With Whom

Price 14.73 - 16.71 USD

EAN/UPC/ISBN Code 9781432762704


Under the pretext of wanting to see the ocean, William and Beverly take a spontaneous road trip to San Francisco for a weekend of beaches and sightseeing, but conditions surrounding their trip and their lives turn an otherwise innocuous journey into restless nights and volatile days. From the start, the voyage is dubious because it is conceived in a moment of wishful thinking and enacted by pride. When Beverly expresses a wish to see the ocean and William suggests driving to California that very moment, Beverly agrees but doubts he will follow through. On the surface, William is impelled by the challenge, but a complex of inner motivations is revealed during the 1,100 mile, 16 hour non-stop trek across the Rocky Mountains from eastern Wyoming. They achieve their basic goals--to make it to San Francisco, to see the ocean, to visit the city--but these are overshadowed and sometimes entirely obscured by thoughts and feeling neither one can entirely suppress. Until their sudden departure, William had kept quiet about his attraction to Beverly, but that changed when, just a few miles into their road trip, she kissed him and confessed her attraction. If only they were single then that kiss and their mutual attraction would be simpler. By the time William and Beverly return, more questions and doubts exist than were present at the beginning, and neither is sure about what happened or its effects on the future. With Whom is two books in one. The first is a story of travel and romance gone awry in the "on the road" genre. The second is an exposition of an idea in the existentialist novel genre. Throughout this debut novella, hints and allusions are found which reflect the life experiences, academic studies, and literary forces that influence the author-French existentialism, Kerouac, Camus, theology, and countless personal travels. The title is not a question but an assertion, an answer to the question that the book explores.