Going Out (Paperback)

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Review
Reviews for 'Bright Young Thing' 'Invigorating'... 'Sexy'... 'Unusual'... 'Bizarre'... 'Fantastic'... 'Riveting'... 'Exciting'... 'Utopian'... 'Funny'... 'Warm'... 'Insightful'... 'Entertaining'... 'Compulsive'... 'Edgy'... 'Outstanding'...'Imaginative'

Have you ever listened intensely to the sound of an overhead plane or helicopter, and found yourself thinking it's about to plummet to the ground? Or checked the electrics obsessively during a thunderstorm in fear of being struck by lightening? Or avoided the M4 for safer B-roads at the cost of getting hideously lost? Food, traffic, weather, going out - these can be pretty scary stuff. Thomas's novel centres on Luke, a 20-something who has never ventured out of his home because he is allergic to the sun. His lifelong friend Julie is riddled with anxieties, unable to live her life fully in case she loses it in the process. But the promise of a healer discovered on the Internet takes Luke, Julie and an array of floundering friends on a road trip to Wales. This novel is entertaining, funny, and touches the raw nerves of everyday subconscious fears and anxieties. It is a novel about storytelling, highlighting the safety, comfort and logic of narrative, whilst at the same time it is thrillingly plot-led: a page-turner with angst. Douglas Coupland is an obvious influence, and yet the author has a clear voice of her own as her characters leap out of the pages and propel you along. Scarlett Thomas made her name with her novel Bright Young Things, and this is an equally successful follow-up. (Kirkus UK)

A highly touted Bright Young Brit profiles six aimless friends marking time in Essex. Actually, about two thirds of the way through the story they pile into a camper van and head toward Wales to meet a Chinese healer Luke hopes will cure his rare, fatal allergy to sunlight. Until he gets under the blankets in the van, though, Luke is stuck in his room watching TV, chatting on the Internet, and waiting for visits from best friend Julie and sort-of girlfriend Leanne. It's not much of a life for a 25-year-old, but then Julie, a math and science whiz who deliberately flunked her university entrance exams, is a waitress, while Leanne is a nightmarishly rigid sales clerk in a Blockbuster Video. (Her browbeating a customer over an obviously incorrect late fee is one of the funniest scenes here.) David, a cook at the restaurant where Julie works, has testicular cancer; Charlotte, just back after fleeing a year ago when her boyfriend died suddenly, is glamorous but sad. Only Leanne's good-natured cousin Chantel has any luck: she just won the lottery and bought the camper for the Wales trip. Getting out of town initially doesn't help anyone. They're creeping along backroads because Julie, in addition to refusing to eat prepared food (someone might spike it with LSD) or take express trains (they might crash), is as terrified of highways as she is of storms. Naturally, they leave in the middle of a downpour and encounter flooded roads. Nonetheless, Thomas (Dead Clever, 2003, etc.) doles out various tentative redemptions to her characters; they're appropriate and quite touching, but don't much lighten the gray portrait she's etched of young people adrift in an indifferent-to-hostile society, taking little pleasure from the drugs and sex they casually indulge in, fond of each other (possibly excepting the bitchy Leanne) but unsure how that helps. Sharply observed and dryly funny, but it somewhat too aptly illustrates Julie's warning to Luke that real life is not like TV: "Stuff happens and there just is no structure." (Kirkus Reviews)

Chrissie Glazebrook, author of THE MADOLESCENTS
‘Original, funny and full of insight...brilliant and assured novel with themes that resonate long after the book has been put down.’

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14 Reviews 5 star:  (10) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars No question - Scarlett thomas is my new favourite author. Here's why...., 19 Feb 2008 By  Trelloskilos - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Going Out (Paperback) To a hoary old bookworm like me, it's a beautiful feeling to pick up a book with no real prior knowledge, and be completely enamoured and enchanted as the last page is turned. It's an epiphany, a discovery, and almost like love. My first experience with Scarlett Thomas was picking up 'The End of Mr. Y', which looked interesting enough, with its black-lined pages, recommendation by Philip Pullman, and the promise of philosophy, metaphysics, curses & supersitions, quantum physics, time-travel and sex (I mean, with promises like that, who could resist, right?), but when I finished the book, I was so impressed, amazed and enchanted, that I knew I must find more. With "Going Out", however, while it may be a different subject, and an earlier work, I felt that Scarlett Thomas had written the book with me in mind. The locations, characters, and the situations that they find themselves in really struck a chord that I haven't felt in a long time. Maybe it is because in 2000, the year the book was set in, I was at roughly the same age as the characters. I live in South Essex, where the book was set, and know a lot of the locations (There is a pub called 'The Rising Sun' in Billericay, although I don't know if that's where Scarlett Thomas based her pub on...), and I could see various aspects of my own life, and the lives of my friends, reflected in the characters of the novel. There is no doubt that Scarlett writes with a lot of heart. The plot may not be a 'Da Vinci Code' rollercoaster of thrills and excitement, but each character stands out so strongly that they were practically tangible. Luke, the main character, suffers with XP, a rare skin disease that causes a potentially fatal allergy if he is exposed to the sun. He is portrayed as having a slight American accent, and cannot read a story without having references from the TV to help him imagine scenarios. Everything outside his house, as far as he's concerned, looks like a Hollywood sit-com. Scarlett reinforces this several times in the book by displaying to the reader that Luke simply does not know any other lifestyle, and has no other point of reference. Another thing that Scarlett Thomas does (and it is a great relief to say this), is to eschew the stereotype of the Essex Girl, and she does this vehemently. One of the lesser (but still important & relevant) characters, Chantal, is a Basildon girl who has won the lottery. - Chantal is shy, sweet, and caring. She has known poverty and embarassement, and is charming and likeable. (If she had been a brash outgoing promiscuous single mother, I probably would have put the book down), but it is a refreshing and perfect example of how Scarlett Thomas writes about characters for who they are, irrespective of whether the reader expects them to behave or speak in a certain way. In short, a wonderful novel, with heavy & self-referencing nods to the Wizard of Oz, with real, believable and wonderul characters, a real dollop of humour, and a message that stays with the reader once the book is finished... ...I think I'm in love. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Going Out by Scarlett Thomas, 14 Aug 2002 By  Amanda (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews This is a wonderfully original and entertaining read, with characters like people from the next universe along - almost real but more interesting. The sort of book you can read again and again and find something new to think about each time. Excellent. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book from Scarlett Thomas, 24 Jul 2003 By  "purple-monkey" - See all my reviews This review is from: Going Out (Paperback) Although this was yet another fantastic book of Scarlett Thomas, something about it just doesn't reach the standards of Bright Young Things. Maybe it's the lack of activity that the book begins with, and the fact that the plot is quite predictable and the characters are similar to the ones in her other novels. Nevertheless, it was still captivating yet simple and I would reccommend it to anyone with a trace of intellect. - Grace Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 14 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read The extremely well-written story of mid-twenty-year-old neighbours Julie and Luke- Luke with an affliction that means he can't go outside, Julie who failed her exams in order to... Read more Published 21 months ago by Mr. Stuart Bruce 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic I am in two minds about Scarlett. Sometimes she is wonderful, and others, the stories seem to have slightly predictable observations. "Going Out" however, is a great book. Read more Published on 21 Oct 2005 by S. M. Blythe 4.0 out of 5 stars Going Out Although this book is an extremely easy read it does not insult the readers' intelligence. The story is a good one and logical to follow. Read more Published on 22 May 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read. I really enjoyed "Going Out". Scarlett Thomas writes in very clear prose and the book moves at a fast pace. Read more Published on 28 Jan 2003 1.0 out of 5 stars NO!!! Oh dear... I have read the same book as the people above...? It almost sounds like she's just got her friends to review it for her...! But i'm not sure this isn't the case. Read more Published on 26 Jan 2003 by book book 5.0 out of 5 stars Going Out - Nah, Staying In "Going Out" by Scarlett Thomas, who also wrote the excellent "Bright Young Things" and contributed the stand-out story to the collection "All Hail The New... Read more Published on 22 Aug 2002 by Jessica 5.0 out of 5 stars Where did this come from? I'd never heard of Scarlett Thomas before I saw her on News Night talking about the monarchy (she's not a fan) - but she was pretty cool then so I thought I'd read her book. Read more Published on 20 Aug 2002 by M. Owlish 5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Modern Novel Scarlett Thomas is an amazing author; she writes in the here and now (Going Out is probably the first piece of literary fiction in which characters text each other) and her style... Read more Published on 19 Aug 2002 by Swithun Cooper 5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant I loved this book! If you enjoyed Thomas's last book, 'Bright Young Things' then you are in for a treat. Read more Published on 17 Aug 2002 4.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical and gripping. Easy to read, but plenty deep. I'll start this review talking about the author in general. In some quarters she seems to have developed a reputation as a 'chick lit' author, possibly because she is a woman... Read more Published on 17 Aug 2002 by Matthew McIntyre Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 14 customer reviews...

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