Customer Reviews

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In the twinned towns of Galatia and Galatea, Kansas everything means something else.

This is the key to Dale Peck's astonishing third novel Now It's Time to Say Goodbye. Seven characters speak to us in their own distinct voice while a dozen or so more are revealed by a seemingly omniscient narrator.

It is often hard to understand the meanings and motives at play, but how often do we really understand what we do? This book is about meaning, the power to take control of things through words and the ascribing of motives.

"People don't want the truth, they want explanations," Colin, a novelist, is told late in the book. Keep this in mind as you reach into the book and enjoy its stories, explore its unforgiving setting and learn to care about its richly made and mostly unloveable characters. Let yourself be astonished by what the human mind can do.

As I read this book, I was constantly reminded of the brilliant fiction of James Baldwin. James Baldwin, in books such as "Another Country" and "Tell me how long the train's been gone", uses fiction to dissect the dynamics of inter and intra-race relations. Although probably not quite so successful as his predecessor in this arena, Dale Peck brings a number of characters together into a small town in the wastelands of the Midwest where racism and homophobia are more alive than the citizens themselves. In an "Apocolypse Now" manner, the book traverses the real and the surreal to reveal the underlying truths of collective guilt, racism and homophobia. Dale Peck has maintained his style of prose that exposes the heart and soul of the citizens of this town. It the unfolding of the history of Galatia/Galatea (read: Black/White)Kansas, through a modern-times hanging and an abduction, we recognize that each of us has a perpective but none alone holds the truth. Dale Peck stirs the dust on this midwestern town and exposes the collective nature of anti-gay violence and racial tension. When I picked up this book, I was looking for the masterpiece of "Law of Enclosures". What I found instead was an intriguing experiement with narrative (many of the citizens of this town get a voice in the book, in their own words and history), a puzzle no less masterful than "In Cold Blood", and a story whose universal truths flowed through the stories and lives of the Kansans in the story. If you are a Dale Peck fan, or a James Baldwin fan, for that matter, then definitely read this book. If you haven't read any of Mr. Peck's works, then read the other two first.

Dale Peck's new book is probably his best. The heartbreaking fragility of his first two books -- due not only to the author's age and the autobiographical nature of his writing, but the strange and shocking mix of the very real and the very imagined -- is gone. This mythic tale of a racially split Kansas hamlet is full of stories of the darkest and sometimes most outlandish variety, delivered to the reader by many of the town's longing citizens. Peck loves his town and details it with exquisite care; now baroque, now biblical, sometimes as bare as the flat stretches of dust-land so prevalent in the book's literal landscape, the prose engages and keeps moving, as the plot's complex design works for optimum story-pleasure. A book about self-mythologizing as a defense against trauma -- racial, sexual, romantic, familial -- "Now It's Time To Say Goodbye" bids farewell to Peck's sublime, solpisistic fictions, promising a wide and varied career ahead. This is an American potboiler for everyone. Forget cliche by-the-numbers realism like Richard Price's "Freedomland." If you really want to know what's going on in America, forget Price, forget Oprah, and read this book. Get ready to be shocked, in the only way that matters: there's a truly vital new American book out there. Yeah!

Because of its complex approach to telling the story of two gay men, who move from New York to a small Kansas town after the deaths of five hundred acquaintances from AIDS, through the eyes and voices of a dozen or more characters, this absorbing puzzle is a bit hard to get into at first. Persistence pays off, for Peck brings all of his characters to life, and makes us care what happens to them. He is equally successful in his characterization of the African-Americans and the whites, the gay and the straight, and he keeps the denouement a surprise to the end. The conclusion does not make us feel good, but we know we have been in the presence of a master of the English language and of imaginative story-telling.

Some parts of this book were fascinatingly complex and engaging. Other parts were just confusing and highly annoying, with way too much sex (all gay and graphic.) I kept wanting the story tied up and to understand why characters did what they did, thought what they thought. Ultimately it was just too long winded and pompous and went no where. It had enough for me to read it all the way through but I wanted to scream at the end in frustration. Read "What We Lost" by Dale Peck instead.

You know, I almost didn't read this book because of bad reviews. I'm glad I gave Peck the chance. When a book leaves me somewhat frustrated, somewhat pissed at the author; when book leaves me feeling stupid, feeling like I missed something; when a book doesn't fit nicely into the neat little boxes of "novel," "mystery," "horror," "contemporary gay fiction," or other, I feel I've read a good book. Peck takes you on a mystery tour that has somewhat of a predictable ending, but when you turn the last page, you still know you've missed something. How can Peck make me feel he's presenting a mystery to me, provide some closure, and still have me thinking I missed something? Throughout the book I felt I was being given clues, I felt Peck was opening doors here and there, dropping hints all around, begging me--daring me--to put together the puzzle. I thought I was. But I somehow feel I didn't, that I missed it; maybe I'm stupider than most. But I loved it... I felt there was more going on than what I was reading. Peck's ability to command the use of the subtle left me gaping and taking off my hat to him. Great job!

It's been a year or so since I have read any books. A month ago I went to the bookstore and picked this up. I loved it and could not put it down. A little confusing at times, but stick with it. It's a good read.

Colin and Justin flee New York City for the small Kansas town of Galatea (also known as Galatia), where Colin hopes to be able to write again. Soon the two are drawn into the racially-charged, secretive town's web as a young woman disappears. Every denizen of the town, whether from the poor black side of Galatia or the slightly more wealthy white side of Galatea, holds a secret or a sliver of one, and this immense pile of kindling nearly destroys the town. Sowing his novel's field with seeds of Southern literature, social commentary, and intriguing observations, Peck cultivates what he hopes is a lush and vibrant garden, but it doesn't reach fruition by the final pages. Too many story seeds and too many quirky elements (the constant unique names, for one), which all are invigorating at the beginning, soon become monotonous. I felt trapped by the story, held hostage, and while the story compelled me to the end, I didn't feel fulfilled by it. Several passages could have been edited out of the novel, and this might have created a tighter, brisker story. Overall, it's a fascinating mystery set in a small town, but the horizons it reaches for are not reached.

I only write reviews of books I truly love. I don't have time to review books I don't enjoy. I want people to read the books I love. Therefore I am adding my five stars worth to the other reviews. I can understand how this book might elicit a wide range of reviews. Understand this: this book is not for the squeamish, or people who feel uncomfortable with monsters, both imaginary and real. This book is a wonderful thriller. The author has managed to create a gothic thriller set in the lonely environs at the center of our country. If this book does not make you afraid of the dark, or make you wince, or at the very least, make you feel uncomfortable, then please check your pulse.

This is the first Peck book that I have read. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I will agree with a few reviewers that it can be difficult to read for confusion sake, but this book is written from multiple perspectives and each character gives their narrative. This book kept me hanging until the end and I loved that....take a chance and read it....

The gay sex is hardly offensive...It is a part of the characters of the book and does not go on and on as though it is a Harlequin Romance...