Rowan and Eris

by Campbell Jefferys

It’s a simple story, a journey, a search, a pursuit. There is a man from Perth, an American woman, their daughter. The woman is intent on creating chaos wherever she goes, through urban art, and her work extends to creating chaos in her own life by having a daughter. The man is intent on finding his daughter and in doing so finds himself and the songs inside him. It’s a road trip novel, starting in Perth, Australia, and traversing America, Canada and Europe. It is also a meditation on art, creativity, success, growing up and taking responsibility. A highly ambitious project, the book includes a CD of original music, plus illustrations and song lyrics.

Genres: Fiction

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2018

About the author

It started in the hills near Perth, where he was brought rather quietly and with little fanfare into the world. The farming area tucked in the south-west corner of Western Australia became forever his reference point, but even then the world seemed broad and large, with the fields of wheat stretching to the horizon. But the whole world could not simply have been a field of wheat. There had to be more. So, a foray in the big city, slaving through low-paid jobs, struggling and then succeeding, briefly, to make a sporting career in basketball, until succumbing reluctantly to academia. The history graduate, bored and restless, heads off to see the world. He lands a part-time job with a daily paper in a small Canadian town, convinces major newspapers he's a player on the freelance travel writing scene and manages to sell a few articles. Travels some more, hitchhiking across America. Tries to write novels but no one is interested; not even him. Works on travel guide books, lands in Europe, settles in Germany, does the required tenure teaching English, and keeps trying to write a good book. Moves to Berlin and finally a story emerges that makes all the words fall into place. 'The Bicycle Teacher' was published in January 2006. His follow up novel 'Hunter' came out in early 2009. Campbell is also the author of 'A Lord's Revenge', a novella for English language learners published by Compact Verlag while his articles have graced the pages of newspapers and magazines across the globe. In May 2009, 'Hunter' won the general fiction category of the 2009 Indie Book Awards (www.indiebookawards.com) and finished runner-up in the overall fiction category. 'True Blue Tucker' won the bronze at the 2012 IPPYs in the Australia/NZ section.

Reviews

[Sara Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Giveaway!

I really liked the book, but the only problem for me was Nola´s character. I really hated her. She was so selfish and childish.
And poor little Eris, she was more mature then her mother. I felt really sorry for her.
Overall it was a good book, but I wish I could see more interaction between Eris and Rowan.

[Sanara♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from a goodreads giveaway!

Actual rating- 4.25/5 stars.

As told in the plot, this is a simple story about a man who goes on a journey in search of his daughter, and finds himself as a person and a musician while doing so.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Although I would have liked to see more interactions between Rowan and Eris, I actually loved that abrupt ending so much that I don't mind how it went after all.
Most of the characters were likeable, other than Nola of course. She was the worst (well actually Helen was equally terrible) and so selfish, but unfortunately she was essential for the storyline.

It's a novel having a lot about music and travelling, so anyone who knows about music will probably enjoy reading this book a lot. :)

I won this book the beginning of this year but I postponed reading the book until this month. 🙊I wish I had started reading this book back when I won it, but I'm glad that I atleast read it before the year is over.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free in return for a review.

It is a story told in the 1st person about a tall, red-haired Australian man with a talent for building guitars, writing songs and performing with his guitar and songs.

The man, Rowan, begins to receive anonymous postcards sent from the USA with no text but showing the handprint of a small child; he conjectures that they are from a woman called Nola with whom he once had a sexual encounter which must have resulted in a child; ergo, he is the father of a five-year-old.

Rowan decides to find Nola and the child and sets off for the U.S.A. He has a good friend called Churchill who helps him locate Nola on the basis of the postcards constantly arriving from the various American states.

It turns out that Nola consciously creates chaotic events while she travels around, and regards these as art.

Rowan becomes more and more certain that Nola does in fact have a child, which is his, a little red-haired girl called Eris.

Nola is not a maternal woman and lacks loving feelings towards her daughter; she really just wants to get rid of her, so this makes the book a bit hard to read. Luckily, Rowan wants to care for the girl and we know he will make a good father, if and when he finds her.

To finance his travels Rowan busks (plays music on the street); he writes and performs his own songs, makes CDs and sells them. He encounters various interesting and helpful characters along the way. The book contains a lot about music, so if you understand music, you will find it even more interesting than I did.

I did not find this to be an essential read, hence the four and not five stars, but it is well-written and enjoyable.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this novel as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

I really enjoyed this story about a struggling Australian musician and luthier (Rowan) who crosses two continents trying to find - aided by a series of received postcards - a woman he had a week long affair with years ago who may or may not be travelling with a child who may or may not be his daughter. Along the way, Rowan rediscovers himself, his passion for music, and a way to perhaps finally "make it" as a musician. He's also aided in his search by his housebound housemate, the quirky and lovable Churchill - "ground control" in Perth - who slowly starts to rediscover the world around him as well. The way both of them try to live life to their satisfaction on their own terms is an important dynamic of this novel.

Meanwhile, via some chapters told from her perspective, we see the world through the eyes of woman Rowan is trying to find - Nola - who considers chaos as art and tries to create it everywhere she goes. Being dragged (and, sometimes, drugged) along is her young daughter Eris, named for the Greek goddess of strife and discord.

When all of these paths not-so-suddenly cross (and the when and how of this taking place is what drives this novel), lives will be changed forever.

I would've given this novel 5 stars (and gave it 4.5 stars on Library Thing) but for 1 thing - I felt the "good" vs "evil" juxtaposition between Rowan and Nola was a bit too...stark? I also felt at one point that the novel could've ended there (because the first chapter foretold the ending, basically), but I'm now at a loss to remember what that point was! Anyway, really quick and interesting read!!!

[William Stanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. It's a story about a young Australian man, Rowan, who is on a number of journeys, although all these journeys combine into one in this book. Primarily, he is on a journey of discovery, trying to work out what he really wants to do with his life, following a number of mysterious postcards around the world, from Thunder Bay to Berlin and many other places in between. He believes these postcards to have been sent by the mysterious Nola, someone he had a brief fling with in New Zealand over five years ago. Ultimately, he wants to find Eris who may, or may not, be the daughter he never knew he had. Along the way he discovers a number of eclectic characters and visits places he never even knew existed. He also discovers what it is he believes he has to do with his life. His journey is fuelled by the postcards and aided by his best friend, Churchill, who doesn't enjoy being outside, and his grandmother, who doesn't let her advancing years get in the way of enjoying life to the full.

There were a number of things I really liked about this book. The characters were real, the places were well researched, and the story moved on at a decent pace. There is also a soundtrack that goes along with the book, which will be available online after the book is published on February 13. I'm looking forward to listening to this as well. I'm glad I took a chance with this book. It was a very decent read. Although it took me longer to read than I anticipated, it was well worth the read.

[Bryan Spellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second novel I've read by Jefferys (both being LibraryThing Early Reviewer selections), Rowan and Eris is the story of a man and his daughter--a pre-school girl he has never met. Born as the result of a vacation fling, one in New Zealand between a young man from Perth, Western Australia and a woman from Chicago, Illinois, Eris is a precocious child dragged around the world by her artist mother, a woman intent on stirring up chaos with her anonymous performance art pieces. By the time Eris is five, her mother has begun to tire of being a parent, and starts sending unsigned postcards to Rowan, a young musician in Perth. Rowan, aided by his housemate Churchill, sets off to find the woman and the child he assumes is his own progeny. The novel is essentially a mixture of Bildungsroman and travel adventure, as Rowan crosses America, usually a few days to a week behind the woman and child he is seeking. He grows through his travels, and meets interesting people who help him on his way. We know from the very beginning that he will find the artist and her child, but it's the journey that is important here. The book is not scheduled to be released until February, 2018, but I recommend that you put in an advance request for this captivating tale.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Dear goodreads gods, please forgive me for taking so long to read this and write a review!)

I won a digital copy of Rowan and Eris through a goodreads giveaway! I enjoyed the storyline and the point of view of Rowan as he examined his role and connection with Eris. I kept hoping for a breakthrough in development with her mom, but sadly that just wasn't in the cards I suppose. Overall, I enjoyed it and I felt like it was a quick read, but there were a few parts that seemed more drawn out than what they needed to be.

[Sara Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the road trip feel to this book. I liked the story of a dad going in search of his daughter. I had a hard time reading about Nola. I wish she had acted more like a mature adult to her child. I would have liked a little more time with Rowan and Eris.

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure about this one. I liked the idea of the novel, but when I started reading I didn't get the "I need to continue" vibe. All that soon changed. So note to self, DON'T GIVE UP.
It was a quick, encouraging read about a man who travels across the world to find a child he doesn't even know is his. He runs through hoops and trials and tribulations to get where he's going, but he makes it and in the end has an amazing adventure and some great stories to tell when he gets home.

To read the review in full detail please click the link:
http://somewherebetween4.blogspot.com...

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I tried to stick with this for the travel aspect, because usually I enjoy books about characters who are going on some kind of "finding myself" journey. There was so much stacked against this one, though, that I couldn't justify finishing it. I absolutely hated the self-absorbed main character, and the plot was so meandering and pointless I found myself wondering if anything was EVER actually going to happen. I was definitely not impressed.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. I won it on goodreads giveaways. I found it got a bit long in the middle when Rowan was trying to find Nola in America and I was disappointed their meeting wasn’t described in the book except for when Rowan was telling another character about it. There seemed to be a lot building up to that meeting and when it wasn’t in the book I kind of lost interest and had to force myself to keep reading.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book earlier, but somehow I forgot to review it. This book is interesting. It's the story of a man who receives postcards with a child's hand print on them from places all over. He thinks but is not sure that these cryptic cards may infer that he's the father of this child.He decides to try to find the woman Nola who's sending them and find out if he's the father of the child. I really enjoyed it. Check it out for a good read!

[Beth Withers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Urged on by a series of postcards with the tracing of a small hand, Rowan sets off on travels starting in Australia, traveling to the US, back to Australia and onward. He is guided by his agoraphobic roommate Churchill. While the tone of the book is more light than dark, much of what happens is serious and thought-provoking. I found Rowan and Churchill captivating and interesting people, while Nola made me angry, quite angry in some places. Following Rowan on his travels was interesting; I learned some things about cities in my own country. Rowan grows as a person and as a musician also, but in the end, he knows what is the most important thing.

It is apparent that the author is knowledgeable about guitars and music (or he's a good researcher!). I read this book before publication as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, so I didn't have access to the music CD that will come with the book when it's released on Feb. 13, 2018. I did receive a link to one of the songs, and I'm impressed. I think the music will add to the novel. I certainly am interested in hearing the music that was inspired by Rowan's journey and may have to reread the novel and listen as I go.

I enjoyed reading the book and plan on exploring more of Jeffery's books.

[Finley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ebook copy of this book for free through a giveaway hosted on GoodReads.

Rowan and Eris is an adventure, with the reader following along the same chaotic, twisted path as the protagonist. It tells the story of Rowan Davidson, who discovers that a week-long fling while on a trip had produced a daughter, and sets off across America to try to find his child. Leading this journey is an artist named Nola, who dislikes being a mother, but wants to make sure Rowan is ready to take Eris before she hands the little girl over. Dragging the girl along as she performs various pranks in the name of “performance art”, she sends Rowan a series of postcards from each location she visits, with no message but a single hand with one too many fingers. While tailing her, Rowan also learns about himself and his relationship to his music, busking for extra money and writing music when he isn’t running around town in search of clues. Meanwhile, he also learns a lot about himself, and strives to become a father his daughter can be proud of and one who she deserves.

This book was interesting, It wasn’t my favorite book in the world, but I did enjoy it a lot. The story was interesting, and I loved the characters from the start, for the most part. Rowan was a sweet and well-meaning man who has a bit of trouble taking risks, but undergoes a lot of development as a person over the course of the book, and Eris is a sweet and confused little girl, one who you cannot help but feel sorry for when you see the sort of life she was dropped into. Rowan’s friend, Churchhill, was unique, and works as both a vehicle to drive the action, as he does the research from his computer and their kitchen that Rowan would not be able to do easily in person, as well as an interesting character in his own right. Most of the other characters throughout the book are great, many very memorable for their role that they play in Rowan’s journey, but also feeling dynamic enough that they feel like they actually exist outside their short role. The only character I didn’t like was Nola, though that was likely by design, and I feel that her role as the bad mother and crafty and irresponsible artist was well-designed. The whole time I read, I felt disgusted with Nola’s parenting skills, or lack thereof, and her habit of drugging Eris to sleep and leaving her somewhere where she would be arguably safe, but more importantly out of the way of her mother’s grand ideas. I could not wait for Eris to be in Rowan’s custody. When I learned what Nola’s own childhood had been like, however, I understood a lot of why she was the way she was. I far from accepted it, but I did see that she did not know how to parent because she had not been parented very well herself, and it made me even more glad that she would be breaking the cycle by giving Eris to the much more responsible Rowan to take over. So, while she was a horrible person, she was a great character for her role.

Most of the issues I had in this book were more peeves than actual problems with the book. The main issues was the fact that more than half of the chapters took between just under an hour to upward of two to read (according to the count on the bottom of my Kindle app, as well as actual time spent reading them) which sometimes caused them to drag when I wanted to take a break or was growing tired. The chapters were arranged in an understandable way, so I can’t say this was necessarily a mistake, but as someone who finds it easier to read a collection of shorter chapters in a sitting than one long chapter of the same length, the fact that I sometime felt locked into a chapter and had to find my own place to stop sometimes made reading stressful while I searched for a place to stop so I could use the restroom or get a drink. Also, seeing ad the author is Australian, I was kind of snapped out of some of Nola’s viewpoint chapters, since it was odd for Australian slang to be in a chapter that both took place in America and, while not narrated by, was seen through the eyes of an American woman. While it was able to be ignored easily once I began to expect it, it is something the author might want to consider if writing a book involving American in the future. And the final peeve I had was that reading the ebook meant the CD had to be bought separately. I can’t really complain about it for myself, since I received my file for free, but it does make me feel sorry for anyone who does buy it, since they’ll have to pay to read the book and then again to download the music, while people who buy a physical copy receive both in one package. If nothing else, though, I do wish there was a way to sample one or two tracks before I choose to buy the album, since I am interested in hearing the songs that Rowan wrote during the book, but have no idea if I will enjoy the style of the artist who was hired to emulate them, or the songs themselves, in the long run.

I want to emphasize that these are all only peeves, and not full problems, so the mileage of individual readers may vary for how much they may agree or even notice these things. So, while they did interfere with my personal enjoyment of the novel, they should not be an indicator of how much you will enjoy it. If you like coming of age narratives or travel stories, or if you just think a story of a musician traveling across an unknown country in search of a daughter he didn’t know he had sounds sweet, then don’t let me stop you from reading it. I may even give it another chance sometime in the future, as well. If you do read it, however, as I mentioned above, probably buy the physical copy, so you can get the whole package in a single shot.

[Paul Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if...

What if life threw you a curveball and sent you off on a different path? What if you were given a life-changing circumstance and you ran with it.

This is the underlying message of Rowan and Eris.

Jefferys has written an interesting tale where the main character, Rowan, sets off to find a possible daughter and ends up discovering more about himself.

The author gives us an intriguing story of circumstances, actions, emotions and destructive personality traits, where they take us in life, and how we deal with it. A story in which we can see a part of us all.

[Valentin Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deep inside in “Rowan and Eris” and I liked it so much! It's sooo well written! Great!
And, in each chapter I discover similarities and parallels with Joel Havea, a great singer/ songwriter and a good friend of mine, regarding life philosophy, thoughts, biography, etc.
Joel, being himself inspired by this novel, wrote 7 beautiful songs, released on his album “One Hand Clapping/ Rowan Davidson”. The book, read with the sound of Joel Havea’s poetic songs in mind, generated in me pure enjoyment feelings!
I wished, that this book would never end! I enjoyed it immensely and I warmly recommend to everybody to read it!

[Doreen Ashbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started this book I was not sure that I was going to like it - boy, was I wrong.
What a great character Rowan is. An Aussie musician, who sets off on a road trip of sorts in search of a 'possible' daughter. Along the way he meets some quirky folks and ends up on a voyage of self discovery. Nola (the mother of the'possible'daughter) is one of the most unlikable characters ever. Thank you Goodreads Giveaways - I loved it.

[Sue Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable book following Rowan (and Churchill) challenged to find the daughter he never knew about and her querky mother!

[Erin C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it very very much!!

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

I usually like road trip books, and while I did like some of the traveling aspects of this one, in parts it seemed to drag on. I went into this book thinking that the point of it was Rowan finding his daughter, and the new life that they build as they get to know each other. Nope, it wasn't that-- Eris barely played a role in the story. It was more about Rowan finding himself, I guess. It was this big buildup to him meeting his daughter, and then we basically got none of that story. Well, at least I liked Churchill. Also, I will give the author credit for creating a character that I disliked so much (looking at you, Nola).

[Tammy Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as part of a good reads giveaway. I enjoyed the book and loved reading from both Rowan and Nola’s perspectives. I liked the opposite personalities and perspectives about life. It was a quick and fun read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free through a good reads giveaway. I enjoyed reading, loved all of the landmarks in each city and the story over all. I kind of hated that the intro killed the suspense for the entire book but it was still a pretty good read.

[Toni Wittus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. The characters in the book are well written. You either love them or hate them. The book seemed to drag a little but overall it was a 5 Star book.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rowan lives in Australia with Nana and his friend Churchill. A series of postcards start to arrive from different places with a picture of a childs hand drawn òn. With the help of Churchill, Rowan deducts that the postcards are from Nola with whom he had a brief fling with that must have resulted with a pregnancy. Again with the help of Churchill, Rowan goes on one big American road trip to go and find Nola and the child.

The concept of this story is interesting but I found that the book didn't really go anywhere. The story was just one big road trip around America. Following Rowan around as he follows Nola but gets waylaid along the way.

The story is not action packed and has a slow pace where not a lot happens. This book is more about somebody finding themselves and their feelings, what do they really want from life.

I enjoyed this book at times but other times was totally bored. It's not really my type of book but can imagine that somebody would get a lot out of it. I like books to have a bit more going on.

Thanks to the publisher via the Librarything early reviews programme for the chance to read and review the book.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rowan and Eris... a man chases the mother of his lovechild through various cities and countries in pursuit of a relationship with his daughter. This simple story dramatically morphs into an epic and detailed journey to find more about himself than his daughter. He grows as a musician and encounters knowledge about the world. Very wordy and boring at times. Ending is rushed, leaving many unanswered questions.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Kindle Win Copy

A story of pursuing life and finding oneself along the way Male meets female as they end up with a daughter which he initially does not exist. It Is his search for them despite the female causing havoc along in his songs. Abit disappointed in the dtory line.

[Lavender]

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I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.

[Amileigh Gordon]

#GoodreadsGiveaway