Flunking Bob Dylan: A Novel

by Bob Ryan

In pursuit of an engineering degree from NYU, left-brained Skye Purcell signs up for a class on Bob Dylan, believing it will provide an easy humanities credit. That couldn’t be further from the truth. While trying to manage combative relationships with both his parents and his girlfriend, Skye teeters on the brink of failing the ill-advised course, putting a major scholarship—and his chances at NYU—in jeopardy. In his quest to understand the enigmatic Bob Dylan and pass the course, Skye finds himself in a swirling stew of bowling alleys, petty theft, middle-eastern food and unsteady romance. Flunking Bob Dylan is a breezy, funny and sometimes touching story, played out in the streets, subways and cafes of New York City. Along the way, we meet Skye’s anachronistic/iconoclastic sidekick Turk and easygoing, straightforward Danni McGuire, who introduces new perspectives—and new complications—into Skye’s world. We are also confronted with The Naked Truth, and given a tip about the value of bowling from a gravel-voiced old man named Antonio.Skye’s journey leads him to a point of choice between his own and other’s expectations, and what he feels has ultimate value.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 21, 2022