Items related to Gone for Good

Childress, Mark Gone for Good ISBN 13: 9780375400216

Gone for Good - Hardcover

 
9780375400216: Gone for Good
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
In his fifth novel, the much praised author of Crazy in Alabama gives us the wild, comic, and ultimately moving odyssey of a 1970s folk-rock star, Ben "Superman" Willis.

Superman has been riding a wave of success in the years since the Beatles broke up and rock and roll wore itself out. But stardom is not what he thought it would be: the only time he's truly happy is when he's up in his plane, flying alone to the next concert, his son Ben Junior stashed at home in L.A., and his wife Alexa--a former Miss Southwest Louisiana--following along in a bus down below.

One night, after a show in El Paso, he flies head-on into the adventure of his life. A fierce thunderstorm, an emergency landing in Mexico, and some mind-blowing dope send him thousands of miles off course to a perilous crash landing on a beautiful, mysterious tropical island--a vision of Paradise, and, on the beach, a remarkable female apparition.

Back home, Alexa and Ben Junior are stunned by the news of Superman's disappearance. The out-of-this-world memorial concert at the Hollywood Bowl is no more than a brief distraction from the cataclysmic changes that occur when a man vanishes from the face of the earth. What they don't know, and what Superman will learn only slowly, is that he's very much alive, trapped against his will in a place where famous people go to disappear.

Gone for Good is the story of Superman's life on this island, a collection of famous and notorious people from all over the world hiding a terrible secret. It's also the story of Ben Junior's search for his father, and a spiritual exploration of the mysteries of celebrity, success, money, love, sex . . . and magic.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Seventies folk-rock icon Ben "Superman" Willis may be at the height of his fame, but he's not having very much fun. The touring lifestyle has lost its luster, his marriage to a former Miss Southwest Louisiana is on the rocks, and his only real pleasure comes from flying his Beechcraft Baron twin-engine plane 9,000 feet above all his earthly obligations. One day, Superman's plane goes missing, thanks to a storm, a faulty compass, and some very strong dope. To the rest of the world, it's as if he has disappeared into thin air. In reality, he crash lands on a lush tropical island, where the first person he sees bears an uncanny resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. As he recuperates, he meets various other castaways: an elderly aviatrix who may or may not be Amelia Earhart; her cross-dressing putative copilot; elegant Princess Annie; and a barrel-chested barbecue chef named Jimmy--Hoffa, that is. Just like these famously dead and disappeared celebrities, Superman has found the one place that could fulfill his own secret wish: to fly so far away from his own life that he registers on no one's radar at all.

The author of wacky Southern bildungsromans such as Tender and Crazy in Alabama, Mark Childress branches out into new imaginative territory with Gone for Good, a novel with an all-star cast and a sprawling, slightly ramshackle plot. Superman's presence on the island unleashes some mighty odd goings-on, involving a power-mad islander the locals call El Mago, armies of mystically inclined monkeys, and a wizened native sage who produces gnomic utterances such as "Sometime is no why. Sometime just is." At times it seems that Childress's hero has escaped one adolescent male fantasy (rock & roll stardom) only to fall into the arms of another: he gains magical powers, makes love to Marilyn Monroe, and engages in some highly entertaining monkey-wrenching against the island's would-be developers. Plus, everybody keeps telling him how important he is. No matter: like Superman himself, the book has a shaggy-dog charm, and in the end, the author produces some moving truths about fame, love, and what it truly means to disappear. --Mary Park

From the Back Cover:
By the time Newsweek dubs thirty-four-year-old Ben (Superman) Willis "The New Super-Poet of Pop, " he has millions of adoring fans, piles of money, a beautiful family -- and a secret desire to chuck it all and disappear forever. He gets his wish after a violent storm, some wicked Mexican weed, and a faulty compass cause his precious plane to crash on a remote tropical island.

When he hears Marilyn Monroe's breathless voice saying he's "kind of cute, " Superman thinks he has woken up dead. Amelia Earhart i there too, noting the worst landing she has ever seen, while Jimmy Hoffa cooks up some fine chicken barbecue. They never died, you see. They just came here to escape their celebrity -- invited guests, living out their lives in total privacy, all expenses paid, every need fulfilled. To Superman, it is heaven on earth.

Until he discovers the one little catch: he can never leave....

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherKnopf
  • Publication date1998
  • ISBN 10 0375400214
  • ISBN 13 9780375400216
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages369
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780345414533: Gone for Good (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0345414535 ISBN 13:  9780345414533
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 1999
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Big Bill's Books
(Wimberley, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 18.93
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenDragon
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.68
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 25.56
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.28
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.12
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 33.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # VIB0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 42.36
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mark Childress
Published by Alfred a Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. 369 pages. 10.00x6.75x1.25 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # 0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.34
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 12.74
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Childress, Mark
Published by Knopf (1998)
ISBN 10: 0375400214 ISBN 13: 9780375400216
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(North Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.85. Seller Inventory # Q-0375400214

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 77.04
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds