The Calling
by Sterling Watson
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Description
The Calling is the story of Blackford "Toad" Turlow, an ambitious, impressionable young man who aspires to be a writer. The voice in his head is that of Eldon Odom, a famous — sometimes infamous — novelist to whom Toad apprentices himself. In the beginning, Toad devours every morsel from Odom, both words and actions. But along the way he learns far more than the art of crafting fiction. He discovers that behind Odom's genius is a warped human being who abuses himself and those around him show more with alcohol, drugs and debauchery. Instead of teaching his eager disciples about writing, Odom uses them to fulfill his base desires. But Toad listens carefully to "The Old Man," the writer who years before was Odom's own mentor and who describes himself as "just the strange boy who cared to write things down." Toad is also influenced by the echoes o f his reckless, lovable dead sister, Trish; Odom's lean and lusty girlfriend, Lindy Briggs; Odom's loving and patient wife, Miss Sully; and by Toad's own girlfriend, the knowing Ardis Baines From this boozy, brilliant cast of characters, Toad eventually learns that a man and his art are two different things, that the worth of one may far exceed the other, and that there are dangerously thin lines between creativity and madness, between dedication and obsession. The Calling is beautifully written and thoroughly engrossing novel of passion and purpose — one that tells much about the calling and the called. "The characters ...are vividly realized, resistant to stereotypes. And the story's three female leads — Ardis, Toad's sometime girlfriend; Missy Sully, Odom's wife; and Lindy, Odom's current mistress — are complex individuals who play out their expected roles in unexpected fashion," said Nancy Pate in her review for the Orlando Sentinel. And, the Winston Salem Journal wrote, "Watson has much to say about life and art, about creativity and obsession, about the danger of violating reasonable bounds. He says it very well." show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Wyatt told me in 1989 about this book, and Harry Crews said in my interview with him that "I wouldn't have treated my worse enemy that way." The problem is that just too, too much is obvious to we who have spent any time in Gainesville,and who know Crews. The Savannah in the book is Paynes Prarie. Watson doesn't bother changing University Avenue, even. Eden Oldum and his accent is straight from the Crews' dialogue, and the things that happen, well, they sure could happen at the university. I liked Watson's writing and want to try another novel of his that isn't so "familiar" to me.
Every novelist should take the opportunity to read this book.
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Author Information
9+ Works 240 Members
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Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Fantasy, Suspense & Thriller
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PS3573 .A858 .C3 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 20
- Popularity
- 1,283,608
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.60)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
