**One of NPR's best books of 2008**
**One of The Cleveland Plain Dealer's top 10 Fiction titles of 2008**
When George Canaris, a writing pro... read full description
**One of The Cleveland Plain Dealer's top 10 Fiction titles of 2008**
When George Canaris, a writing pro... read full description
reviews
May 12, 2010
Tim
rated it: 
Like Michael Chabon's superb "Wonder Boys," P.F. Kluge's "Gone Tomorrow" presents a profile of a college professor, a beloved writer whose long-suffering fans and supporters are finding his "latest" book's arrival date is getting later and later and might, in fact, be a pipe dream.
"Gone Tomorrow" is a small novel whose insular focus — middle America, academia, small-college life, books and writing — might turn some people off. It shouldn't. Goo More...
"Gone Tomorrow" is a small novel whose insular focus — middle America, academia, small-college life, books and writing — might turn some people off. It shouldn't. Goo More...
Feb 22, 2010
Joe
rated it:
This book was awarded three stars not because I thought it average (I thought it well above that, but because I'm sad to say the audience for it will be small. Small as in the total sum of people and professors and maybe their family members and just maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend of the aforementioned, one or many of whom attended a small liberal arts college in Ohio.
Because that's what it is almost ALL about, with testimony from a professor on his last literary leg, or so it seems dear More...
Because that's what it is almost ALL about, with testimony from a professor on his last literary leg, or so it seems dear More...
Jan 05, 2010
Joanna
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 14, 2011
Mark
rated it: 
George Canaris, author of a book included in a list of the top 100 American novels, comes to a college in Ohio (thinly veiled as Kenyon) to teach and to write. Upon his arrival he is warned that “this is a place that eats careers, ambitions, talent. It will destroy you if you let it. Not maliciously. Fondly, smilingly, appreciatively. It will flow into every crevice of your life, occupy every vacuum, claim every moment of rest and silence, if you let it[.] Though he planned to teach for a short
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Jun 23, 2011
McNeil
rated it:
Sometimes I wonder about that advice, "write what you know." It has left us with too many books where the protagonist is an English major/teacher/professor.
So. If you want what is probably a very realistic look at the life and motivations of an English professor at a small midwest liberal arts college, this is the book for you. Yes, the frame thing was clever. (but all the stuff in between was just autobiographical--ahem--stuff.) Yes, I got to know the professor a bit. (But More...
So. If you want what is probably a very realistic look at the life and motivations of an English professor at a small midwest liberal arts college, this is the book for you. Yes, the frame thing was clever. (but all the stuff in between was just autobiographical--ahem--stuff.) Yes, I got to know the professor a bit. (But More...
Aug 11, 2009
Jeanne
rated it:
George Canaris is a writer. Heck, he’s written two great novels and a collection of essays. What will he do next?
Well, an obscure liberal arts college in Ohio has invited him to join the faculty. His editor scoffs at the idea, but George accepts the invitation.
Fast forward: three decades after he comes to campus, George still hasn’t written anything. Or has he? When he dies unexpectedly, his literary executor is faced with the task of finding the elusive third novel More...
Well, an obscure liberal arts college in Ohio has invited him to join the faculty. His editor scoffs at the idea, but George accepts the invitation.
Fast forward: three decades after he comes to campus, George still hasn’t written anything. Or has he? When he dies unexpectedly, his literary executor is faced with the task of finding the elusive third novel More...
Jan 27, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
This book was odd. It was a mystery that wasn't mysterious and an academic satire that wasn't funny. The premise here is that a hotshot writer is hired by a small Ohio liberal arts college, where he lives out the rest of his days NOT finishing his next big novel. The book starts after his death, and the reader and all of the main character's friends and colleagues are wondering if his big unpublished opus is hidden somewhere, ready to be published.
The story is a meditation on accomp More...
The story is a meditation on accomp More...
Jan 10, 2009
Natalie
rated it:
Most books about writers, and especially novels about the writing of novels, suffer either from ponderous Seriousness or too much Irony of the sort that yearns to be hip. Any description of this novel's plot -- about a book that may or may not be written -- and which you may or may not be reading -- sounds like an honors student's overly ambitious creative thesis project. But it actually worked. This novel was entertaining, vicious when needed (about the culture of small college towns and of a
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Jan 02, 2009
Alison
rated it:
This was a pretty average book. I had put it on my Amazon Wish List, and I'm not really sure why. It's about a professor at a small college in the middle-of-nowhere Ohio. When he first began teaching at the school 30 years ago, he was a world-famous writer after writing 3 books. He spends the next 30 years promising his next book, but not being able to finish it. The one thing about this book that bothered me was how many mistakes there were. I hate that, when I'm distracted by missing com
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Jan 03, 2009
Donna
rated it:
I very much enjoyed this novel, written by an author from Kenyon College in Ohio about a writer/professor at a small Ohio college. Being from Cincinnati, I appreciated the descriptions of locations around Columbus and rural Ohio.
The storyline kept me going as it beings with a professor dying under suspicious circumstances and a search for a novel he may or may not have written. Another book he had written turns up about his life there. Could it be fact or fiction? Is there anothe More...
The storyline kept me going as it beings with a professor dying under suspicious circumstances and a search for a novel he may or may not have written. Another book he had written turns up about his life there. Could it be fact or fiction? Is there anothe More...
Feb 08, 2010
Chuck
rated it:
In this novel P.F. Kluge adroitly pictures the life of George Canaris, an English professor at a small college in Ohio. Between the covers lie a book and a book about a book. The first is a memoir that Canaris wrote during his final year of employment after the college administration concluded that he had become an overpaid and under-productive faculty member. Discovered in Canaris freezer following his accidental death, the memoir, while meritorious, is not the magnum opus that his colleague
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Oct 26, 2008
Jackie
rated it:
Kluge, whose previous work has been the basis of the films Dog Day Afternoon and Eddie and the Cruisers, brings us a much gentler tale of a writer who becomes a professor at a small Ohio college (which is true of Kluge as well, though this book is not autobiographical, presumably). It's a mystery that spans 30 years and bounces back and forth in time quite a bit, concerning, at the surface, a book that may or may not exist in a very "publish or perish" world. But I found the far grea
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Dec 20, 2011
Mara
rated it:
I am finding a few books to recommend to new faculty here at my small liberal arts college about the culture of small liberal arts colleges, as PhD's come from large research institutions. This book fills the bill. Written by an English prof at Kenyon College in Ohio, the story is about and English prof writing about an English prof. It's kind of an academic mystery, with good character development and the recognition factor for people who have spent a lot of time with college professors. Thumbs
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Jan 28, 2009
Vicki
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. If you like reading about writers or about college professors or just enjoy a very human story, you will enjoy this book. Briefly, the book is about George Canaris, who has written three acclaimed books, and is invited to become writer in residence at a small Ohio college. Everyone is expecting him to come out with his big book, but it is never published. He just stays at the college and teaches for 30+ years. When he dies, his literary executor is charged with f
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Feb 08, 2009
Darrenglass
rated it:
For obvious reasons, I have a bit of a soft spot for books about professors at small town liberal arts colleges. Also for obvious reasons I might be a bit sensitive about novels in which said professors have their souls sucked dry and never produce interesting work after tenure. All of that said, this book was a good read, although not nearly as good as some of the great academia novels.
Jan 02, 2010
This book was kind of a shameless read-- it's about life at a small, private liberal arts college, and some of the internal politics that govern these strange and insular institutions, and I gobbled it right up. I'm not sure I would recommend the book to anyone though, unless they are as curious as I am about life beneath the surface of these places.
Jan 12, 2009
Terry
rated it:
I couldn't tear myself away. Not quite sure if it was the subject matter or my own middle-age issues, but George Canaris' story caught my attention. I loved the writer's novel-within-the-novel structure, all tied in with the professor's seminar advice. Not laugh-out-loud funny like Straight Man or Moo, but warm, smart, and a bit melancholy.
Jan 18, 2009
Cathleen
rated it:
Gone Tomorrow is an intriguing book. I don't often enjoy the structure of alternating time-line narratives, but this was handled deftly. I was equally interested in both past and present, and neither caused the story to drag. The writing was elevated without being pretentious, and the overall effect was successful. Recommended, though the occasional typos are both distressing and distracting.
Nov 29, 2008
Zach
rated it:
Were the typos there on purpose? Anyone? I kept seeing them as I was reading and thinking they were there on purpose, then I see the NYT review talks about how distracting they were...is there any way a publisher could have missed three "l's" at the beginning of listening?!
Apr 14, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
I learned about the difficulty of writing the next novel after major success. It was an interesting story about a college in Ohio and live on campus for a famous author. But the device used to introduce and end this book seemed forced and distracted from the rest of the story.
May 25, 2010
Lori
rated it:
Even if I hadn't enjoyed Gone Tomorrow, it would have been worth my time for this description:
"There's a pleasant ritual sameness about college life. It's like famring, with no worry about commodities exchanges or the weather. And the calendar is different. Our new students arrive in autumn, when farmers are harvesting; our graduates depart in May, when farmers are plowing and planting."
But the book didn't offer much more depth than above. It's the tale of a wri More...
"There's a pleasant ritual sameness about college life. It's like famring, with no worry about commodities exchanges or the weather. And the calendar is different. Our new students arrive in autumn, when farmers are harvesting; our graduates depart in May, when farmers are plowing and planting."
But the book didn't offer much more depth than above. It's the tale of a wri More...
Sep 02, 2009
Brendan
rated it: 
My professor from college wrote this. I sent him a post card when I read his last and he responded with an email promising "you liked Alma Mater, you'll love Gone Tomorrow. Money back guarantee."
I wrote him a two-page letter today with my own two little hands to tell him how much I loved this book. It's about a professor forced into early retirement and it's a surprisingly fantastic read. It made me sad and happy and I was very pleased to read it.
I wrote him a two-page letter today with my own two little hands to tell him how much I loved this book. It's about a professor forced into early retirement and it's a surprisingly fantastic read. It made me sad and happy and I was very pleased to read it.
Apr 14, 2009
Rebekah
rated it:
The book was very well written. Just the right amount of description and action. The combination of two first person voices, along with several different time periods, really held my interest without being confusing.
Nov 26, 2011
Tamlyn
rated it:
Pretty good book about a writer who becomes a professor at a small Ohio college. Liked the style of telling the story from three different viewpoints/timeframes. Kind of slow in parts, but good overall.
Apr 09, 2011
Ted
rated it:
P. F. Kluge is a master at weaving the importance of remembering into his novels. Gone Tomorrow is funny, mysterious, and insightful. If you enjoy stories about writers or small colleges, this novel is perfect.
May 09, 2011
I'm excited for another one of Kluge's interesting short novels. I've met him in person and he has offered me some brilliant and invaluable tips on writing and "filling up your tank of experience."
Dec 15, 2008
Linda
rated it:
I liked the setting/genre strangeness. Academia and it's a mystery. It's not a murder but it has tension and twists and turns that are interesting. It's a "good read".
Jul 29, 2011
Jean
rated it:
One of the best books I've read about teaching (esp. teaching writing) and about small college politics. A few loose ends and red herrings, but overall a satisfying read.
Dec 14, 2008
Cedarwax
rated it:
Listed among 10 best fiction titles of 2008 by the Plain Dealer. And I must say for a reason.
It's a phenomenal book, witty, warm and wise. I will read it again.
It's a phenomenal book, witty, warm and wise. I will read it again.
Jan 05, 2010
Noah
rated it: 
So, this is a book about a book written by a professor, being read by a professor, about a professor. Well written, but Jesus Christ, grow an imagination. Please.
