Really enjoyed this book. Great plot and engaging, believe characters. I was drawn right into the story. Would definitely recommend.

The first few chapters had me wondering if I'd complete this novel. Too much description about the region, and too little about the characters. That quickly changed, and I'm so glad I continued with this story. Gregory Phipps captured so much in this novel about a man, his loss and his unconventional self-treatment. Rob's grief after the death of his wife is so believable, and how he deals with it is unique. Choosing to live a semi-hermit life with the fringe benefits of a love of golf - what a twist. It's easy to picture this bearded character wearing a bucket hat and toting groceries as Carmel residents give his the side-eye! The author makes Rob's choices understandable and relatable, thanks to vivid descriptions of Del Monte forest, red golf pants and a Rolex watch. Each has a role to play in the protagonist's search for peace, relief and a new normal.

This was such a interesting and fun book to read ! As one who has been in the Carmel area for decades I enjoyed reading of our area and of the author's love for the area. Its hard not to love this area even amid his extensive grief. I enjoyed the chapter dedicated to the area and to Point Lobos. The author has a great love for our spectacular environment and it shows in his writing.
This is a story of the human condition of grief and how it changes our lives. The author writes of taking a sabbatical from society and living in a abandon cabin in the Monterey Forest near Carmel's most excl;usive homes and golf courses. He helps himself to each course and attracts attention of locals and those he golfs with. Along his path of solitude he finds himself again and finds Carmel heals him as does the game of golf.

I wonderful read. I thank the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity. I will be reading further works by this author in the future. I love the symmetry of the writing with Thoreau's journeys,.

Wow! I wasn’t expecting this when I chose to read this book. It slowly reels you in and then takes you down a path you weren’t expecting but are glad you went.
All said and done it is part “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” , part romance novel, part travelogue, and part reminder not to wear fuchsia in the woods. I am thankful I was allowed to read this for review purposes. I am better for it.

The Hermit of Carmel
Book Review | 📚📚 2/5
Gregory Phipps (writer) | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

The Hermit of Carmel is one part published author with a past; one part backstory to author’s recently published work; one part travelogue of the Monterey Peninsula.

Why I was interested in this book:
Having lived on the Monterey Peninsula for a number of years, I was intrigued to read this book. Not sure what to expect, I relied on the title to lead the way.

My assessment:
This book falls into the category of “Books I Did Not Finish”. I actually gave it more of a chance than most books that I place in this category. Five chapters should be more than enough to make an assessment.

I admit that I liked reading about whenever location was brought up or described. That was probably what I liked most about the book. A little more on that later.

The first five chapters I read were all different. That’s not a bad thing, in and of itself. For me, it seemed disjointed. I think I understand the author’s intent with the chapter order, but it seemed jumpy. The book begins with the author (in the story) and his manager back in Carmel for a book reading. The book jumps to an attorney, possibly in a dream, but not quite right either way, in a courtroom. An entire chapter is spent on describing the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel, Del Monte Forest, Point Lobos, etc. It seemed awkward to put so much detail about location into an entire chapter with almost no context to the story, itself. Next, the book jumps to golfers, where the title character is encountered. Then a jump in time when a man and a woman first met on a boardwalk. The flow was all too confusing for me to follow.

The story kept my attention enough to read more chapters than I would have based on the syntax. The story’s flow wasn’t the only part that was challenging. The flow of the structure and the writing confused me to a point that I was more focused on syntax than content.

Stories of the human condition:
I will admit that I did not get into the book enough to discover any deep elements of human condition. I had a very difficult time empathizing with any of the characters, almost from page one. The first chapter really didn’t offer a way to see humanity in the author or the publisher. Nor did the other characters really have relatable characters.

Note: I fully disclose that I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

TAGS:
#TheHermitOfCarmel #review-book #book review #MontereyPeninsula #IBPA #IndependentBookPublishersAssociation #GregoryPhipps #NetGalley #TuggleGrassBlues #Tuggle Grass Reviews #TuggleGrassReviews #BooksIDidNotFinish

The Hermit of Carmel is the story of a mans loss, sorrow and despondency and how he deals with it. It explores the dark roads we sometimes take while suffering, and the paths we take to return to ourselves. I enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed, the writing was strong and the storyline was authentic and inspirational. I would be interested in reading more of this author. My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

This story has an interesting premise. A man loses his wife and seeks comfort in chosen homelessness in Carmel, CA. Unfortunately, numerous typos and a scattered narrative made for clunky reading. I’ve sent the errors to the publisher and hope they are able to make the changes prior to publication.

There were very enjoyable parts to the book. The part when Robert meets Jules got an audible giggle from me. I enjoyed reading about when he constructs his house, how he survives, and meeting Kate. But there were also some very long and not so enjoyable parts. Long descriptions of a beautiful space can be wonderful to read, but when using pretty basic vernacular, pages and pages describing golf courses were harder to get through.

It was told mostly through the point of view of a narrator watching Robert Das. There was one chapter that randomly switched to another character’s point of view, which was a bit jarring to read as it wasn’t clear until a ways down the page.

Overall, I think with some fine-toothed editing this book could be a decent read. Creative plot, but not perfectly executed yet.

This was not the book I expected from the p u publisher's description. It's VERY heavy on minutia-level details about the setting (Monterey/Carmel), to the point I just had to jump ahead. The cover should have been a clue that it'd be heavy on golf too. Sadly, I have up after about sixty pages. Not the book for me.

The Hermit Of Carmel
By: Gregory Phipps
Description
Grief motivates Robert Das to withdraw from society and embrace a life of solitude in the woods surrounding Carmel, California - living as a hermit while surrounded by luxury homes and manicured golf courses. While avoiding discovery and stealing materials to craft his makeshift cabin, Robert rediscovers his passion for golf and for life.
A Pretty good read.Very funny in some of Robert's doing. Some really sweet, touching moments.
It was a little slow in spots but overall a good read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advice copy for review.