spike and I catch bass, but a web of human stories connected by the thinnest thread of fly fishing yet compelling. Odd facets of human life are here polished and shown: the vanity of three college pals, who fish together and pay no attention to their inner souls until an improbably partner joins them; the pain of a marriage splitting up and the favorite trophies (demitasse cups, a framed tarpon) going off with the dustman; a Yuppie wife, constrained by her repressive marriage, sheds all inhibitions and clothing to free her inner self. Remarkable stuff.

[Bobby Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last two short stories are good, but many of them are not good. A lot of the stories are about morally bankrupt people, which is disappointing. Overall it’s an easy read book. It has some good parts, but a lot of the stories are not great.

[David. Luck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home Pool, by Bruce Ducker, is a pleasant book. The author (whom I have met) will tell you that it is not really a book about fishing, but fishing or fishing techniques become metaphors for life situations. I found that some of the stories were very good, but some left me hanging by a dry fly.

[Karen Tripson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated and charmed by the unique characters created for these stories. I have never been fly fishing but I enjoyed reading about the activity and cared about what happened to all these disparate fishermen and women. The prose is elegant and the stories are moving.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories about fishing and life. 16 stories with insight into man and nature. I loved it. Then I do subscribe to Grey's