Goodnight, Texas

by William J. Cobb

The town of Goodnight by the Sea lies on a peninsula between two bays, Red Moon and Humosa, and for years its people have struggled to get by, profiting on its shrimping industry, making a few bucks from tourism, especially as a winter retreat for visitors from the Great Lakes. All that is about to change. The shrimping industry is in a slump. The off-shore oil fields are played out. Global warming is causing the sea levels to rise, putting the vacation homes and condos at risk of catastrophic storms. When Gabriel Perez, a local shrimper, gets laid off, he looks for someone to blame. The rich tourists are an easy target for his job woes, but that’s not his only problem: He also manages to lose his girlfriend, Una Vu, a Vietnamese-American waitress, who is disgusted with both the smallness of her life and Gabriel’s petty anger. Gabriel blames Falk Powell, a teenage co-worker of Una’s, for stealing her heart.

Genres: Fiction, Summer, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

William J. Cobb is a novelist, essayist, and short fiction writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker, The Mississippi Review, The Antioch Review, and many others. He's the author of two novels - The Fire Eaters (W.W. Norton 1994) and Goodnight, Texas (Unbridled Books 2006) - and a book of stories, The White Tattoo (Ohio State UP 2002). He reviews books for the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and the New York Times, and directs the MFA program at Penn State. He lives in Pennsylvania and Colorado.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got its hook in me. I knew nothing about it, picked it up on a whim, and I wish more books could be that nice a discovery. Loved the place, loved the people. Very timely as well, what with the coastal devastation and sea change these days, both economical and ecological. Funny without being too quirky, hopeful without being too trite. I read it all in a day and would read it again, so a pleasant surprise indeed.

[W. Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this at the bookstore while I was shopping for another book and I’m glad I bought it. This was a funny story, and a total joy to read. Loved every character in it! My only complaint was the author’s incorrect use of Spanish throughout the story. It was so bad, it was very annoying, and I was disappointed that no one caught this before publishing such a great story. Anyway, still highly recommend this read!

[Emily Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

#12 of 75 of my 2025 “We have unread books at home” reading goal.

[Christine Irvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two different places in Texas called Goodnight. The one featured in this story is officially called Goodnight by the Sea as it lies on a peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. It used to have a thriving shrimp industry, but years of over-harvesting, and what some believe is global warming, have led to a great drop in the number of shrimp left in the surrounding waters. Those who have staked their livelihoods on the shrimping industry are going broke.

But, Goodnight is also a place where the northern snowbirds come to spend the cold winter months. They come for the warm climate and the great food. A Russian by the name of Gusef runs a diner called the Black Tooth Cafe. Una Vu, a Vietnamese-American, works there as a server. Falk Powell works there also, doing a variety of jobs.

Una lives with her mother. She is dating Gabriel Perez, a local shrimper, who has a temper and a history of violence. After a big fight, Una calls it quits between them. Falk, who is younger than her, has a crush on her. The two gravitate towards each other as time goes by.

All the events in the town take place with a backdrop of news of a coming hurricane. At first, the predictions were that it either would not hit them or the damage would be small. But, the predictions change, and everyone is urged to evacuate.

This is a story that combines many elements - the effects of global warming and over-fishing, the power of nature, the power of love, anger, jealousy, poverty, struggling, coming of age and much more.

The author writes the story with a lot of dialogue, but with no quotation marks around it. I find this a bit disconcerting. Sometimes it's difficult to tell when you first read a passage if it's just part of the narrative or if it's supposed to be people talking to each other. I enjoyed the story but I would have enjoyed it more if the dialogue was punctuated as such.

[allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started a little slowly, but really drew me in. It's a portrait of a dying coastal town in Texas. It centers on a love triangle (that eventually becomes a love square) between a 22 year old beauty named Una, her violent boyfriend Gabirel, and a 17 year old high school drop out and photographer named Falk--and eventually Falk's 16 year old cousin Leesha. Well observed and funny and hopeful despite everything that happens.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice fictional novel about a small fishing town on the Texas Gulf that had too many adjectives, too much cultural diversity in the population, too dependent on shrimping, too little shrimp left to fish, a dead fish too big for its own good and a too big hurricaine that devastated the region. People in the town dealing with their own loves and lives, and then dealing with life as survivors.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about a fishing town on the Texas coast (sounded a lot like Rockport). A variety of characters with their hopes and fears are well-developed and treated sympathetically. The author lived in Texas so he knows his stuff! The plot builds as a hurricane nears the coast. Language and plot are rated R.

[Daniel Kupchyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodnight is a small coastal Texas town where the fisherman are hard hit with low quantities of fish and shrimp. It tells of some of the inhabitants of the town and how they cope. A hurricane "Tanya" hits the area and lives are changed. Gabriel, Una, Falk, Gusef are some of the characters in the story and how they interact. It is a story of romance, despair, hope, and circumstance.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio.
SMall town Goodnight by the Sea, TX, is dying. A large, maybe extinct, Zebra fish washes up on the shore, and local restaurant owners Gustaf stuffs it and mounts it above the restaurant. A bit strange.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a slower read. not because it wasn't engaging (it was) but the way it's written is more like a long character study than a novel. there is no real plot that i can come up with - it's just about life in this small town and t he aftermath of a dramatic storm. liked it.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great simple story of some colorful characters in a small Texas town on the Gulf of Mexico....the Russian owner of the bar has a lot of great insight...filled with flawed but well painted characters...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and carefully paced. Although it focuses mainly on the struggle of youth in a decaying town, all characters--retired "snowbird" tourists to ex-Soviet entrepeneur--are rich and fully realized.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, but I never really understood what the strange fish had to do with anything.

[Janet Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the reviews, I expected this to be funnier and faster. An ok listen, but nothing special.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

the cast of characters helped the story flow

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm scratching my head over my decision to like or dislike this book. It was an ok read, but I wouldn't recommend it. Give it a 50 out of 100.