Goodbye, Maggie

by Gary Gautier

In a culture of health nuts, gurus, quacks and seekers, Phil’s stagnant life is rattled when his charismatic brother, Magnus, shows up with the news that he has murdered Maggie Leblanc and asks for sanctuary. Thus starts a dramatic comedy of rollicking misdirection, as Magnus disappears – with Phil’s girlfriend, Hermia – and Phil lands on an uneasy road trip through small town Louisiana with Gus, another rival for Hermia’s attention. Phil and Gus, white and black, find racism, madness, and unlikely friendships as they roll through the swampland and return empty-handed to New Orleans. But are they really empty-handed? And has Maggie really gone gentle into that good night?

160 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2019

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

I was pleased with this book. It was not the Great American Novel but it had fun parts. I absolutely love the New Orleans culture. So, the NOLA parts sparkled.

The characters were nice with some very quirky.

I recommend

[Lynne Spreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to get into it but the voice didn't appeal, with the author constantly breaking the fourth wall with a little wink to the audience.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather confusing. albeit well-written book.

I'm still not 100% sure of what the lead character was on but he goes through a couple of confusing scenes that don't really make sense to me.

The author has written most of the book as almost screen directions to allow the reader to "see" the scenes better.

That point and the fact that the writing is good - the author captures local dialects/accents brilliantly - pushed the book into 3 stars where the confusing story line only deserved a two star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

[Clarissa Simmens · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a coping mechanism for the pandemic, decided to read only Cozy Mysteries to get through those middle of the night insomnia horrors caused by aging and lifelong sleeping disorders. But before long, sought something with ideas, with imagination, with free transportation (strains of The Who’s “Talking ‘Bout My Generation” bopping in my mind) to another world and found it in the free—this week—Kindle edition of Goodbye, Maggie. What lovely, poetic writing! The thoughts may seem chaotic at times, but I felt they were distilled down to insightful ideas that make sense. An instance that I liked was the comparison between science’s idea of water (merely H2O) vs imagination (ancestors moving on a river with gods speaking in the sound of water). Choose the description you like best but I find it reminiscent of the difference between Cozies and Free-form novels and prefer the latter. Mostly, throughout the action, we wonder about the Mystery of Maggie the “Fairy Queen” and the hints of a new generation allowing the beat to go on in the form of “Princess” Mary Elizabeth. If life is someone’s dream, it is evident in Gary Gautier’s fine book.

[José Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Já tinha lido um livro anterior do Gary Gauthier: Hippies. Que li na sequência de Walden (Henry David Thoreau), considerado o livro que deu origem ao movimento hippie. Bons livros, dão o contexto exato de New Orleans (Lousiana), onde tudo começou. Goodbye, Maggie é ambientado no mesmo contexto, vai se desenrolando e, para quem já leu Hippie, a conexão entre os dois vai ficando mais evidente na medida em que a leitura se aproxima dos 20% finais. Quando aparece a ligação entre os dois livros. Gostei do livro, é um registro romanceado de parte da vida em New Orleans e adjacências. Esoterismo, magia, vida livre, transcendentalismo.
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I had read a previous Gary Gauthier book: Hippies. That I read just after reading Walden (Henry David Thoreau), considered the book that gave rise to the hippie movement. Good books, they picture us the context of New Orleans (Louisiana), where it all started. Goodbye, Maggie is set in the same context, unfolds and, for those who have read Hippie, the connection between the two becomes more evident as the reading approaches the final 20% pages. When the connection between the two books appears. I liked the book, it's a romanticized record of part of life in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Esotericism, magic, free life, transcendentalism.

[Ken Dowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nevermind Maggie, the hero of this tale is Phil. He’s insecure and indecisive. A little boring, he lacks both initiative and accountability. Phil ends up chasing the girlfriend who’s apparently done with him and who has taken off with his older brother. Phil is joined in the chase by a pharmaceutical salesman who may or may not have been his girlfriend Hermia’s lover.

The setting is New Orleans. Its Mardi Gras and there a touch of New Orleans voodooish magic to the tale. But we also come across everything from a backwoods bayou boat race with some Louisiana rednecks to a millenial office scene with the sophomoric banter of low-level tech writers.

It’s short. A fast read. An original and creative story. Gautier has created characters that are unpredictable. That adds some mystery to the story over and above the question of whether Phil ever catches up with Hermia. If you’re someone who likes to have all the loose ends tied together before the end, you might be disappointed.

There’s one character who qualifies as something of a wise old sage. This quote from Madame Peychaud gives you some idea of what’s in store: “Sometimes hard to say if people’s dead or not. We like to think it’s one or the other but lots of people’s in between.”

[Harry Neil]

I read this one twice. Had to, actually, to get everything placed. Or maybe because the first time I read it in bits and snatches throughout a couple of busy days, when it needs, and deserves, a thoughtful reading.

Start by getting ready to be snatched about in time and place. Then follow the several things that are going on with some care. You'll be rewarded by a well-told tale about interestingly-developed characters who suddenly become familiar toward the end. Yes, if you've read other recent works by Gautier, you'll find yourself back in familiar territory. To say more would be a spoiler.

So if you're already a Gautier reader, you'll enjoy this revisit to bayou country with a man who is obviously familiar with it. And I think you'll enjoy reconnecting with some characters whom you probably thought had ridden into the sunset.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about a third of this and gave up. I like this author & anything set in New Orleans but couldn't take the whiney characters. Maybe this wasn't the right book for me this weekend...I'll try again later.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Orleans

Here is a read that will bring you into some mystical fantasy worlds. It will have you seeking more into your own creative thoughts.

[Dan Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I enjoyed "Goodbye, Maggie" as much or even more than I did the author’s previous book, "Hippies," maybe because the characters Phil and Gus more closely align with who I am, or who I perceive myself to be, considering my own self-assessed conservative leanings and hang-ups. And perhaps I was blissfully clueless early on, but I didn't see the link to "Hippies" coming; it hit me suddenly, but I enjoyed the tie-in and the tying-up of some loose ends from that fine tale.

As with most good books, "Goodbye, Maggie" is a road-story, an adventure of self-discovery for squares Gus and Phil, and also for me. I am glad I was along for the ride. When conservative Gus, in Chapter 3, scoffs about a New Age wellness center and says to the hippie Magnus, "I believe in Science and reality, not pie in the sky, made-up bullshit. Sunspot Wellness Center! Place oughta be called The Lunar Landing," he is voicing a skepticism of New Age beliefs, both for him and for his fellow conservative Phil. During their travels to find Maggie, Phil and Gus begin to learn otherwise and to appreciate the mysticism of New Age thinking. Again, this is the gist of the book, an adventure of self-discovery for Gus and Phil, both of whom start to relax and rethink their uptight, hurry, hurry modes of living.

When squares Gus and Phil complete their journey and find a sense of enlightenment, the ending of the book proves ironical in the renaming of the wellness center, the same wellness center at which Gus scoffed earlier in the book, which is now partnered by both squares Gus and Phil along with New Agers Madame Peychaud and Magnus. Renaming their joint-venture the "Lunar Landing," somehow suits all involved; and it especially fits for conservatives Gus, I think, because the new name infers a newfound belief by him in things he cannot touch and has not seen.