By Libba Bray
Going Bovine takes place in the southern United States, beginning in Texas and ending in Florida. It is set in modern-day America.
Summary
In Going Bovine, Cameron Smith is an social outcast from a family that is rapidly falling apart when he starts having hallucinations about an angel, fire giants, and a dark figure. He discovers that he has Mad Cow Disease and that there is no known cure for the disease. As Cameron gets weaker, one of his hallucinations, an angel named Dulcie, starts talking to him. She says that his hallucinations are not hallucinations, but creatures leaking over from another universe. She says that Cameron must go find a mysterious Dr. X who has the ability to send the fire giants back to their universe and cure Cameron of his disease. With the help of Dulcie, a dwarf named Gonzo, and a lawn gnome claiming to be the Norse God Balder, Cameron makes his way to Florida to save the universe and himself.
Characters
Cameron Smith
Cameron isn't the most likeable of main characters. Yes, I understand that he is dying of an incurable disease, but he still isn't that likeable. At the beginning, Cameron is a character with no motivation or drive. He sort of drifts through life, smoking pot and being rather useless. Later on, he reminds me of Frodo in the movie version of The Return of the King. He keeps having what I tend to refer to as 'Frodo Moments.' Frodo Moments are when the character is in the most dangerous situation imagineable, but the character is either incapable of fighting/standing or he just faints altogether. This sort of character annoys me, but I realize that it is Cameron's development of strength as he weakens that makes the reader really want Cameron to succeed.
Gonzo
Gonzo is a dwarf who attends Cameron's school. Gonzo is very much into video games, but is deathly afraid of the real world. Gonzo believes that he has almost every allergy, disease, and virus imaginable and thinks that almost everything in the real world is unsafe. Gonzo's paranoia is a quite annoying characteristic, but like Cameron, I think the reader's not supposed to like Gonzo in the beginning and that it is the development of the character that makes the reader want to root him.
Dulcie
Dulice is the angel who gives Cameron his quest. Although she claims to be 'only the messenger', Dulcie is the one who helps Cameron on his journey and points Cameron in the right direction. Dulcie also has an insatiable craving for sugary products. She is one of the most likeable characters in the entire book, but she shows up the least. Again, that's probably the way the book was written. The perfect representation of happiness, joy, and hope is the most unobtainable. The hope that Dulcie brings is what gives Cameron the strength to continue.
Balder
Balder is a lawn gnome who was freed from his inanimate state by Cameron. He says that he is an invincible Norse God trapped in his lawn gnome body by Loki, the trickster. His story is pretty convincing, given that he can survive getting stabbed, strangled, and shot. For freeing him, Balder swore that he would follow Cameron on his mission. Balder believes that Cameron is his guide so that Balder can get back to his ship and to his home. Balder is a likeable character and lives in eternal hope of getting back to his ship that may or may not exist. Balder's hope might seem childish, but I like it that Balder lives in an eternal hope. He's a good guy.
Conclusion
Going Bovine is a good book which is both humorous and tragic. In many ways, it resembles The Odyssey, the epic journey through the strange to return to normality. The book was slow to begin with and the characters developed slowly as well, but overall, the book was good. I give it 6.5 waffles out of 11.
