First Advisor

Tony Wolk

Term of Graduation

Summer 2001

Date of Publication

6-28-2001

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Writing

Department

English

Language

English

Subjects

Novel

DOI

10.15760/etd.4161

Physical Description

1 online resource (i, 243 pages)

Abstract

Everything Else is Real is a story of escape. It begins in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, where Raymond Gutters is in the midst of a crank binge. The first part of the book deals with Los Angeles nightlife through the eyes of the drug. Among others we are introduced to Gerald, a small-time dealer, and Dana, Gerald's estranged junkie girlfriend, who is also having an affair with Raymond.

Raymond tries to kick the habit, but his on-and-off romantic train wreck with Dana keeps him from seeing it through. He tries to substitute his drug vice for a spree of gambling adventures, but this only serves to postpone the inevitable. When Raymond suggests that he and Dana go into rehab she runs off, not to be heard from again for months. During this time, both Raymond and Gerald have been able to put the meth aside and find decent work. Their lives start to become normal, but they both wonder and worry about Dana's fate.

Raymond finally finds her (she had checked into a rehab center on her own), and the two decide to leave Los Angeles for Boise, Dana's hometown, in an attempt to put the drug life behind them. They plan to move away soon as possible, but when Ray goes to work that evening one of Ray's old drug pals lures Dana into another night of illicit drug use.

Raymond is barely able to save her, and the two of them flee north. But, as Dana starts to come down from her high, she panics, and Raymond is forced to put her on a plane in Sacramento. Now, tasked with making the rest of the northern drive on his own, the book ends with Raymond idling at the crossroads, wondering if he really should go north, or back to Los Angeles, or possibly someplace different altogether.

Everything Else is Real is a novel wrestling with some of the issues of troubled young adulthood: relationships, values, temptations, and how one caught in the middle of a rut can climb out and attempt to start anew.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44714

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