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Caleb J. Ross

I Didn't Mean to be Kevin: a novel Paperback – January 1, 2012

by Caleb J. Ross (Author)

3.8 14 ratings

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Jackson Jacoby is a motherless twenty-two year old boy with only the support of his crazy ex-military Uncle Marve and a kindred motherless peer named Creg. Creg holds fast to the hope of one day reuniting with his mother while Jackson maintains that his own life is so much better off without all the baggage that comes along with being somebody’s son.

After finding a plea in a newspaper from a woman begging her runaway son, Kevin Masons, to return home, Jackson takes the opportunity to prove to Creg that a mother is not necessary to be happy. What begins as a drunken call to the mysterious mother leads to a cross-country pilgrimage to attend the will reading of Kevin’s recently deceased grandfather. Along the way, Jackson spreads tales of his participation in the human appendage trade, the history of his missing ear, and anything else that might validate his life the way he insists that a mother never could.

“Brilliant…one of the most amazing fiction concepts I’ve ever read.”
-Rayo Casablanca, author of 6 Sick Hipsters and Very Mercenary (Kensington)

“In I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin, Caleb J. Ross writes fearlessly, never shying away from the wild, insane places where his fertile imagination leads him. The first half a twisted take on small-town aimlessness, the second half the American road novel from hell, the book is ultimately a darkly comedic evaluation of a generation of motherless men.”
Joey Goebel, author of Torture the Artist and Commonwealth (MacAdam/Cage)

Print length

210 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Black Coffee Press
Publication date

January 1, 2012
Dimensions

9.02 x 5.98 x 0.47 inches
ISBN-10

0982744072
ISBN-13

978-0982744079
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Coffee Press (January 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 210 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0982744072
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0982744079
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.02 x 5.98 x 0.47 inches

Customer Reviews:
3.8 14 ratings

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Caleb J. Ross

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Caleb J. Ross is an author and a lifelong gamer whose fiction and non-fiction have appeared widely, both online and in print. As a hobbyist indie game developer and video game obsessive, Caleb has produced hundreds of visual essays, editorials, and comedy videos on YouTube and has co-hosted many video game podcasts with the goal to evangelize for the video game medium, a medium that has changed his life.

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3.8 out of 5

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Doug Wilson

A twisted Cantebury Tale

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2012

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Chapter One: I know Caleb Ross. This guy, Caleb Ross, would tell stories. Mostly about people. He knew that the story was more important than anything. It didn't matter if it was real. You just have to believe it. Keep believing it until it has to be real. In this book, Caleb Ross tells us a story of a man (though more "boy" than he'd care to admit) looking for a mother. And in a culture where a disconnected family is more common than we'd like to believe, he finds himself surrounded by unlikely companions on a bizarre pilgrimage.

Caleb Ross would have you believe that the story is the most important part. I disagree. But only because I put heavy stock in a story's ability to keep me turning the page without over-burdening my brain. That sounds lazy, but with rampant ADHD {ooh... shiny} and other distractions, it's tough to really enjoy a book unless EVERY sentence has perfect prose. Not something a lot of people may notice, but it was not lost on me. I came for the story, but stayed for the writing, and I wasn't disappointed. Well done, Mr. Ross, and I look forward to the next story.

4 people found this helpful

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lori Watson Koenig

Kind of a horrible book

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2018

I guess I didn't really get this book. I kept reading as I thought it would all click and make sense but it never happened. To me it was a series of sad stories of hopeless guys with serious and strange mother issues.

In the book's defense i have to say the guys were interesting if disturbing. I also read this book disjointedly, so probably would have gotten it better if I read it in larger chunks. At least it kept me interested enough to keep going.

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JL86

Where family, lies, and a hell-bound road trip clash

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012

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Caleb J. Ross is one of those authors that reels you into the story then doesn't let you go. His writing is fast paced and hard to put down. Ross is a young author with a lot of talent that has a keen knack for telling a story that you won't forget.

I Didn't Mean to be Kevin is the story of a young man named Jackson and his friend Creg. But it's mostly about Jackson - you know, the guy who restocks vending machines at laundry mats - who's on a mission to reunite with the mom he never had. At the risk of giving away any spoilers, this is as much detail as I will go into.

This is another great novel from Ross that was very well written and very entertaining. Hurry up and buy this book, you will not be disappointed!

One person found this helpful

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DoadMichaels

Awesome read! Quentin Tarantino would approve!

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2012

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Stylized, ironic, and genius, this is a story that would satisfy Quentin Tarantino. Caleb requires that we suspend disbelief over the overt insanity in his characters, and I was happy to comply. I was swept up into the strange and provocative for six straight hours and loved every minute!

3 people found this helpful

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Josie E. Davis

Failing the Art of Impersonation

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2012

Caleb J. Ross explores the nihilistic underbelly culture of the American Midwest in his latest novel I Didn't Mean to be Kevin. It is a reverse coming-of-age story in which Jackson Jacoby and the friends he makes each attempt to uncover a childhood they never had. It is unclear if the book is a tribute to the underclass of America or rather an account of an adrenaline addict. I Didn't Mean To Be Kevin is literature that falls in line with the dirty, drug and sex-ridden films of Gus Van Sant and Harmony Korine who romanticize the grime and desolation of America's working-class.

One person found this helpful

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Gordon T. Highland

Earsay

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2012

Did you know that if you're ever lost in a maze, you can always find your way out--eventually--if you just cling to one wall and trace it all the way to its exit? Jackson Jacoby is sticking to his story, too. It's a morphing, evolving tale to suit his immediate identity needs in the company of his traveling companions, these strangers-du-jour kindred spirits collected on the road to meet the mother he's spent his life convincing himself he doesn't need. Wait, not his real mother; this is just some lady who placed an ad searching for her estranged son, both of them happy to surrogate the other in their long-distance delusions.

Jackson is the ultimate unreliable narrator in a story about the very nature of storytelling itself. Why do we spin such tales? For the entertainment of others? Social anesthesia? To define ourselves? Reinvent ourselves? The book is also sprinkled with subtle, metafictional easter eggs that reference other classic novels' character backstories-- people Jackson claims to have met in his adventures, shortening the rope of his believability. Along our pilgrimage east, we stop in such roadside attractions/hazards as body-part museums, snow mazes, and diners aplenty--in search of "futile game"--each populated with someone and their story. Everybody's got one. And probably an alternate: a director's cut that's been refined and embellished over the years like some one-man game of Telephone. A recurring theme of ears permeates the book: torching them, explaining them, stealing them, bending them. Jackson's (self-)destructive behavior and personality take some warming up to, and he never makes it easy for anyone (including the reader), but eventually you'll find some sympathy in that blackened heart of yours for this motherless man-child.

I first read a draft of "Kevin" about four years ago, when it was a semi-finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel competition. My then-review praised Ross's "limping lot lizards and Latina-logging launderers and moneyed mourning matriarchs," calling the manuscript "a tight, unwashed romp with an experienced professional of flexible morals who pushes all the right buttons to make you squirm and thank them for it in the end." All that still holds true. Now, did I tell you how I got this ear?

One person found this helpful

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Clark

Strange and unusual (and I mean that in the good way of course)

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2012

The book far exceeded my expectations. I only say that because Caleb Ross is a relatively new author with only a few titles to his name. I had the assumption that this book would be average at best. Let me tell you how wrong I was to assume that. This book was excellent. I found myself fully engrossed in the story. Caleb Ross packs a lot into these 200 pages.

Overall, I was completely impressed with this book. Caleb Ross has a lot of talent for writing. I can't wait to read more of his work. 5 stars for "I Didn't Mean To Be Kevin."

3 people found this helpful

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I Didn't Mean to be Kevin: a novel Paperback – January 1, 2012

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Caleb J. Ross

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