Hostages to Fortune: A Novel

by William Humphrey

A father bravely confronts an unthinkable tragedyin William Humphrey’s most heart-wrenching novel.

In the aftermath of his son’s suicide, Ben Curtis returns to the upstate New York fishing lodge that holds some of his happiest memories. It has been two years since his last visit, and Ben—thirty pounds lighter, his dark hair turned white—is barely recognizable to people who have fished alongside him for twenty summers. For the first time in all those years, he has made the trip alone.
 
Over the course of the weekend, as Ben tramps through the forest and relearns the secrets of catching trout, he recalls the joys of the past and reckons with the grim reality of the present. Anthony, a Princeton freshman who inherited his father’s love of the outdoors, is gone. So too is the man he was named after: Tony Thayer, Ben’s best friend and former fishing companion. And Ben has no idea where his wife, Cathy, might be. In the wake of Anthony’s death, their already-strained marriage fell apart.

Where does a man turn when everything he put his faith in—friends, family, love—is destroyed? In the exhilaration of fly casting into an icy mountain stream, Ben hopes to find the answer. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a desperate, impressive, astonishing book,” Hostages to Fortune is a profound and deeply moving meditation on the art of survival.
 
This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Humphrey including rare photos form the author’s estate.

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1984

About the author

William Humphrey was an American novelist, memoirist, short story writer, and author of literary sporting and nature stories. His published works, while still available in French translation, largely have been out of print until recently. Home from the Hill and The Ordways are available from LSU Press. In 2015, Open Road Media published the complete works of William Humphrey in digital form.
Of significant interest to readers of Humphrey are Wakeful Anguish, A Literary Biography of William Humphrey by Ashby Bland Crowder as well as Far From Home, Selected Letters of William Humphrey edited by Crowder, both available from Louisiana State University Press.

Reviews

[Feliks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moving, mature, sensitive, novel filled with emotion and understanding. It can actually be very hard-to-take at times; because its simply so unflinching and relentless. That's the reason I gave it not very many stars in my rating; because it is somewhat depressing material which is not my usual read. But it is very high-quality prose. Totally commanding of respect.

This is a book which explores what you may have to deal with when you become an adult. Or perhaps better said--its a book which covers what one used to have to deal with--when people used to become adults (instead of just big, overgrown children). Sadly, I don't think Americans like the ones in this book, exist anymore: sober, accountable, conscientious, vulnerable, committed to each other, and loving of each other. I don't know anyone who lives like this anymore. But this book reminds us of what fully-evolved humans once were.

[Cindy Bonner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is almost too sad to read, especially for someone like me who has recently experienced a profound loss. In his attempt to come to terms with the unexplained suicide of his son, the subsequent breakup of his marriage, and the loss of an old dear friend, the protagonist descends into a year's long deep depression. The darkness of this challenging novel would stop most readers from finishing the book, except for the fact that Humphrey is a fantastic writer whose prose is smooth, readable, insightful, and rewarding. I have long admired this neglected author and encourage readers to try his classic, Home From The Hill, before tackling Hostages to Fortune.

[David]

Really good.