Going

by Kevin Oderman

In Granada, a boy in a dress begs in the white alleys of the old town. A vulnerable runaway, he turns to an American painter who is living in the city for protection, Madeleine James. The boy also meets Madeleine's new friend, poet Cy Jacobs. Although the two adults mean to help the boy, they unwittingly expose him to more peril. Soon, all the characters in the story have been scraped on the touchstone of hard realities and made to show their mettle, be it base or gold. This novel, at times somber and at times flaring with intensity, calls up indelibly the difficulties of making a good life—or a good death—in a world in which we are all, in one way or another, going.

266 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2006

About the author

In addition to White Vespa (Etruscan Press, 2011), Kevin Oderman is the author of a book of literary criticism, Ezra Pound and the Erotic Medium; a book of essays, How Things Fit Together; and the novel, Going, set in Granada, Spain. Twice he has lived abroad as a Fulbright Fellow, teaching modern American poetry at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, and American literature at Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan. He is a professor of English at West Virginia University.

Reviews

[Savannah Kisiday · Rating 4 out of 5]

An underrated short book with a pleasant storyline. It takes a lot for books to spark emotion, especially sadness, for me; however, this book surely sparked a lot for me. And even after I finished it I remained stunned by how everything had come to a close. A beautiful story with beautiful characters, and I’m glad to call it one of my favorites.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oderman may have a talent with words: I can't tell. What I can tell is that his characters are shallowly rendered, that his landscape is strangely flat, despite a wealth of detail offered, and, most damningly, that he tries to show-off his know-how through his characters. The sheer amount of pretension in both the writer and the characters is staggering.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a subtle, heartbreaking morality tale set against the rich backdrop of Granada. The characters are challenging people who make us ask difficult questions of ourselves as readers. A really lovely book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite novels - it's on the bookshelf next to _The Sun Also Rises_