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The City of Your Final Destination (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I am writing to you because I have been told you are the executors of Jules Gund's literary estate..." (more)
Key Phrases: fellowship money, Jules Gund, New York, Ochos Rios (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)


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  Paperback -- $3.96 $0.09

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Peter Cameron's sublime, beautiful novel City of Your Final Destination concerns true love and a young academic's struggle to break free from a life he's molded but doesn't want to live. Omar Razaghi, who's pursuing a Ph.D. at a Midwestern university, fudges his application for grant money, stating he has already obtained authorization from the family of the deceased minor novelist Jules Gund. When he belatedly seeks permission to proceed, the three executors--Gund's brother, Adam; former wife Caroline; and Arden, Gund's mistress and mother of Gund's daughter, Portia--decline. Prompted by his girlfriend, Deirdre, Omar shows up unexpectedly in Uruguay, seeking to convince the family of his--and their--need for a biography of Jules Gund to exist.

Cameron is an able storyteller, and his command allows the prose to flow simply and beautifully; here, most every word counts. Adam's often hilarious wit and Caroline's recalcitrance are sharply drawn, descriptions are in crisp relief, and Cameron gives us many reasons to smile: "Pete stood there for a moment, as if he were deciding, trying to think of a reason why he must stay with them, but he was not clever enough, and so of course he had to leave." The City of Your Final Destination is a refreshing look at the impact of desire and love on quirky, elegantly drawn characters. --Michael Ferch --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



From Library Journal

Cameron, who has to his credit half a dozen literary novels (e.g., The Weekend) and several publications in The New Yorker and Grand Street, here demonstrates a carefully honed style, an eye for insight and humor, and an ability to create a story that is both substantial and aesthetically pleasing. The plot involves a graduate student in possession of a grant that will allow him the time to write and guaranteed publication of a biography of a now-deceased author whose one published novel seems to speak directly to him. However, the author's literary executors refuse him authorization, so he travels to their home in Uruguay as much to impress his girlfriend as to gain that authorization. The executors are a delightfully odd lot, each self-possessed and deeply flawed. And it is among them that the graduate student finds both true love and a new home. Cameron's capacity to portray emotions and interpersonal communication seems limitless. The good guys, bad guys, and landscapes of rural Uruguay, collegiate Kansas, and even a New York City unseen by one character for 40 years become quickly and convincingly known to the reader. Cheerful without being mindless, this is for all libraries. Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Plume (April 29, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0452284309
  • ISBN-13: 978-0452284302
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #847,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Cameron
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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars As good as a novel gets..., June 13, 2002
By A Customer
I read this wonderful novel after reading Richard Eder's rave review in The New York Times. For once, a critic's hype was absolutelyl justified. I haven't read a more beautifully written and satisfying -- not to mention howlingly funny -- novel in ages. Peter Cameron gives you everything you want from a novel (or at least everything I want): amazingly complex and sympathetic characters, a gorgeous depiction of scene and event (it's no wonder Eder claims the book would make a fantastic movie -- you can almost see the movie as you read the book, it's so vivid and alive), the smartest, wittiest, most moving dialogue of any contemporary writer, and a hurtling plot that encompasses all sorts of human questions of morals and manners and love. The book is a light as a summer breeze, but has considerable depth -- it is explores its moral quandries with the sort of effortless, sure touch of E. M. Forster. My tastes may be old-fashioned, but I didn't think people were writing novels like this anymore: smart, beautiful, supremely moving. No cynicism or authorial ego here. Yes, it's conventional, but wow is it a wonderful book.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything a Novel Should Be: Peter Cameron's new "City", April 28, 2002
By A Customer
After reading his prior novels (particularly "The Weekend" and "Andorra"), I've come to expect that Peter Cameron's novels will be beautifully crafted and full of rich, human dialogue and insight. Peter Cameron's new novel, "The City of Your Final Destination," met my expectations and then some. Like his other works, "City" is full with wonderful yet unassuming prose and dialogue, and intelligent observations on modern life. What makes "City" really special, though, is its generosity towards its characters and their fortunes. The novel recounts, without any of that easy cynicism, but with lots of humor, an exiled and splintered family's coming to terms with a beguiling offer from a young graduate student who descends upon them unannounced. Never syruppy or sentimental, Cameron warmly shows us what it's like today to try, all at once, to do the right thing by all, the best thing for yourself and, in the process, manage to carve out a little love and happiness. Not an easy task, but when rendered with heart and pluck by Peter Cameron, it makes for great, rewarding reading. Enjoy.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Facing or Avoiding Your Life's Destination!, July 10, 2002
This is Peter Cameron's fourth novel. An intelligent and cleverly written story that deals with facing or avoiding life's choices. It's a page turner that will keep you guessing right from the beginning what the final outcome of the story will be. Cameron, a gay author, best known for his novel, THE WEEKEND, has written an old-fashioned type of story that is a joy to read.

Doctoral student Omar Razaghi wants to write a biography of deceased author Jules Gund. The three executors of the Gund's estate; Caroline, his wife; Arden, his mistress; and his gay brother, Adam, deny Omar's request for permission to write an authorized biography. Omar realizes his only chance to change their minds is to make an unexpected trip to their home in Uruguay. At this point in the story, Omar's whole life seems to become unraveled. Omar is hurled into the center of a cast of mixed-up characters' lives and relationships. Only an author like Cameron could dream up these people, and it's through his talented writing that these characters develop into loving, caring and feeling people. Will Omar be able to face or will he avoid the choices set before him?

I enjoyed this satisfying and hypnotic story. A good book to relax with and spend a couple of "quiet" evenings reading. I hated to see the story end. Check this one out for a rewarding read!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars More Strong Work from Cameron
I enjoyed this novel. It contained Cameron's typical blend of melancholy, travel, intelligent dialogue, and characters searching for meaning in their lives. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Teacher X Tells All

4.0 out of 5 stars great book
This is a great book. There is nothing all that new about the grad student with a busted thesis but this book is a lot of fun. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Gnome du Plumb

5.0 out of 5 stars a perfectly wonderful book
Peter Cameron is one of the finest writers working in America today. I actually haven't read this book in a couple of years, but I read it twice when it first came out. Read more
Published on October 25, 2007 by VT reader

4.0 out of 5 stars Real and affecting
A beautifully realized novel. I enjoyed the eccentric but believable characters and the rich exploration of relationships. Why do we choose the people we choose? Read more
Published on November 7, 2006 by Joni D. Myers

1.0 out of 5 stars You must be kidding
Every now and then I am completely puzzled by the positive reviews a book receives. In this case, regardless of a decent plot, the writing weighs so heavily on the book that it... Read more
Published on September 28, 2006 by Newton Munnow

3.0 out of 5 stars Mildly entertaining, but not literature
My opinion is between those who thought this was wonderful, and those who thought it stunk. I thought it was a rather tepid novel, never really flared into life. Read more
Published on March 13, 2006 by J. Rosenberg

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this get published?
Many readers rated this book highly, but I thought it was terrible (at least the first 50 pages; that's as far as I got). Read more
Published on January 16, 2005 by hh

1.0 out of 5 stars Grossly over-rated
I picked up this book off the street in San Francisco - it was the best-looking of a pile that someone had put out on the sidewalk. I should have left it there. Read more
Published on December 31, 2004 by John J. Rynne

5.0 out of 5 stars A subtle, tender and evocative novel
Omar Razaghi left Iran with his parents at the age of ten and moved to Canada. At the beginning of the novel, he is in his mid twenties and has been awarded a stipend by the... Read more
Published on July 20, 2004 by Philippe Horak

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a charming book!
This book is such a wonderful, enjoyable read. The descriptions stick with you - even weeks after reading this book I think back to the dusty path to Adam's house or the orchard... Read more
Published on July 25, 2003

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