When I picked up Gone Tomorrow, I was expecting a sensitive novel about failed ambitions. The cover flap promised a sort of mid-western "Good-bye Mr. Chips," a gentle and poignant reminder of one teacher's legacy. I was not prepared for the scathing wit of Kluge's novel, nor its depth.George Canaris, a novelist of fame and stature, has accepted a job in an isolated mid-western college in order to hunker down and write the Great American Novel - which he calls "The Beast." And Beast it is, covering his family's past, present - as well as the transformation of Sudetenland during WWII and its aftermath, the Cold War, not to mention Life, The Universe and Everything. Canaris' Beast is truly a monster. Somewhat perversely, Canaris refuses to talk about The Beast, or show a word of the manuscript to anyone, until, after 30 years, very few people actually believe he has written it. Eventually, Canaris is canned for lack of productivity, and dies shortly thereafter under mysterious circumstances. The book leaves us with two mysteries - who killed Canaris (if indeed it was murder), and does The Beast, that long-awaited novel of novels actually exist?It is the second question that gave me pause. The Beast clearly represents more than a novel. As a "life-work" it represented an actual life - any life, or perhaps all of our lives. The issues Canaris grapples with - the relevance of the past, the significance of memory, the inevitability of loss - are things we all must consider as we struggle with our own "Beasts."Kluge is a wonderful writer - witty, wise, erudite, intelligent - with much to say about academia, the process of writing, our hopelessly sped-up world. And I'm looking forward to reading his other books. I only hope that the copy editor who repeatedly and almost doggedly mangled this marvelous text has left the world of publishing. A writer of Kluge's talent and vision certainly deserves better. Comment | Permalink Like Michael Chabon's superb "Wonder Boys," P.F. Kluge's "Gone Tomorrow" presents a profile of a college professor, a beloved writer whose long-suffering fans and supporters are finding his "latest" book's arrival date is getting later and later and might, in fact, be a pipe dream."Gone Tomorrow" is a small novel whose insular focus — middle America, academia, small-college life, books and writing — might turn some people off. It shouldn't. Good writing is good writing, and there's enough of that here to recommend this wise and sometimes moving book.George Canaris was a revered writer before he unexpectedly joined the staff of a small Ohio college. Since then — more than 30 years since — no more novels. Canaris is killed by a hit-and-run driver, setting off a search for his long-rumored next book, "The Beast" — and a search by his estate's executor, who barely knew him, for just who this man really was. A manuscript comes to light, but it is not the legendary novel. In it, Canaris alternates chapters about the final year of his life — when he was pushed out of his teaching gig by a hot-shot writer's hiring — and his early years at the college. There are tales of difficult students, brilliant ones, the push-pull of students and teachers, liaisons, love. (The foreward and afterward are by the professor/executor; everything in the middle is told by Canaris.)Canaris' manuscript spawns questions as well as answers. What former student left him a threatening note? Was his death really an accident? How much should we believe Canaris? Does "The Beast" actually exist?Canaris and the college do some passive/aggressive sparring during his farewell speaking tour, exposing his sometimes meaningful, sometimes uneasy relationship with his colleagues and superiors.Anyone who went to a small college in middle America will enjoy poring over the sharp snapshots Kluge, a writer in residence at Kenyon College in Ohio, gives us. Others who like watching a person's layers getting peeled away — and sometimes re-covered — will like it, too, though this probably isn't mainstream material because of its subject and approach. "Gone Tomorrow" is no "Wonder Boys," but it is time well spent.
What do You think about Gone Tomorrow (2008)?
Full of typos. A simply terrible book. Why did I waste my time finishing it?
—starlight
Goodreads libs...would you get a cover for this? Thanks ever so much!
—whistlingfish
My good friend P.F.Kluge's latest book -- can't wait to read it.
—sharon
