Gone for Good - (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Mark Childress (Paperback)

About the Book

By the time Ben (Superman) Willis is dubbed "The New Super-Poet of Pop" by the media, he has millions of adoring fans, piles of money--and a secret desire to chuck it all and disappear forever. He soon gets his wish when a violent storm causes his plane to crash on a remote tropical island.

Book Synopsis

By the time Newsweek dubs thirty-four-year-old Ben (Superman) Willis "The New Super-Poet of Pop," he has millions of adoring fans, piles of money, a beautiful family--and a secret desire to chuck it all and disappear forever. He gets his wish after a violent storm, some wicked Mexican weed, and a faulty compass cause his precious plane to crash on a remote tropical island.

When he hears Marilyn Monroe's breathless voice saying he's "kind of cute," Superman thinks he has woken up dead. Amelia Earhart is there too, noting the worst landing she has ever seen, while Jimmy Hoffa cooks up some fine chicken barbecue. They never died, you see. They just came here to escape their celebrity--invited guests, living out their lives in total privacy, all expenses paid, every need fulfilled. To Superman, it is heaven on earth.

Until he discovers the one little catch: he can never leave. . . .

From the Back Cover

By the time Newsweek dubs thirty-four-year-old Ben (Superman) Willis "The New Super-Poet of Pop, " he has millions of adoring fans, piles of money, a beautiful family -- and a secret desire to chuck it all and disappear forever. He gets his wish after a violent storm, some wicked Mexican weed, and a faulty compass cause his precious plane to crash on a remote tropical island.

When he hears Marilyn Monroe's breathless voice saying he's "kind of cute, " Superman thinks he has woken up dead. Amelia Earhart i there too, noting the worst landing she has ever seen, while Jimmy Hoffa cooks up some fine chicken barbecue. They never died, you see. They just came here to escape their celebrity -- invited guests, living out their lives in total privacy, all expenses paid, every need fulfilled. To Superman, it is heaven on earth.

Until he discovers the one little catch: he can never leave....

Review Quotes

"A story that takes off like a 747 and doesn't let up until the very end."
--San Francisco Examiner

"WELL, MARK CHILDRESS HAS GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN, GIVEN US A NOVEL FULL OF HEART AND MAGIC, POETRY, AND GREAT GOOD HUMOR."
--Anne Lamott

"WONDROUSLY IMAGINATIVE . . . BRIMMING WITH MAGIC AND MYSTERY . . . A modern-day fable with echoes of Alice in Wonderland, The Little Prince, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz . . . A terrific summer read--meaty enough to make you think, but breezy enough to consume with almost effortless delight."
--The Charlotte Observer

"ENTERTAINING . . . EXHILARATING."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Mark Childress was born in Alabama, grew up in the Midwest and the South, and was graduated from the University of Alabama. His articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Times Literary Supplement, Southern Living, and the Birmingham News, among other publications. He is the author of three children's books and four previous novels, A World Made of Fire, V for Victor, Tender, and Crazy in Alabama. He lives in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.