Going Out (Paperback)

by Scarlett Thomas (Author)
Key Phrases: retail park, Scarlett Thomas, Going Out, The Edge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker
Thomas is one of a group of young British writers who call themselves the New Puritans and advocate telling stories as straightforwardly as possible. Here a young man allergic to sunlight spends his days in a heavily curtained suburban bedroom, his impressions of the outside world entirely mediated through American TV sitcoms. Meanwhile, his best friend, a math whiz, languishes as a waitress at a local pizza parlor because she's terrified of everything beyond her home town. When these misfits hear of a Chinese healer, they decide to find him, and they venture out in an old VW van. The heliophobe wraps himself in tin foil and the coward sticks to low-speed roads that appear "yellow" on the map, so that we can't miss the "Wizard of Oz" parallel. The novel succeeds as a quirky, affectionate satire of brand-saturated Britain, but its antic plot veers toward the cutesy, and the prose, deliberately—indeed, puritanically—banal, never lets the characters burst into Technicolor.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

From Booklist
Slacker lit is so 1992--the year of Coupland's Generation X--but Thomas, a dewy talent much touted in the UK, gives smirking satire a warmer heart in this contemporary quest novel. Its twentysomethings languish in the suburban wastelands of Essex, engaging the world primarily through e-mail, the Internet, and American sitcoms and movies. Luke, at least, has an excuse for his narrow existence: he's allergic to sunshine and can't leave his bedroom. When a distant spiritual healer claims to have a cure, Luke and his friends set off on a road trip that symbolizes breaking free, taking risks, living. The theme of self-discovery weighs a bit heavily, as does the Wizard of Oz framework (Luke wears a tinfoil suit; his best friend, Julie, is a clinical coward; and they're all off to see the guru). Gen Xers will probably skip this nostalgia trip, but members of Gen Y are likely to embrace the pop-culture references and the characters' rambling conversations on everything from crap jobs to New Age lifestyles to imaginary numbers. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (June 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400075319
• ISBN-13: 978-1400075317
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #419,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yellow Roads, June 30, 2004

By	"stephcandance" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

Contrary to the editorial review, I'm a "Gen Xer" and very much appreciated this book's nostalgia. The story is as unrealistic as they come, but quite entertaining. Thomas did a fine job with the characters. And the Wizard of Oz touch was very charming.

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute story, likable characters, March 4, 2008

By	Leah The Vegan (Florida) - See all my reviews

Likeable, quirky, twenty-something, English characters trying to find their way, by deciding to go on a Wizard of Oz type quest.

Thomas writes odd and honest characters in a way that exposes truths about being human, while keeping the narrative light and fast paced.

I read her book Popco, too and will check out whatever else she writes.

4.0 out of 5 stars A gentle coming-of-age story, December 1, 2007

By	Peter Fletcher - See all my reviews

I first discovered Scarlett Thomas when I read "The End of Mr Y", which has to be my favorite novel of the last five years. I've been working my way through everything she's written, and "Going Out" is number three for me. It's a very pleasant read, with a small dose of the kind of wacky existential philosophy which made Mr. Y such a good read, and plenty of well-observed characters from unfashionable Essex who I'm sure are very close to Ms Thomas's heart.

I find her novels to be deliciously escapist, and full of pop-culture references: who on the internet could forget that "The Dark Side Of The Moon" makes such a good alternative soundtrack for "The Wizard of Oz"?

I'd recommend any of her novels, even those I've not read yet ...