Author: Dave Gorman
Ebury Press, £11.99
SPAWNED FROM the documentary of the same name which Gorman released in February, this book tells the story of his journey from the West to East Coast of America, without giving any money to ‘The Man’.
After a mind numbingly boring journey around America whilst touring his one man show, Gorman became disillusioned with every town looking the same as a result of the large corporations and chain businesses that inhabit them. He sets out here to answer his own question – ‘is it possible to survive in America without giving anything to ‘The Man’? Although Gorman insists he set out on this trip purely for his satisfaction and not to make a film or book, I for one am glad he did.
Unlike his previous efforts, this adventure is not the honouring of a bet or a ‘boy-project’, as in Are You Dave Gorman?. With that genre almost done to death by the likes of Tony Hawks and Danny Wallace, Gorman here undertakes a serious voyage. He goes in search of the real America, by avoiding big cities and sticking to small roads instead of interstates. Through this he conveys much about small-town American life and, worryingly, the demise of many independent businesses.
It’s easy to connect with Gorman; with his boundless enthusiasm for the most trivial of events you can not help getting caught up in the journey, and his insane calculations and the twisted logic he attaches to things makes you laugh out loud. He pours his heart and soul into every escapade he embarks on and I find myself eagerly willing him on. Inevitably, there are tough situations to get through – the running out of ‘gas’ being the most common – but when he is on a roll you can not help but share his euphoria.
Perhaps what is the most uplifting is the amount of times he relies on the kindness of strangers and the amount of times it pays off. In every one of Gorman’s books he has a colourful surrounding cast of people he meets along the way, and this is no exception; from the owners of a B&B shaped like a giant dog, to the family which take him in on Thanksgiving, to the Eminem lookalikes which threaten him at gunpoint.
It’s a fast paced adventure, despite Gorman going off on his hilarious tangents – in terms of the route (he drives over 7,000 miles in order to cross a country nearly 3,000 miles wide) as well as the narrative. Whether you have seen the film and want to find out more, simply want to find out more about America, or want to know whether it is truly possible to only buy from independent businesses (try it for a day), then this book holds the answer.
Rating: 9/10
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