GOING TO SEE THE ELEPHANT

A novel of mysticism, journalism, chess and romance—set with wide-eyed wonder in San Francisco.

The cryptic title refers to an American folk expression. When one went to seek one’s treasure—or other glorious mysteries that life offers—one was said to be “going to see the elephant.” The elephant-seeker of this tale is Slater Brown, who arrives in San Fran fresh of spirit and dewy of eye. He wants to be a writer and shows up at the financially strapped newspaper office of the Morning Trumpet. After he submits his first piece—and is summarily laughed out of the office on the heels of its naïve romanticism—he finds himself on a public bus listening to a small pocket radio, a gift from the enigmatic A.M. It turns out this is a magic radio, however, one that allows Brown to eavesdrop on private conversations. In the first magical moment Brown overhears Tucker Oswell, the popular but sleazy San Fran mayor, involved in some nefarious business that he wants to keep private. Brown turns this occult accident into a scoop, one that begins a series of successes that help put the Trumpet back on firm popular and financial footing, much to the delight of the editor Motherlove. As Oswell grows increasingly frantic to plug what he feels is a leak in his office, the narrative shifts toward Callio de Quincy, a knockout chess player who has never lost a match (her normal preparation routine consists of “read[ing] comic books, eat[ing] bon bons, and writ[ing] poetry”). Havram, Callio’s overprotective father, wants to make sure that she keeps winning. Predictably, Brown meets and falls quickly in love with Callio. Meanwhile, Milo Magnet, a technological genius who recently published a 4,278-page book entitled Theory of Everything, has invented a machine that challenges Callio to the chess match of her life.

A goofy comic novel whose whimsy feels a bit canned.