Some stories explore what happens when carefully built lives are interrupted rather than destroyed. In The Radical Radiance of the Fishing Fly, Lewis K. Schrager traces the quiet unraveling of certainty as one man fall into experiences shaped by obsession, grief, and unresolved ties.

About the Book

Set in Alaska’s remote wilderness, the journey begins as an attempt at renewal after survival. Larry Nichols, having endured cancer by tying fishing flies and imagining rivers alive with movement, invites his brother David to fish alongside him. David arrives grounded in logic, ill-prepared for the emotional intensity that awaits.

Immersed in a close-knit group driven by ritual and obsession, David feels increasingly out of place. Old tensions between the brothers resurface, exposing years of unresolved conflict shaped by silence and restraint. David takes a liking to Kathy Sands, a fellow member of the fishing party carrying her own grief, whose presence adds emotional depth to an already charged experience.

As the expedition progresses, David becomes entangled in a clandestine nighttime mission fueled by revenge. Under the stark conditions of the wilderness, he must confront fear, desire, and the limits of rational control, forcing a reckoning with the emotional bonds he has long resisted.

Review of The Radical Radiance of the Fishing Fly

Pulled in almost immediately, I found myself quickly invested in the characters. While it starts as a tale about a fishing trip in Alaska and two brothers who’ve grown apart, it soon reveals much more beneath the surface. This is really a story about family, estrangement, and the gradual process of healing the heart through human connection.

The prose is striking and immersive. The author brings the intensity and restorative nature of fishing to life in a way that’s compelling. Readers who have never picked up a rod – may be tempted now. The vivid Alaskan landscape blends effortlessly with quieter, more intimate settings like a hospital room, creating a smooth and powerful narrative flow. There’s a strong emotional thread running throughout—love, remorse, grief, and longing—tempered by moments of humor that help balance the heavier themes. Well done. 

About the Author

Lewis K. Schrager is an author and playwright whose short fiction has twice been honored in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Contest and has appeared in numerous literary journals, including South Carolina Review, Cottonwood, and Bryant Literary Review. His plays have been produced in Baltimore and St. Paul, and this is his debut novel.

He’s a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Schrager spent his professional career in global health, serving as an AIDS researcher at the National Institutes of Health and as a vaccine developer focused on tuberculosis prevention. 

Visit Lewis at his website

Glad to Have You!

Thanks for following our Book Blogs, we appreciate you. Be sure to sign up for our twice/month newsletter with all things bookish; New Releases, Giveaways Galore, and more!