Customer Reviews

Gone Boy: A Walkabout

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In 1999, this book could not be more a propos. . Goneboy succeeds on so many levels- it is a wonderful narrative, a love story, a crime novel, a revenge fantasy, an open-minded dialectic on guns and violence, and, even, as a detracting reader put it, an "angry journal." Of course anger permeates the story - Gibson's son has been murdered. But this anger is not self-righteous; rather, it is a catalyst for humor, insight, self-searching, and transformation.

What makes this book so compelling is that Gibson, as much he is willing to follow the momentum of his rage for long periods of time, has a keen enough mind to ultimately be conscious of the problems of living in anger. His interviews of the people familiar with the murder case may be motivated by obsessiveness but they are also learning experiences for him - and for the reader.

Gibson's writing is mellifluous and poetic, a rare example of non-fiction literature. His structure is remarkable in that it is unconventional, starting and stopping at different places, the whole while remaining seamless. I wish I could mention an aspect of the book that failed - if only to appear more objective - but none comes across that doesn't seem nit-picky or forced.

Gibson's exquisite candor- his ability to bare the painful truths of his sometimes nearly insane state of mind - is not alienating at all, rather, it helps to fully realize Gibson as a character and make it even easier to give the reader a chance to fully occupy his shoes. Gibson's love for his son, his anger, his sense of wit, his insanity, his catharsis, is, at least for a while, ours. His book is almost altruistic in that we benefit so much from his profound searching without having to suffer such a huge loss. I personally cannot even comprehend losing someone the way Gibson has but that did not prevent me from huge emotional upheaval and acquiring significant wisdom while reading this book. Which leads me to believe that it would be almost impossible for family survivors of gun violence - of which, unfortunately, there have recently been many - not to find anything in this book that might assist them in their own grieving process.

How does one deal with the juggernaut of feelings of injustice, rage, grief, loss, love, nausea, cynicism, and depression that ultimately follow senseless killings? Incredibly, this book seems to provide many answers.

This is an excellent self-portrait of one man's reaction to the violent death of his son. Readers expecting a true crime book in the current fashion will be disappointed. There are no great revelations, no detectives working to break the case, no shocking photographs. That is both its strength and its weakness ... it is far more honest than most true crime books, far less likely to try to wrench emotional reactions out of the reader. On the other hand, wading through other people's grief is edifying, but exhausting.

I left Simon's Rock the year before the shooting. Nothing surprised me much in the parts of the book dealing directly with Simon's Rock; the administration's actions (or lack thereof), and perhaps not even the shooting itself. The school, as another reviewer noted, was very much a sealed organism and prone to sealing off against the unwanted. Wayne Lo and his friends (for whom the idea of shooting someone was a way of relieving stress, not something to be actually *done*) were reacting, I think, to just that tendency.

It should be noted that, as Gibson says at the end of the book, that Wayne's parents are suffering the worst. They have lost their son without losing him.

I was a friend of Galen's (Greg's son) at Simon's Rock. While this book was very helpful to me in filling in the details of the events that led up to Galen's murder, and in helping me confront my own issues of sadness and anger surrounding the issue, I feel this book is an important read for people who were not involved as well. I hope a lot of people read it. I hope the parents of children who have been victims of shootings around the country (there have been too many, Littleton sticks out because of the scale, but I recall the stories if not the towns of several more over the last 2-3 years...) also read it, and maybe it will help them, too... and give them an idea of quests they could embark upon to help them with their grief. I hope the public at large reads this book and understands that there are deep, complex stories behind every shooting spree that appears on the television news. Maybe this book will inspire more people to humanize these issues in the media and political arenas. Finally, I hope this book brings a little bit of my friend, Galen, to a world of readers who can glimpse just a bit of the person who was so prematurely taken from this world... (Note: I disagree with the reader who gave this book one star, it was not an angry book, though Greg does discuss his anger, and his personal psychological journey that is part of his overall "Walkabout"... and it is only as fragmented and uneven as the real-life story behind it, it is an honest approach, it is well written, and it works...)

Gregory Gibson was awakened by every parents' worst nightmare...his son, Galen, has been shot and killed on the campus of the small college he was attending. Once the shock wore off, the only way he could cope and manage his grief was to go on a walkabout..a trip to discover the facts behind his son's senseless murder. As he sets out on his journey of discovery he lets us in on how he feels, how is family is handling the loss, the motives behind the quest. The very fact that he keeps changing and refocusing the intent of his search is a story of coming to terms with a senseless act and the finality of death. It is heartbreaking to hear him discribe his wife. Annie, as she finds comfort in the world of Publishers' Clearing House mailers, his children begin to venture out into the world. As the story unfolds, and Mr. Gibson finds more and more truth about Galen's death, he also comes in contact with the many people who had an unwitting role in his son's death, hears their story and the pain they also feel. People are not as you might think. It is a sad fact of life that many of the horrors of life do not have a pat explination ...sometimes we have to accept that evil does walk among us, and we try not to succumb to it's pull. It is a a triumph of spirit.

Gibson writes poignantly about how he processes the death of his son. The book (thankfully) doesn't purport to offer answers. It does raise questions. About random violence, about life's over-arching plan and our place in it. On the whole, although Gibson unquestionably describes his own emotions, including anger, I found the book itself remarkably un-preachy and un-angry. I attended Simon's Rock, but many years before these tragic events, and the book should certainly transcend any particular readership. It's about a safe place. Any place, whether it's a town, or a school, or a secure place inside of you that you never imagine will be shaken. It's about what happens when without reason or warning you discover that the place is not inviolable. A timely and thought-provoking read.

For such a disturbing and sad subject, you are unable to take a break or put it down. It remains facinating and never falls into a "sob story". It is rational but allows you to feel every emotion along with the author. This book is a triumph!

Gregory Gibson is an incredible writer. Knowing Galen, his son, and knowing the pain that suurounded his death, I found Gibson's honesty and strength helpful in coming to understand how the life of a friend was taken.

The event which occasioned Gone Boy was the murder of young, bright Galen Gibson; but this is no ordinary book about crime, about grief, or about a father's and a family's struggle to come to grips with what must be the most unimaginable of losses. Gregory Gibson opens himself to us as few can or would, and Gone Boy transcends all the theoretical books about loss and unfairness and grief and all the self-help books as well. There is no theory here, no theology of loss, but by showing us the range of his thoughts and emotions we come to understand not only his struggle but ourselves and the nature of grief as well. Gibson's voice is clear, direct, and his own; Gone Boy would be the best book of its kind if there were other books of its kind, but it stands by itself and should be read.

As a father and social worker for thirty years, I have always been profoundly disturbed by the lack of understanding and avoidance of human aggression among those individuals and institutions, who typically confront it. While we point to laws, intellectually search, ad nauseum, for all the cultural, institutional and early childhood causes for tragedies, such as this one, we forget to appreciate that despite all our affluence, we have constructed a social order, not only unable to resolve the commonest forms of family and social conflict, but we are devoid of any rights of passage that might aid our youth in developing a true understanding of social consequences and responsibility. As the author and others in the book point out, why a simple phone call to 911 did not occur, is incredulous! This is a great book and agonizing story! You won't want to put it down. In fact, if you are a parent, you'll simply want to scream or cry!

The shooting at Simon's Rock College was the first of what has unfortunately become a decade of shootings. The case has been cited as a "template" for the series of recent shootings across the nation. In Greg Gibson's courageous GONE BOY, he puts into words what may have left others confused, angry or simply speechless. He offers a deconstruction and reconstruction of a school shooting that sheds new light and perspective on these terrible tragedies. This important and powerful boook is a classic for our time. It helps us to not only better understand youth violence in our world today but ourselves as well. Gibson has succeeded in delivering a beautiful, eloquent and engaging book sure to raise awareness and serve as a reminder that one person can make a difference.