You know that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you're on a rollercoaster and you're climbing, climbing, climbing to the pinnacle? The tracks are creaking and shaking slightly, everyone is quiet or making idle chitchat...You know what's coming, and you're not sure if you're ready for it, but because you're stuck in this cart, you've already paid your money and you're hundreds of feet above the earth, you also realize you have very little choice in the matter. The only thing you can do is brace yourself and hang on for the ride...Have you ever had the experience of watching, as a not so active participant, a close friend or family member deteriorate in an attempt to kill themselves? Once again, you have very little choice in the matter, you see them in a rapid downward spiral, out to self-destruct and you are powerless, because there is no way you can help. Like a watching a car wreck, however, (wow, look at these metaphors and similes) you want to turn away, but you just can't. That's what it's like to read David Gilmour's A Perfect Night to Go to China. The protagonist in this book, Roman, leaves his young sleeping son alone one night to go out for a beer by himself for an hour...When he returns, the son is missing. He spends the rest of the book first relentlessly searching for his son in real-life and through his dreams, trying to contact his son somewhat telepathically, eventually coming to the conclusion that the only way to be reunited with his son is by committing suicide. It is not hard as a reader to figure out what the outcome may be, and like in the case of the roller coaster, brace oneself as you watch this man plunge into despair. It is, suffice to say, not a very uplifting book. However, it is very beautifully written in a simple yet poetic kind of way. You are gripped by the prose and its sparseness, making the emotions so stark and clear at times it is painful. And, thank God, it's less than 200 pages(179 to be exact) so it doesn't take long to reach the ending, which though not entirely cheerful is at least happy for some. If it had been a more normal novel length(200-400pp.), I think it would have been a very tough read, emotionally. I liked though, the idea of escaping to be with the ones you love, even if they are deceased, through your dreams. And, the heaven of his dreams is what some would consider heaven on Earth, the Caribbean. The prose is amazing and the thoughts/themes of the book are very different, perhaps the reason why it won the Governor General in 2005. Words are chosen well here, thoughtfully. The quote that I chose to use to illustrate the writing style, etc. is actually the quote which gives a clue as to where the title comes from.
"Finally I said, 'God it's a beautiful day.'
He looked at me with mild surprise as if I had just plucked that very thought from his head. 'A perfect day to go to China.'
I leaned forward in my seat. 'I'm sorry?'
'My mother used to say that. Whenever it was a perfect day, she would open the window and say, 'Why look at that! It's a perfect day to go to China.' ' He checked the lane over his shoulder. 'I don't know why she said it. We never went to China. Not once, not ever. It was just one of those peculiar things that your parents say.'
'That you never forget,' I said.
'Exactly, sir.' He laughed suddenly. 'It makes no sense but still you rememember it for the rest of your life.'
It is a warm world, I thought. It is a warm world and I have been lucky to live in it" (Gilmour 145-6).
This was a peculiar novel, but it is certainly one that I won't forget for a long time. It was very sad, but very moving as well. I know, too, at the end, that at least it was a perfect day for the protagonist. I also know that "a perfect day[or night for that matter]to go to China" both in terms of the novel and in terms of an adage, can mean different things to different people. This small novel packs a large whollop, and a perfect day for me is not always the same thing for you.Good night just the same, hope you turned your clock forward.:) GG's-16, Pulitzers-14.