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1-Page Summary of Going Bovine
Overall Summary
Libba Bray’s novel, Going Bovine (2009), tells the story of a teenager who learns how to live after being diagnosed with a fatal disease. The narrator, Cameron, states that the best day of his life occurred when he was five years old and had an anxiety attack while riding through It’s a Small World at Disney World. He nearly drowned in the water trying to reach the door on another boat.
Cameron is an unhappy teenager. He does not have friends, he dislikes his family, and he is jealous of his sister. He also has a job at Buddha Burger where he works with his co-worker/friend Dogen. Cameron’s best friend (or so we think) is the lead singer of The Great Tremolo who seems to be just as sarcastic and caustic as Cameron himself.
One day in class, Cameron had a hallucination. He saw the room on fire and giant beings made of fire attacking him. At the same time, his body stopped responding to his will; he twitched uncontrollably and couldn’t control his limbs. It was initially thought that it was caused by bad drugs, but after several drug counselors were consulted, Cameron’s family realized there must be another explanation for this behavior. After being sent to a doctor for more tests, Cameron was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome (or Mad Cow Disease). It is speculated that he contracted it either at school or at work—either way, it is incurable and fatal.
Cameron is in the hospital, sharing a room with Gonzo. He’s addicted to video games and has a smothering mother who wants to control him. Cameron falls in love with Dulcie, who turns out to be an imaginary figure he created while ill. She tells him that she must save the world from the Wizard of Reckoning by helping Cameron find Dr. X, a time traveler who can be found at Disney World.
Cameron was initially hesitant to embark on Dulcie’s quest, but he eventually decided to do it. He thinks about how he can make the most of his last few months and decides that going on this quest is a good idea. Dulcie gives him a bracelet from Disney World that will slow down the progression of his disease.
Gonzo and Cameron sneak out of the hospital. They begin to see clues everywhere, and they follow them. When they arrive in New Orleans, Mardi Gras is happening. At a party, Cameron meets Balder (a garden gnome) who was trapped by Loki (the trickster god). He also meets a jazz musician who gives him a trumpet that will help him get out of trouble when he needs it.
The two characters in the story get on a bus to go to Disney World. While they are at rest stop, the bus leaves without them. At a diner, fire beings and the Wizard attack them again, and the diner is destroyed by an explosion. The two of them are blamed for this incident and buy a car so that they can evade capture by law enforcement officers. They begin driving around town when they pick up three hitchhikers who take them to party house set up by cable television station where Balder is stolen from them once more. They compete on various game shows based on Cameron’s life in order to sneak into one of dressing rooms so that Gonzo can reclaim Balder from there.
Balder asks to go the beach, explaining that a ship is waiting for him. Once there, however, he is attacked by United Globes Wholesale Company and killed. Dulcie remains trapped in a snow globe. The boys follow the truck to Disney World and search gift shops for her at first but then find out that Dr. X has been using his lab there all along.
The wizard arrives and takes off his helmet, revealing that he is Cameron’s identical twin. Cameron flees and the Wizard chases him, but just as the Wizard catches up to him, Cameron blows a magic trumpet and wakes up back in the hospital. A nurse is turning off his life support, and his family is there crying. He loses consciousness. Cameron wakes up on a ride from earlier in his memory called Small World. Seeing Dulcie again, he gets out of the boat with her help. He asks if what happened was real or not; she says no one can say what reality really is like because each person has their own view of it based on their experiences (Wizard of Oz reference). She gives him advice about how to live happily every after by taking care of himself first before others so that he can be happy doing good things for them when they need it most (a reversal of Dorothy’s initial wish).
