Title: Going to See the Elephant
Author: Rodes Fishburne
Date: 2008
Already in his mid-twenties, Slater Brown worries that his dream of becoming the greatest writer of all time is in jeopardy, so he arrives in San Francisco, where he plans to wait for some fortuitous chain of events that will make his literary genius known to the world. In the meantime, the young literary hopeful and modern-day dandy embarks on journalism career, acquiring his much-talked-about scoops by ethically questionable means, becomes a San Francisco celebrity, and falls in love with a beautiful, young chess master. (Note that the novel unfolds in a surreal, dreamlike San Francisco where psychic abilities may be real, an inventor named Milo Magnet can create weather events, and a mayor in crisis can consume enough food to render him unable to fit through his office doorway.) Although Slater is phenomenally successful, he begins to doubt whether he desires the success he has obtained. When he realizes that fate doesn't follow the plans he has made for himself, Slater is forced to reassess his life.
While the quirkiness of pseudo-San Francisco and its fictional denizens is amusing, it feels a bit overdone as the novel progresses, and the book starts to drag somewhat once Slater falls in love. I also would have liked to have read more about the sub-plot involving inventor Milo Magnet, since he seemed at least as interesting as Slater Brown. But if, like Slater, you've been enamored with a place, your plans, and your vision of yourself . . . only to realize that your ideas about all of the above lacked any basis in reality, you'll probably find something to appreciate in this book
Author: Rodes Fishburne
Date: 2008
Already in his mid-twenties, Slater Brown worries that his dream of becoming the greatest writer of all time is in jeopardy, so he arrives in San Francisco, where he plans to wait for some fortuitous chain of events that will make his literary genius known to the world. In the meantime, the young literary hopeful and modern-day dandy embarks on journalism career, acquiring his much-talked-about scoops by ethically questionable means, becomes a San Francisco celebrity, and falls in love with a beautiful, young chess master. (Note that the novel unfolds in a surreal, dreamlike San Francisco where psychic abilities may be real, an inventor named Milo Magnet can create weather events, and a mayor in crisis can consume enough food to render him unable to fit through his office doorway.) Although Slater is phenomenally successful, he begins to doubt whether he desires the success he has obtained. When he realizes that fate doesn't follow the plans he has made for himself, Slater is forced to reassess his life.
While the quirkiness of pseudo-San Francisco and its fictional denizens is amusing, it feels a bit overdone as the novel progresses, and the book starts to drag somewhat once Slater falls in love. I also would have liked to have read more about the sub-plot involving inventor Milo Magnet, since he seemed at least as interesting as Slater Brown. But if, like Slater, you've been enamored with a place, your plans, and your vision of yourself . . . only to realize that your ideas about all of the above lacked any basis in reality, you'll probably find something to appreciate in this book
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