South of Bixby Bridge [Kindle Edition]

Ryan Winfield (Author)

Book Description

#1 AMAZON KINDLE BESTSELLER IN "U.S. Literature & Fiction"

--KINDLE Top 100 Paid List BESTSELLER--

2011 Breakout Novel -- About to turn 30 and being discharged from drug rehab, Trevor Roberts is sure he's hit bottom with nowhere to go but up. He soon learns that sometimes the "bottom" is just the beginning. With more twists than California's Highway 1, the intimate narrative follows a young man on a wild month-long ride to the dizzying, drunken heights of Napa Valley excess where he falls fast for his new boss's intoxicating wife and becomes entangled in a strange threesome affair. But things soon begin to unravel as Trevor is drawn into a secret world of sex and scandal, only to have his lust for success drag him down again through a phantasmagoria of hedonistic hell. "Shocking and unapologetic", South of Bixby Bridge barrels along with the "frenetic pace of a Hollywood blockbuster," delivering "poetic prose loaded with images". With gripping drama, witty dialogue, and sexy, jaw-dropping glimpses into the nouveau-riche underworld of California's wealthy elite, you won't be able to put this riveting new novel down. Buckle up and enjoy the read!

ADULT TOPICS (✓)  FINANCIAL THRILLER (✓)  CAUTIONARY TALE (✓)  REDEMPTION QUEST (✓)

***If you or anyone you know has struggled with alcohol, drug, or sex addiction, you must read this!

Warning: This novel is an unfiltered account of a young man's struggle to overcome addictions and it includes some graphic language, descriptive sexual scenes, and adult situations.

What readers are saying:

"Powerful, riveting, dark and haunting!" ★★★★★ 

"Sexy, funny, and poignant with fantastic prose, this book is impossible not to enjoy." ★★★★

"... the story barrels along, the characters jump off the page, and Winfield knows how to turn a phrase." ★★★★★

"I wholeheartedly recommend this novel; it's a no-holds-barred, uninhibited tour de force."  ★★★★★ 

"I couldn't put this book down. I was addicted; a reading-addict addicted to a book about addiction." ★★★★★ 

"Water for Elephants was my last favorite read and now I think this one has topped it." ★★★★★

Editorial Reviews

Review

I recently finished reading South of Bixby Bridge by Ryan Winfield, and I have to say that I became a bit addicted to this roller-coaster ride of addiction and temptation because it's not the predictable narrative of an addict who hits rock bottom. In this novel, gaining a foothold on the upper echelon reveals new depths of depravity.

South of Bixby Bridge is told from the perspective of Trevor Roberts, a good-looking young addict - although in his mind, he doesn't have a problem - whose traumatic past is still reverberating through his present. Because he doesn't think he has anything to lose after a stint in rehab, Trevor allows himself to be charmed by his new hedge-fund-owner boss and his tantalizing wife. As he becomes absorbed into their Dionysian excesses of money, power, and sex, he eventually learns that what he thought was the pinnacle of success is only a valley of destitution.
 
Five Stars ★★★★★ 
 
--Tari Gaffney for Ask Miss A

From the Author

I've been asked why I write. I write because I remember.

I remember waking up to snow. Great buckets of it poured from the gray skies and blanketing everything in quiet white. I remember racing to dress, struggling with my boots. "Here, don't forget your mittens." I remember the soft thump of that first footstep in the cold and virgin powder, the tracks looking back, foghorns blowing on the mist-covered bay. I feel the canvas paper bag cutting into my shoulders, the weight of Sunday's headlines heavy on my mind. I see the trees bowed with armloads of white, as if to curtsey my passing. I remember rubber bands and ink stained hands. A car spun sideways in a ditch. Always a car. Then barking dogs, a distant chainsaw. Freckles throwing fastballs that hurt for the cold of them on my neck. I remember snowmen, and igloos, and icy trails through the white and wondrous woods. And I remember sweet Mrs. Johnson waiting at her door. The smell of Avon powder, her thin smile, an envelope pressed into my palm--ten dollars and a peppermint candy cane thank you. Evening now. I remember running downtown--Salvation Army bells, white lights strung in sidewalk trees, bundled shoppers bent against the wind. I remember the heavy door, the warmth, the wood. The bookstore! Smells of paper and leather and ink. Walls of worlds bound and waiting for me to read.

Nothing has affected me as much as reading has. Dickens, Tolkien, and Lewis raised me. And while I've walked through my own hell, made my own mistakes, and found my own redemption, always there have been books. Books to help me escape, books to teach me when to stay and fight, books to help me see where I've been wrong and where I've been right.

I write because I remember. And I write because I still dream.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 494 KB
• Print Length: 299 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: B00701T8K0
• Publisher: Birch Paper Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005HISY0I
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,560 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #20 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Drama > United States
  • #22 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > United States

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

423 of 439 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's pure fantasyland but the author makes it believable. December 28, 2011

By Linda Linguvic HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a Kindle book by a brand new writer that is a bargain at its $3.99 price. When I was making up my mind whether to order it or not, I looked at the reviews. Out of 117 reviews, 107 people gave it the highest possible rating. Naturally I was intrigued. And now that I've finished the book in just two days, I can understand what all the praise was about.

The main character is a young man who has trouble with drugs and alcohol. He's lost his house and his girlfriend, , has no money and has just gotten out of rehab. He copes the best way he can, resisting drugs, sleeping in his car and looking for a job. But soon, his life changes. He is given a job in a upscale investment firm by a very wealthy man and his life then takes on what seems to be in a positive direction. He is wined and dined and soon is earning an outrageous amount of big bucks and starts to live a lifestyle that is pure fantasyland. He is back on drugs and alcohol though and is even romancing the rich man's wife. Soon though, things start to fall apart.

The book is extremely fast paced. Something new happens almost every page. Once I started reading I was absolutely hooked. The young man's world became my own and I wallowed in the details of the over-the-top and decadent lifestyles of the characters. There is plenty of glitz and glamour and lots of titillation and the writing is so good that the reader cannot help but identify with the main character. There are twists and turns and lots of turmoil but in the end, things turn out for the best and the book ends on a positive and satisfactory note.

It's rare that a book captures my attention and holds so well. I literally could just not put it down. I am therefore happy to give it one of my highest recommendations.

118 of 122 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding debut May 21, 2012

By Robin Landry TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm going to run out of adjectives to describe this book before I run out of review, but here goes. This is the kind of book that totally captures your imagination. Trevor kept me up all night because I had to see if he could get to his demons before they destroyed him completely. His demons, being alcohol, drugs--anything to help keep the terrifying emotions he keeps buried from surfacing.

This is the story of the pain of addiction--it's a story of what it means to be human. Trevor is the son of an abusive, alcoholic father, and a mother who tries her best to protect her son, and finally dies of cancer early in her son's life. Ryan Winfield gives the reader an up-close-and-person view of what happens when we bury pain so deep that even we can't see it. We can feel something, like the effects of a body in space on a planet that we can't see. We see the planet's wobble so we know something's there, but it's invisible to our eyes because it's too far away.

Trevor's pain so consumes his life until it takes more, and more of any numbing substance to keep it pushed down and out of sight. Fired as a money-manager because of risky behavior with money and his health, Trevor seemingly hits bottom when he nearly dies of an over-dose in a hot tub. After a stint in rehab, paid for by his girl-friend's mother, Trevor leaves still not knowing what his pain is, so of course he finds it all over again. This time he gets a job with a billionaire fund manager who uses Trevor again, only this time in a larger way that finally shows Trevor where bottom is.

Winfield does an excellent job of showing how what we don't bring out of the depths of our subconscious can destroy us, but he does it without any preaching. He does it in a stark and honest way that has to hit home for anyone who's ever used anything to bury a hurt from the past. I love the way Winfield uses his character's car to parallel what's happening to Trevor himself. Just as Trevor was given the gift of his body from his mother, so too was he given the gift of a Porsche. Trevor lives his car at times and even as he has to sell it to live, and then has it taken from him by Paul, the car represents Trevor's body. Life bangs it up, but there are always people to help mend the car, and Trevor himself when he lets them.

This is a brilliant debut from an exciting new author and I'll be waiting anxiously for his next work, though I have no idea how he's going to top South of Bixby Bridge.

89 of 94 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars R-rated for violence and sex March 2, 2012

By N. Teeter

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a very well written book as indicated by the large number off 5-star reviews. The author made me like the main character, Trevor, and that was the only reason I did not stop reading half way through when the content became very graphic. Instead, I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened to Trevor in the end, and I'm glad I did; however, this is a very disturbing book and several days after completing it, I am still haunted by the horrific images. The message of hope and perseverance is a good one and it's worth reading, but the reader should be cautioned about the graphic content. If this becomes a movie, it will be R-rated. I also agree with another reviewer who found the lack of conventional quotation marks to denote conversation frustrating.

More About the Author

Hi, I'm Ryan Winfield. I'm a 38-year-old writer living in Seattle. Author of "South of Bixby Bridge" and "The Park Service Trilogy". My latest title, "Jane's Melody", releases everywhere on June 18. If your book club is reading one of my books and you would like me to attend your next get together, either in person or via Skype, please don't hesitate to message me. I hope you enjoy my books and I'd love to hear from you at facebook.com/ryanwinfield.

I've been asked why I write. I write because I remember.

I remember waking up to snow. Great buckets of it poured from the gray skies and blanketing everything in quiet white. I remember racing to dress, struggling with my boots. "Here, don't forget your mittens." I remember the soft thump of that first footstep in the cold and virgin powder, the tracks looking back, foghorns blowing on the mist-covered bay. I feel the canvas paper bag cutting into my shoulders, the weight of Sunday's headlines heavy on my mind. I see the trees bowed with armloads of white, as if to curtsey my passing. I remember rubber bands and ink stained hands. A car spun sideways in a ditch. Always a car. Then barking dogs, a distant chainsaw. Freckles throwing fastballs that hurt for the cold of them on my neck. I remember snowmen, and igloos, and icy trails through the white and wondrous woods. And I remember sweet Mrs. Johnson waiting at her door. The smell of Avon powder, her thin smile, an envelope pressed into my palm--ten dollars and a peppermint candy cane thank you. Evening now. I remember running downtown--Salvation Army bells, white lights strung in sidewalk trees, bundled shoppers bent against the wind. I remember the heavy door, the warmth, the wood. The bookstore! Smells of paper and leather and ink. Walls of worlds bound and waiting for me to read.

Nothing has affected me as much as reading has. Dickens, Tolkien, and Lewis raised me. And while I've walked through my own hell, made my own mistakes, and found my own redemption, always there have been books. Books to help me escape, books to teach me when to stay and fight, books to help me see where I've been wrong and where I've been right.

I write because I remember. And I write because I still dream.