The Book of Maps: A Novel [Paperback]

In Academy and Golden Globe winner Ernest Thompsons debut novel, Brendan Tibbet, a filmmaker whose luck has run low, takes his 10-year old son Brenlyn on a wild and hilarious road trip across the country. The two-week trek from LA to New Hampshire across a dozen and more states includes the prescribed photo ops of the northern route - Yosemite, the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - but its the interior journey thats enlightening, heartwarming and life changing-the father and son duo having to stick it out together in the confines of the car and its ticking clock demanding to know when the errant dad will summon the courage to ruin the boys equilibrium with the news that his mother and father are getting divorced.At a yard sale, Brendan had bought an ancient tome, The Book of Maps, published in the 30s, its seductive allure speaking of time gone by and of unexplored possibilities, but its a tough sell getting a ten-year-old excited about being cooped-up in a car for 3,000 miles, especially with no DVD or video games, just Mark Twain on tape and the wide-open majesty of America. In negotiation, Brendan promises that theyll stop every 90 minutes, rain or shine, and play a sport, football, baseball, lacrosse, frisbee. Brendan doesnt mention that theyll assume new identities at every state line; thatll be a surprise. And a chance for an old storyteller and a burgeoning one to keep their unwritten narrative fresh and alive. And amusing.Brendan assures the boy that each state will be an adventure, and on the second day proves it, seeing the kid washed downriver in fast-moving rapids, then foolishly putting them both in danger by refusing to back down to the massive grizzly invading their campsite. But thats Brendan, impetuous and foolhardy, inciting trouble wherever he goes, a man with demons and bubbling angst; ergo, poor casting for either marriage or parenthood. His ex-wife gives him a mixed-message One for the Road,lc{