About “Going to See the Elephant”
“From debut author Rodes Fishburne, this captivating novel introduces one of the most engaging literary characters in recent years: Slater Brown, whose dream to be the greatest writer in the world leads him to discover the spirit of a city—and himself.
Standing in a bicycle taxi, speeding the wrong way down the busiest street in San Francisco, twenty-five-year old Slater Brown is ready to stake his claim as the greatest writer in the world. In the history of the world.
If only the perfect story would appear.
With the help of a mysterious gift from a man with all the answers and a third rate newspaper on the cusp of collapse, Slater’s life changes. As his columns in the lowly Morning Trumpet bring the newspaper back from the brink, his rising star causes him to cross paths with the city’s other notorious residents—from the corrupt and gluttonous mayor to an eccentric scientist intent on controlling the weather. Most importantly, Slater meets the beautiful Callio deQuincy, a brilliant chess champion who quickly captures his heart.
Merging the fantastical with the fantastically romantic, Going to See the Elephant is a novel about writing, falling in love, and about learning who you are despite the storms—both literal and figurative—that may rage around you.”
A NOTE ON THE TITLE
In 1849, if the reader lived in St. Louis, Missouri, or New York City, or Charlottesville, Virginia, or any other large or small town in the United States, and a friend stopped by your house one afternoon to inquire into your whereabouts, your mother might have said: “He’s going to see the elephant.” Translated into the vernacular of the time, this meant you’d gone west to seek your fortune in the gold rush.
The elephant was fame and fortune.
The expression took hold, being used so frequently that in 1880, when the gold rush in California had mostly died down, you were considered “off to see the elephant” if you went on a trip to India, or the Orient, or if you went away to have any sublime experience for that matter. It was especially used to identify those rare souls interested in making contact with the adventure of a lifetime.
Soon I will have an NPR clip about the origin of the phrase “Going to See the Elephant” as well as an original song.
