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Overview
Omar Razaghi posts a letter on September 13, 1995 that will change the course of his life forever. A doctoral student at the University of Kansas, he writes to the estate of the Latin American author Jules Gund, requesting permission to write Gund's authorized biography. His request is refused, but Omar has already accepted a fellowship from the university, and with his girlfriend's vehement encouragement, he goes in person to Uruguay to petition to Gund's three executors.
Although Caroline Gund, Jules' wife, and Arden Langdon, Jules' mistress and mother of his child, are initially opposed to the idea of a biography, Omar has the support of Adam, Jules' older brother, and hopes to be able to persuade the two women. Omar's unexpected arrival in Uruguay reverberates through this odd and isolated little family group, and his stay in the languid, dreamy Ochos Rios makes him question his former life in Kansas, and his ability-even his desire-to write an "authorized" life.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780312656546 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Picador |
| Publication date: | 05/11/2010 |
| Edition description: | Media tie-in |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 336,023 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
September 13, 1995
Ms. Caroline Gund
Ms. Arden Langdon
Mr. Adam Gund
Ochos Rios
Tranqueras, Uruguay
Dear Ms. Gund, Ms. Langdon, and Mr. Gund:
I am writing to you because I have been told you are the executors of Jules Gund's literary estate. I am seeking permission to write an authorized biography of Mr. Gund.
I am a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. On the basis of my thesis, "Remember That? Well Forget It: The Articulation of Cultural Displacement and Linguistic Dismemberment in the Work of Jules Gund," I have been awarded the Dolores Faye and Bertram Siebert Petrie Award for Biographical Studies. This award, which includes publication by the University of Kansas Press of the Gund biography as well as a generous research stipend, is contingent upon my receiving authorization from my subject's estate. I hope you will agree that a well-researched biography of Jules Gund written by me would be in the best interest of his estate. I feel sure that the biography I plan to write, coupled with the burgeoning interest in Holocaust studies and Latin American literature, would markedly increase the amount of attention paid to the presently overlooked work of Jules Gund. This attention would enhance and secure the reputation of Mr. Gund, which would invariably result in increased sales of his book.
In order that you may fully consider my request, I am enclosing a sample chapter and table of contents of my thesis. (Of course, I would be happy to send you the entire thesis if you would like to see it.) I amalso enclosing a copy of my curriculum vitae, and the letter endorsing this project from the University of Kansas Press. I hope that after perusing this material, you will agree that I am uniquely qualified to research and write the comprehensive and sympathetic biography that Mr. Gund undoubtedly deserves.
Because I must furnish proof of authorization to the Fellowship Committee by November 1 in order for them to process the initial payment by year's end, I would appreciate your earliest possible response. I have taken the liberty of enclosing an authorization form herewith, should you feel ready to grant authorization at this time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have about this project. You may call me, collect, at the number above.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Omar Razaghi
Chapter Two
Adam stood before the mirror and tried to tie his bow tie. He was having an unhappy time of it. Some of his difficulty could be attributed to the fact that his hands shook, but it also appeared as though he had forgotten how to create a bow. Yet he persisted, unloosening the unsatisfactory and ugly knots he formed, straightening the fabric wings, and beginning again. And again and again. He did not seem to grow aggravated at his lack of success; he seemed to have the belief that at some time, almost despite himself, a bow might form.
Pete, who was leaning over the banister on the third-floor landing, watched with no expression for about five minutes and then began down the stairs. At the sound of his descent Adam stopped his struggle with the tie but did not look up.
Pete appeared behind Adam and, standing so that they almost touched, reached around and grasped the tie. As their two faces watched in the mirror, he created a perfect bow out of the formerly recalcitrant fabric. Although the bow was perfect Pete adjusted it a little and then readjusted it (to restore its perfection) and then patted it lightly and said, "There you are."
"Thank you," said Adam. He touched Pete's hand, and held it against the bow. "Where would I be without you?"
"Right here, probably," said Pete.
"Yes. But sans tie. Or at least sans bow."
"So you would be better off. I don't know why you're wearing a tie."
"I was taught that one should always wear a tie when one ventures forth into society."
"Is dinner with Arden and Caroline society?" asked Pete.
"It is practically all the society we have," said Adam. "Or I should say I. Perhaps you have society of which I know not. Do you?"
"No," said Pete. They were still both looking into the mirror, talking to their reflections. Pete leaned his head closer and rested his chin on Adam's shoulder. Adam reached up and stroked Pete's dark hair. He had lovely long hair, Pete. They observed their reflection: an old man of European lineage, a young man of Asian descent.
And then Pete raised his head and stepped a bit away, so that his face disappeared from the tiny world of the mirror.
"Ready to go?" asked Adam.
"Yes," said Pete. "Do you want to walk, or should we drive?"
"It is a lovely evening," said Adam. "I want to walk."
"But what about coming back? Will you want to walk then?"
"I don't know," said Adam.
"Because if you'll want to drive home, we should take the car now."
"Why?"
"So that we will have it there, to drive back in."
"But you could always walk back for it, and drive up to get me."
"Yes, but it would be easier to take it now."
"I'm not sure I follow you," said Adam. "If we walk home, we walk home. And if we decide to drive you'll walk back for the car. So either way you will walk back, won't you?"
"Not if we drive up."
"Oh, but I want to walk up. Of that I am sure."
"Are you sure? How's your leg?"
"It is the same as always."
"Why don't you see the doctor?"
"Because he is a terrible doctor and there is nothing really wrong with me."
"Your hands shake. And your legs ache."
"And I am old. It all corresponds."
"So we should drive."
"No. I am old, but I can walk to the big house, and perhaps, depending how late it is and how much I eat and drink and what sort of mood I am in, walk back. We shall see." He looked back into the mirror. "Thank you for tying my tie. I look very handsome in it, I think. I have always liked this tie. I bought it in Venice, in fifty-five. It is important to buy beautiful things when you are happy. I look at this tie"—Adam touched the bow at his throat—"and I remember how happy I once was."
"Why were you happy?"
"I forget. Who knows? It is enough to remember the fact of the happiness. I'm sure I was happy. Otherwise I would never have bought such a beautiful tie."
"It's not so beautiful now," said Pete. "It's stained."
"Is it?" Adam leaned toward his reflection. "It looks fine to me. I am really happy to be losing my sight. Everything looks fine to me. It is the best evidence I know that there is a God."
"What?"
"That he dims our vision as we age. Otherwise it would be too horrible to bear. Especially for those who were beautiful when they were young."
"Were you beautiful when you were young?"
"I wasn't so terribly ancient when we met. I thought I still retained some of my beauty then. I must have. Otherwise, how could I ever have attracted you?"
Pete did not answer. Adam turned away from the mirror and faced his companion. Pete had opened the door. The evening light fell upon his handsome face. He was looking out at the little cobbled yard in front of the millhouse. A cat sat at the foot of the steps.
"Chuco wants his dinner," said Adam.
"Chuco can wait. If we're going to walk, we should leave now, or we will be late," said Pete.
Adam realized Pete was angry. Lately he seemed angry all the time, but it was an odd, private, submerged anger. He must be very angry not to feed Chuco, whom he loved. He will not feed Chuco to punish me, thought Adam. "We can take the car now," said Adam. "Perhaps I am too tired to walk."
Pete turned away from the door and looked at him. "No," he said. He bent down and picked up the cat. The cat looked away. "Just let me feed this little pig."
Portia was sitting at the round table in the courtyard drawing and labeling a map of South America. It was an assignment for school. She was a day student at the convent school in Tranqueras. The courtyard was surrounded on three sides by wings of the large house and on the fourth side by a stone wall. There was an archway in the center of the wall, and a small, round fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Arden, her mother, came out of the kitchen door, her hands full of tablecloth and napkins and cutlery, and stood behind Portia for a moment, watching her color Uruguay gold. The rest of South America was green, all different shades of green, like fields seen from an airplane.
"Why are you making it gold?" Arden asked.
For a moment Portia did not answer. She was eight years old and had recently discovered that the withholding of information is a kind of power. "Because," she finally said.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The City of Your Final Destination by Peter Cameron. Copyright © 2002 by Peter Cameron. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Reading Group Guide
About this Guide
The following author biography and list of questions about The City of Your Final Destination are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach The City of Your Final Destination.
About the Book
Omar Razaghi is a graduate student determined to write the authorized biography of the late Latin American author Jules Gund. But when his request is denied by the author's family, Omar must leave behind his life in Kansas appeal to them in person—at their crumbling estate in Ocho Rios, Uruguay. There Omar meets Gund's wife, his mistress, and his brother, all living in close quarters, and his relationship with each of them develops all kinds of unforeseen complications.
About the Author
PETER CAMERON is the author of several novels, including Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You and The Weekend. He lives in New York City.
1. Discuss Omar's decision to travel to Ochos Rios without sending advance notice. Is spontaneity part of his character? What other factors are behind the decision? Compare and contrast Omar before and after his journey-what's changed about him; what's stayed the same?
2. Discuss the relationship between Caroline and Arden. What are their similarities and differences? Is there significance in the fact that the wife and mistress of the same man live under the same roof?
3. Throughout the novel, Caroline proves herself adept at making others question themselves and their motives. At one point, she forces Omar to confront his entire mission: "But I am not a bad person, Omar told himself. I have no ill intentions. What I want to do is perfectly acceptable and morally innocuous. He put his face in his hands. But why did God invent Caroline?" (Chapter 11) Does Caroline's rigidness help or harm Omar? Is her skill at disarming people effective with all characters in the novel? How does Adam react to her? What about Arden?
4. Initially, each member of the Gund literary estate has their own individual reasons to support or withhold authorization of Jules' biography. What do these reasons say about each individual's character? What motivates each to withhold or support as they do? Of the three members of the Gund family, who carries the most weight, in your opinion, in deciding for or against the biography?
5. In considering her actions throughout the entirety of the novel, what is your opinion of Deirdre? Do you think that her motives for pushing Omar to go to Uruguay were legitimate? What was the turning point of her relationship with him, which eventually lead to their break-up?
6. Delve a bit into the author's writing style. You may want to consider a scene from Caroline's return to New York City (chapter 23) or when Pete brings Omar and Deirdre to Tacuarembó on their way home (chapter 19 ). How do these characters' inner monologues bring out larger themes and issues in the novel?
7. At one point in the novel Omar claims that there can never be a truly "objective" biography, and that "biography is a hoax" (chapter 7). What does he mean by these statements? Do you agree or disagree with his belief? Discuss the role of biography in novel; how does Omar's desire to write a biography affect the members of the Gund family?
8. Consider the author's choice of locales for the novel: Uruguay, Kansas, New York City (and to a lesser extent Germany and England). How does location figure in the events of The City of Your Final Destination? What if Omar had come from a different university? What if the Gund family lived in the United States?
9. Discuss the role of each of the male characters in the novel: Pete, Adam, Dr. Peni and Omar. Whom among these do you find the most intriguing? Do you feel that any of these men are satisfied or truly happy with their lives?
10.Discuss the scene in chapter 10, wherein Adam Gund reflects upon the loss of beauty and charm with age: "There is something a little pathetic about ending up old and beautiful and charming, I think; it indicates, to me at least, a waste of resources, or at the very least, a serious misappropriation of them. For charm and beauty are more valuable commodities in the young. There's little the ancient can buy with them." Could this be construed as a criticism of other characters in the novel? Why or why not? Are the others affected by Adam's pronouncements? How is he different from the other inhabitants of Ochos Rios?
11. What role, if any, does symbolism play in The City of Your Final Destination? Discuss among the group, for example, the role of the gondola, or Omar's fall from the tree, or Caroline's "tower." What deeper meanings could these events or items hold?
12. Should Omar have, in the end, written Jules Gund's biography? What do you think would be some possible outcomes of the novel, of Omar's life and the lives of the Gund group, if he proceeded and did write the biography?
13. Pete, Adam's faithful yet restless companion, plays a unique role in the novel. What's your opinion of Adam's relationship with Pete? Where do you see Pete going in the future?
14. Children often provide objective insights into a person's character. Consider Portia's relationships with the individuals in the novel. What truths does she reveal about them?
15. If you could write a biography of one character from The City of Your Final Destination, who would it be? Why?
Questions reprinted courtesy of Plume
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