Golden States

Golden States is the well-known author's début novel - a fact he'd rather we forgot. It has been disowned; it is not listed with the author's other works, and doesn't even get a mention on his own website. The standard line trotted out in interviews is that it was "written too quickly", it's "not a good enough book" and so "the world should just forget about it". Whatever the real reason may be, the irony is that Golden States is by far and away the most moving, and thematically engaging, of Michael Cunningham's novels. The central character is David, a 12 year old boy living in 1980s Southern California with his mother and 10 year old sister. Mystery surrounds David's father, who has re-married and lives elsewhere. David's half-sister (by his mother's first marriage), Janet (23), has returned to the family home leaving behind a boyfriend whom she had planned to marry. The novel covers the course of a couple of weeks shortly after Janet's arrival. It can loosely be categorised as a coming of age novel, but the underlying tone is more stark than the usual fare. Along with the expected events (first time getting drunk and stoned, first kiss with a man) there is a certain poignancy, verging on bleakness. The thrill of discovery underscored by the sad, irretrievable loss of innocence, and the realisation that worse is yet to come. That said, there are impeccable moments of deadpan, brilliant humour to lighten the pathos. Perhaps the novel's greatest strength is how beautifully it captures that all-too brief moment when a young male totters on the border of adolescence. David is simultaneously straddling both sides of this border - he cannot bear to allow his younger sister to beat him in an argument, but is proud when he remembers to keep the thought to himself when in front of company. The author speaks to us from within the 12 year old's head with superb authenticity ("Before going downstairs he checked his hair in the mirror and tried out different angles of chin, looking for a right way to hold his head"). His burgeoning sexuality is extremely well depicted: the embarrassing solitary chest hair; his inexplicably changed feelings towards his best friend, Billy; the eroticism of night swimming; wanting to impress Janet's boyfriend Rob; and the encounter with a young man in San Francisco which begins to add some pieces to the jigsaw puzzle of his confusion. David is an incredibly charming, lovable character, with all the quirks of his age ("Suddenly his walk felt wrong, and he tried to change it....[his new walk] had a certain cowboy quality and struck him as a success") that it is impossible not to feel connected to him; he will appeal both to you, and to the 12 year old boy inside you. Accordingly, while it is indeed fair to say that there are many coming of age novels around, within this genre, this is one of the best. Track 'Golden States' down; it will undoubtedly become a favourite in your collection.