Going Out - Scarlett Thomas

[zaffra]

Going Out by Scarlett Thomas

You see, I was going to buy PopCo after Mr Marzipan's revue, but although it's not hard back it's still in the larger premium size of a new novel, and as any fool kno I don't want to carry heavy books around with me all the time.

So I decided to get this book instead, I thought at least it would give me a good idea of her writing and whether or not I would even bother with PopCo.

First thing I have to say is how much I don't like the cover, it looks like an album cover for a third rate madchester baggy era band. And the VW bus in the book doesn't look like the one on the cover at all.

So , what's it all about? well there's no surprises in this book which is a bit of a problem even though it mostly makes up for this by it's cheery readability.

Luke is alergic to sunlight so his mother hasn't let him out to play for twenty five years. He has no idea about the outside world learning everything from the TV.
His best friend is Julie failed all her A-levels on purpose so that she could live at home and visit Lukeevery evening. She is scared of most things and eats Pot Noodle.

With a small group of friends they go on a journey of discovery, a bit like The Wizard Of Oz, there's even witches!
Murakami and Coupland both get name checked and you can see the influence here clearly if sometimes a little clumsily.

The characters interact really well but at times they're just a bit too unbelieveable, Luke in particular. The pizza place where Julie works is spot on, and Leanne from across the road is an excellent creation.

Is Scarlett a Lesbian? she seems to bring up the idea of girls having feelings for each other without actually taking it anywhere.
It's an enjoyable book if slightly flawed, you know whats going to happen so there's little suspense.

I'd give this book a B-

I will still give PopCo a read when it's in paperback

[Deleted]

Going Out is definitely not as good as PopCo, but it is incredibly readable and I wouldn't say it was that predictable. Do you actually know what happened at the end? I mean aside from the Wizard of Oz quote, which I did find heavy-handed. The last line of the actual story, for me, has two meanings - one positive and one negative.

BUT ANYWAY.

The cover for the second edition sucks. The original one - a white-on-red line drawing of Luke's bedroom, with the computer screen showing a picture of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon - was way better.

She's not a lesbian, but in the author facts she used to have on her website before she changed it, there was the suggestion that she was something of a wild child in her youth. The girl-on-girl suggestions are kind of left hanging - I think they're just a way of making Julie open up to the adult world, and to make us realise that Leanne is, well, a bit of an idiot.

I think Thomas said somewhere that, in her mind, Charlotte and Julie are still travelling in the camper van, so maybe they're together in some way.

[zaffra]

By the time I get PopCo it'll probably have some rubbish cover as well.

The Lesbian thing didn't bother me, it was just not all that clear to me. Charlotte liked Julie, but was too scared to tell her, Charlotte might like women? Chantel likes Charlotte, Chantel likes surfer girls, Julie seems jealous, Chantel actually likes boys, Julie likes Charlotte, but does she really like her? or something?

I thought Leanne was fab, especially when dealing with the customer at Blockbuster.

[Steven]

Did anybody else read the article in The Guardian Weekend magazine a while ago printing the e-mail exchange between Scarlett Thomas and her Russian translator? It was fantastic.

[elmsyrup]

Pandarama said:

Did anybody else read the article in The Guardian Weekend magazine a while ago printing the e-mail exchange between Scarlett Thomas and her Russian translator? It was fantastic.

Yes, it was! And it's still available to read on the internet: www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1300879,00.html

[zaffra]

elmsyrup said:

Yes, it was! And it's still available to read on the internet: www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1300879,00.html

That's really good. Do you think it's a real correspondance? I guess it is, but it reads so well.

Do geese see God?

[Deleted]

It's real. Russian is one of the few languages she's been translated into. Also, geese don't have souls, so if they do see God, it's a bummer for them as he doesn't want them.

[elmsyrup]

Mr said:

It's real. Russian is one of the few languages she's been translated into. Also, geese don't have souls, so if they do see God, it's a bummer for them as he doesn't want them.

If you're going to be that literal there's no such thing as a soul anyway, just the capacity for independent thought.

[Deleted]

elmsyrup said:

If you're going to be that literal there's no such thing as a soul anyway, just the capacity for independent thought.

Animals have the capacity for independent thought. I have two cats. One likes to climb on top of the abandoned canoe in our garden, the other prefers to hide underneath. They still don't have souls, though.

[elmsyrup]

Mr said:

Animals have the capacity for independent thought. I have two cats. One likes to climb on top of the abandoned canoe in our garden, the other prefers to hide underneath. They still don't have souls, though.

And nor do we.