Going Bovine
Encyclopedia
Going Bovine is a 2009
surreal
dark comedy
novel
by Libba Bray
. It follows the experiences of high school junior Cameron Smith as he suffers from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
.
living a somewhat aimless life. His father is a college physics
professor; his mother is a community college English teacher. Cameron’s life starts to spiral out of control when he is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob variant BSE, a slowly progressive fatal disease (also known as mad cow disease), for which there is no cure. But he is visited in the hospital by Dulcie, an angel
with pink hair who wears boots and spray paints her wings; she tells him that he can possibly save his life, but only by first finding Dr. X, a time traveling physicist. Cameron starts thinking about his journey and how he can succeed and get the most out of it.Unconvinced at first by Dulcie’s suggestion, Cameron changes his mind when he is attacked by fire giants and a mysterious Wizard of Reckoning—a masked figure wearing a silver space suit who is intent on killing him.
Cameron sneaks out of the hospital with his roommate and high school classmate, Gonzo, a video game playing dwarf with an overprotective mother on a quest that takes them from Texas to New Orleans and into Florida
, all the while pursued by the Wizard of Reckoning and his fire giants.
Throughout the novel it is uncertain if Cameron is actually undertaking this journey, or if he is simply imagining it because of this disease.
--64.20.152.186 (talk) 22:24, 19 November 2011 (UTC)
2009 in literature
The year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature....
surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
dark comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Libba Bray
Libba Bray
Libba Bray is an author of young adult novels, including the books A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, The Sweet Far Thing and Going Bovine....
. It follows the experiences of high school junior Cameron Smith as he suffers from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies , also known as prion diseases, are a group of progressive conditions that affect the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans. According to the most widespread hypothesis they are transmitted by prions, though some other data suggest an...
.
Plot summary
Cameron Smith is a high school slacker from TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
living a somewhat aimless life. His father is a college physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professor; his mother is a community college English teacher. Cameron’s life starts to spiral out of control when he is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob variant BSE, a slowly progressive fatal disease (also known as mad cow disease), for which there is no cure. But he is visited in the hospital by Dulcie, an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
with pink hair who wears boots and spray paints her wings; she tells him that he can possibly save his life, but only by first finding Dr. X, a time traveling physicist. Cameron starts thinking about his journey and how he can succeed and get the most out of it.Unconvinced at first by Dulcie’s suggestion, Cameron changes his mind when he is attacked by fire giants and a mysterious Wizard of Reckoning—a masked figure wearing a silver space suit who is intent on killing him.
Cameron sneaks out of the hospital with his roommate and high school classmate, Gonzo, a video game playing dwarf with an overprotective mother on a quest that takes them from Texas to New Orleans and into Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, all the while pursued by the Wizard of Reckoning and his fire giants.
Throughout the novel it is uncertain if Cameron is actually undertaking this journey, or if he is simply imagining it because of this disease.
--64.20.152.186 (talk) 22:24, 19 November 2011 (UTC)
Characters
- Cameron Smith, a high school student suffering from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
- Gonzo, Cameron’s traveling companion, a dwarfDwarfismDwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
with an overprotective mother. - Dulcie, an angel who is Cameron’s guide.
- BalderBalderBaldr is a god in Norse mythology.In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story...
, the Norse god who has been cursed into the shape of a lawn gnome. - Jenna Smith, Cameron's twin sister who is popular in school and is not close to her brother.
- Staci Johnson, Cameron's initial love interest.
- Chet King, the school's former quarterback, who after an injury "accepted Jesus into his life". Is dating Jenna.
Awards
- 2009 Children's Book Sense Pick, and won Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year and Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice in 2009.
- 2010 Michael L. Printz AwardMichael L. Printz AwardThe Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association...
winner, an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. - 2010 Locus Award for Best Young Adult BookLocus Award for Best Young Adult BookWinners of the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year....
nominee