Robert Rope by GraceVGreen at Inkitt

Story Notes

This is an unpublished novel. The original language of the work is Italian.

The novel contains references to explicit language, alcohol consumption, drugs, smoking, sexual content, as well as sensitive themes such as violence.

These elements are not glorified. They are treated with sensitivity and for exclusively narrative purposes, in order to realistically portray the setting, the psychological background of the characters, and the cultural context.

© Grace V. Green (2025)

Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use of the texts, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.

Summary

1969. Rob is twenty-four years old and carries a few questionable episodes in his past: a crime reported in the news, a toxic love affair, and his first band, the Ganflamers. Drawn in by the Beat Generation, he runs away from Detroit and becomes a roadie. He travels across America and then Europe, chasing a sense of freedom that comforts and wounds him at the same time. Newport is the stop where a worsening headache forces him to pause and face his own demons. Between concerts, fleeting encounters, smoky venues, and sleepless nights, Rob drifts through unresolved conflicts, homesickness, and the question that keeps eating at him: What am I doing with my life? In his notebook he keeps everything -- contacts, hastily scribbled chords, a map, and two dreams: having a family and a band. Then, an unexpected phone call. One last job that, passing through the countryside of Bethel, might finally bring him home. One final trip through American youth, torn between military draft, the need for self-expression, and an adult society that judges what it does not understand. This is the story of a kind-hearted young man with impaired vision, to whom fate gives exactly what he needs to become a man: peace and music. A journey to put his inner world in order, to break toxic bonds, to forgive others and himself. An opportunity to open himself to extraordinary people who reach out and help him move on.

Genre: Romance/Drama

Author: GraceVGreen

Status: Complete

Chapters: 49

Rating: 5.0 10 reviews

Age Rating: 18+

Prologue

I lived the life I had to live.

I let things happen.

I took life as it came. I just went with it.

The best moments found me when I wasn’t even looking for them.

When I think back on my life now, I wouldn’t change a thing. I have no regrets. I lived things I never could have imagined. I moved back and forth between America and Europe, and met people who would go on to change the history of music.

My past was more colorful than anyone could’ve ever wished for me — I know that for sure.

Colors I didn’t always see with my eyes, but felt somewhere deep inside, through music.

The only things that ever felt solid were black and white, my glasses… and Sylvia. Everything else drifted by like a gray haze, leaving behind gaps I could never quite explain.

And that’s how it went.

Until the last journey.

When, surrounded by sounds I had never heard before, I saw again the ones I had lost — and missed so much it took the air out of my lungs.

It was August 1969 when, for the first time in my life, I saw in color.

Chapter Notes