As Good as Gone

'As Good As Gone' is the story of Calvin Sidey, a tough old man who, after the sudden death of his wife, left town after allegedly beating a man to death. He abandoned his children and shrouded himself in grief, solitude and the exhausting but mindless work of a cowboy. After decades alone, taking no responsibility for anyone but himself and no disrespect from anyone, Calvin is asked by his son to return to the town he left behind and look after the two grandchildren that he's never met, while their parents travel to the city so their mother can have surgery.

The strength of this book lies in its ability to make the people and place feel vividly real. It's set in a small town in Montana in the 1960s. It's a town Calvin used to be a show more prominent businessman in but where he's now remembered only for the story of his murderous violence and his grief for his dead wife. The town has changed but Calvin has not. He still lives by a code of sorting out problems personally and directly, with a tire iron or a knife or a gun if necessary and never backing down if his family is threatened. We watch as this code brings him into an escalating conflict with the people around him.

What I liked most about the book was how well-drawn the people were, not just Calvin Side but his son, his teenage granddaughter, his middle-school-aged grandson, his son and his widowed neighbour. We mostly see the world and its problems through the eyes of Calvin's family members and his neighbour. The tension in the book and most of the pain comes from understanding the threats to the happiness of these people and how they attempt to address them. We spend very little time in Calvin's head. He's a man we judge by his actions more than his words but when his words come, they are articulate and intelligent. I found myself rooting for Calvin even as I found myself saying, 'If he does that, it won't end well.

This isn't a dark book. The people have problems but they also know happiness and hope and even moments of love. I believed in these people and cared about them.

The ending of the book feels truthful. It's also a little disappointing. Life can be like that.

There is a strong plot to the book. Different storylines are choreographed to intersect in ways that increase the tension in the book but it's not a book that's about the plot. My overall impression is that it's a pearl necklace book where the plot holds together the pearls, intense scenes about people under pressure trying to do the right thing.

Larry Watson has written ten novels so far. I'll definitely be looking to read more of his work. show less

“No matter how long they’ve been there, the people who live out here believe that whatever life demands of them they can meet it on their own. And perhaps they can. But Bill Sidey knows he’s not cut from that cloth. The infinite sky that inspires certainty in some people breeds doubt in him, and he’s never been sure what the truth of human endeavor is: Are we meant to do it on our own or with the help of others?”

A very well-written tale of family, exile, and the ties that bind no matter what. Ultimately, it's about the folly of rejecting the help one needs in favor of going it alone, whether out of fear, pride, or ignorance. The sense of place - a large town on the Montana prairie in 1963 - is excellent, with the changing show more landscape echoing the broader changes becoming evident in the Western ethos. show less

That crotchety old man! I rooted for him through the whole book.

Larry Watson’s books are peopled with individuals who remain true to their characters. As we get to know the members of the Sidey family and the townspeople, he shares a piece of the puzzle along the way, then another piece falls into place, but you find at the end, he’s withheld some of the pieces. We are left to puzzle out some things on our own.

Marjorie Sidey needs an operation; her husband, Bill, takes her to the hospital hundreds of miles away, leaving his estranged father, Calvin Sidey, in charge of the children, Ann, 17, and Will, 11. With the old Montana cowboy, nothing has changed.

Spare writing, spare landscape, spare strings tying the family together.

Very show more good, but I liked his Montana 1948 half a star better. show less

I've been a Larry Watson fan for close to twenty years now. Regrettably, I haven't read all of his books, but have read five - MONTANA 1948, JUSTICE, WHITE CROSSES, ORCHARD, and AMERICAN BOY. Every one was simply terrific. And AS GOOD AS GONE, his latest, has not changed my opinion of Watson in the least. He may be one of our best practioners of the novel currently writing in America.

Kirkus says this one "Deserves a Clint Eastwood performance." Well, yeah, maybe - if ol' Clint could shed a couple decades. He is one of my favorite actors too, but he is 86 years old now, whereas Watson's hero, Calvin Sidey, is only in his sixties. But I must admit, I too envisioned Clint in the role, thinking back to his performance in GRAN TORINO, show more wherein he played the crotchety and embittered old widowed veteran, out to right neighborhood wrongs. Yeah, Kirkus. I can't really disagree. Clint!

Sadly, however, AS GOOD AS GONE gives off some mixed signals. The "cowboy way" of taking care of things, we learn, simply wont work all of the time anymore. Not in today's society. And yet, Calvin Sidey still manages to cut something of a heroic figure as he attempts to 'fix' the various problems of his son's family, snaring the affections and loyalty of the lonely widow next door at the same time. You can't help but root for the old guy, even though you know he might be wrong.

Watson has woven a complex tale of love, loss, grief, and abandonment, as well as a kind of half-assed attempt at redemption, with a little 'senior sex,' blood and violence, all set in 1963 Montana. The action encompasses only a couple of weeks, but expertly inserted flashbacks, flesh out the family history admirably. It is a story that kept me turning the pages late into the night. This is Larry Watson at the top of his game, the height of his powers. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

Willie Nelson sings, "Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys." Larry Watson's novel "As Good as Gone" carries the same message, as well as another, "Don't let cowboys be baby-sitters."

Before taking his wife to Missoula for an operation, Bill Sidey asks his father, Calvin, to move into their basement and keep an eye on his grandchildren, 17-year-old Ann and 11-year-old Will. Calvin spent years working as a cowboy after the death of his wife, Bill's mother, whom he had met in France during the World War I. Now he lives as a recluse in a trailer, an ex-cowboy who reads books in Latin. The year is 1963, and Watson beautifully captures that time in history.

What Bill and Marjorie, his wife, don't know as they leave for the distant show more hospital is that Ann and Will are each in trouble. Ann is being stalked by an aggressive ex-boyfriend. Will hangs out with a couple of boys he doesn't like but doesn't know how to avoid. They want him to help them find a way for them to see his sister naked. Without actually understanding these problems, Calvin takes action, but his way of solving problems involves tough words, fists, knives and, as a last resort, guns.

Meanwhile he becomes involved with Beverly, a neighbor woman with a grown son who lives with her and takes advantage of her. This son also has an eye for lovely Ann, which may help explain why Beverly wasn't the first choice to watch the Sidey children.. She realizes Calvin is trouble, but he also makes her feel like a desirable woman for the first time in many years.

Watson develops his plot in such a way that it could turn in many different directions, and it does, surprising the reader at every turn. "As Good as Gone" is a Clint Eastwood movie waiting to happen, but before it does, be sure to read this incredible novel. show less

It's been a while since I've read a Larry Watson novel, and his book, Montana 1948, is one of my all-time favorites, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read his latest book thanks to Librarything. As with his other novels, Watson brought his characters to life. He did a great job with all of them from a pre-adolescent boy to a 17 year-old beautiful young woman to their parents, their grandfather and a middle-aged widow. Both of the kids were struggling with problems they weren't capable of handling alone, and one could feel their desperation to escape their circumstances.

The main character is a study in contrasts; he is a taciturn cowboy living in isolation and a Latin scholar. I liked how quickly his grandchildren came to show more understand him and accept him in their lives. It was interesting to see a town in transition in the early 60s from the days of ranches to suburbia, and the beginning of racial integration.

I would have liked to know more about the future of the characters in the book. I wonder if the author is considering a sequel; there's certainly plenty of potential. Although I was disappointed that the book ended abruptly, I did feel it was in keeping with the persona of Calvin Sidey. The book is beautifully written and raises many issues worthy of a book discussion. I highly recommend the book to everyone. show less

“… and they stand in this concrete room with a suitcase yawning open between them, a distance that might as well be as wide as a canyon.”

They are Calvin and Bill Sidey, father and son. I really liked Calvin - hard-scrabbled, taciturn and tough as nails. Maybe not a good father, but I'd want him by my side if/when things got tough!
The whole story is a good read, very enjoyable and well written! I felt like it started slowly and then really warmed up! As I type this, I find that I would like to read more about Calvin. But, "Calvin is as good as gone, escaping yet again from this house, this town, this world." Sad.

“… what an obstacle to learning hate can be.”