The Girl with Autumn Eyes

by R F Vincent

Overview

I looked at my watch-9:42 a.m. on the twenty-eighth day of September. It was the exact moment I fell in love with the girl on the bridge.

Discarded in a dumpster at birth and never adopted, MC has been crippled by social anxiety for most of his twenty-five years. Then one day, during an eventful bicycle ride through the Nova Scotia countryside, he has an improbable encounter with a woman on a bridge that changes everything. Although no words are spoken at the time, it's love at first sight for MC. What follows is an entertaining and unusual quest for love. Despite his debilitating shyness and feelings of inadequacy, MC battles to break free of his self-imposed prison, leading to a remarkable journey that comes full circle in a way that no one could have ever imagined.

Smart, funny, and heartfelt, The Girl with Autumn Eyes is a spellbinding story of love and friendship that will stay with readers long after the final page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781038318954
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	10/17/2024
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

R. F. (Ron) Vincent is an award-winning author and a professor of physics and space science at the Royal Military College of Canada. In a previous career he flew as an air navigator with the Royal Canadian Air Force. In addition to scientific papers focusing on Arctic climate change, Ron has published two other novels: Life at the Precipice, which won the 2023 Best Indie Book Award for literary fiction and made the long list for the 2024 Leacock Medal Award, and The Curious Mr. Pennyworth. He lives in Kingston, Ontario with his wife, JoAnne.

Editorial Reviews

2024-12-09
In Vincent’s novel, an awkward man falls in love with a woman the second he sees her and quirkiness ensues.

On September 28, 1985, the narrative’s protagonist falls in love with a girl he sees on a bridge. Being found in a dumpster as a baby, growing up in a foster home, and then working in an office by himself selling “binzzbunzzers” after college doesn’t exactly lead to him socializing much, or even acting “normal.” Attending a dinner party with some other people from their shared office building, he learns her name is Ann, and thus begins a strange friendship between the two—at least from Ann’s perspective. While he remains devoted to her, and even professes his love for her over dinner, Ann continues to see him only as a friend. (“I felt smaller,” rues the protagonist after confessing his ardor. “I had released my feelings, and the resulting loss of mass had caused me to shrink.”) Their friendship lasts through several of Ann’s boyfriends, and even her move across the country. It’s while Ann is so far away that the protagonist starts writing a novel to tell his and Ann’s story. When he catches up to their lives in the present day, what kind of ending will their story get? In this most unusual novel, the protagonist is never named, though he does refer to himself as MC (as in Main Character) when discussing his role in the story. His devotion to Ann is heartwarming—he pays attention to what she enjoys, helps her find the lighter side of life during tough times, and continues to stand by her even when she’s not in the mood to be a good friend. While the story does have a romantic element, this is more of a quirky slice-of-life piece (with some metafiction thrown in the end) than a romance. Readers angling for something unconventional but still endearing and entertaining need look no further.

An off-the-wall read that captures one’s attention.

Kirkus Reviews