Micah Johnson Goes West, by Sean Kennedy (GetOut 2)

[Ulysses]

Micah Johnson Goes West (GetOut book 2)
By Sean Kennedy
Harmony Ink Press, 2017
Four stars

I think I’ve read all of Sean Kennedy’s books, and thinking across them and their little Australian universe, I see the consistency, gentleness, and close-up human focus that makes them resonate so strongly with me. Also, to be honest, there is the fascination with Australia, which feels like a parallel universe both familiar and exotic to an American such as I.

I’ve gotten familiar with Kennedy’s cast of characters – particularly Declan Tyler and Simon Murray – the famous (retired) Aussie football star and his fiancé. Then there’s Jasper Brunswick, the scandal mongering gay journalist who is the frenemy of all the characters, playing a sort of gossipy Greek chorus throughout the book. Micah Johnson, almost nineteen, has been part of this world for a couple of the books – the plot catalyst in “Tigers on the Run” and the main character in the first of the GetOut Books, “The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson.” All these folks feel real, and through them we learn what it feels like to be an Australian, and a fan of that peculiar continental sport, Australian Football (sort of rugby and soccer merged, and apparently prone to high scores and fan zealotry).

The very little plot in this book is stated in the title. Micah, drafted into the Fremantle Dockers, has become the first out-and-proud-from-the-start gay footie player in Australian sports history. With Declan as his mentor, he has the eyes of the nation on him. Thing is, he’s still a teenager and has to move all the way across Australia to Perth, the most isolated city in the world. (It is indeed the only city on the west coast of the island nation and is 2500 km from the nearest city.)

This book actually has a theme song, which I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know. So I googled the Pet Shop Boys’ video of “Go West,” a 1993 cover of the 1979 Village People song. The song is on a CD given to Micah by his just-ex boyfriend Kyle, as a memento and encouragement as he heads west to a new life. Micah, of course, having apparently learned nothing from his previous experiences, simply can’t cope with being away from his family and everything he knows. So, of course he acts out. Again.

I must confess that Micah is extremely irritating and self-centered as, I guess (from long experience) only a teenager can be. Having been handed what would be every Aussie boy’s dream, all he can do is have a pity party and not invite anyone in. To be more exasperating, the family with whom he is placed is as warm and generous as his own, their oldest child being one of Micah’s teammates. It’s the younger brother, Dane, just a year younger than Micah, who is the only person seemingly as unhappy about Micah being in Perth as Micah himself is.

And that’s it. Micah makes bad choices, wallows in self-centered melancholy, and generally puts people off until a tragedy strikes and he is forced to realize what a jerk he’s been. Remarkably, it’s a very effective narrative as long as you’re willing to put up with Micah and, ultimately to forgive him.

I was willing to give Micah a break, even though his whiny personality is alien to me (I came out at 20 in 1975 and managed pretty well). Kennedy’s book is a journey to self-understanding. Micah, like an addict in the world of twelve-steps, can only move forward once he sees himself for the fool he is.