DON’T SKIP OUT ON ME WILLY VLAUTIN
About the Book
Meet Horace Hopper, a twenty-one-year-old farm hand in Tonopah, Nevada, who works for Mr Reese and his wife, the nearest thing he’s had to family in years.
But Horace, half-white, half-Paiute Indian, dreams of bigger things. Leaving behind the farm and its fragile stability, he heads South to re-invent himself as the Mexican boxer Hector Hidalgo. Slowly, painfully, the possibility emerges that his dreams might not just be the delusions of a lost soul… but at what cost, and what of those he’s left behind?
Exploring the fringes of contemporary America, Don’t Skip Out on Me is an extraordinary work of compassion – a novel about the need for human connection and understanding – and essential reading, now more than ever.
Willy Vlautin – Don’t Skip Out on Me Published in paperback 1st February 2018
About the Author Willy Vlautin is the prize-winning author of four acclaimed novels, The Motel Life (2005), Northline (2007), Lean on Pete (2010), which is being released as a major feature film in Spring 2018, and The Free (2014). He is also the frontman of the band Richmond Fontaine, whose many albums include Post to Wire, and more recently founded The Delines. Originally from Reno, Nevada, he now lives in Portland, Oregon. Willy Vlautin, Don’t Skip Out on Me Discussion Points 1. There’s a strong sense of place in this novel; both the verdant, natural landscape of Nevada, and the urban places Horace visits. What effect do these differing physical spaces seem to have on Vlautin’s characters? Is there a judgement about the relative values of natural vs. manmade spaces?
2. Hector’s relationship to his own racial heritage is complicated; part of his self-reinvention is an intentional shedding of his Paiute identity, and the novel features a diverse cast of characters. In what ways does the novel explore the relationship of these different characters to their respective heritages?
3. As well as Horace’s personal journey, themes of identity and searching for connection recur. An example of this can be found in Chapter 13, when Mr Reese takes an interest in the journey of Captain and Bob: ‘What sorta plan do you guys have for your future?’ With this, what do you think Willy Vlautin is saying about contemporary America?
4. On page 130, Mr Reese tells Horace, ‘You have to try and get what you need to get by in life. It makes you a better person to try. I got a chance and it didn’t quite work, but it almost worked. It was close to working. But if I didn’t go down to La Jolla in the first place, I’d never have La Jolla in my heart. And now I have La Jolla in my heart for as long as I want it there. You’re the Arizona Golden Gloves champion because you had the guts to move down to Tucson and try. No one can take that away. Not ever, not for your entire life.’
Given how the novel ends, do you agree with Mr Reese?
5. Human connection – in the form of friendships and relationships between bosses and employees, fathers and sons, coaches and boxers – is a central theme. Which characters have the strongest relationships? What do they gain from them? Conversely, what happens when characters become isolated?
6. At one point Mr Reese refers to Horace as being ‘a romantic’. Do you think Horace’s idealised world view hampers him, or in some ways is responsible for the problems he can’t seem to escape?
7. The novel has a couple of key scenes which turn on missed moments. How did you feel about these, and about Hector’s ultimate fate?
8. Vlautin’s style is often compared to novelists like John Steinbeck, Kent Haruf and Raymond Carver. Are there any other authors that his writing reminds you of?
9. Discuss if there are any questions that you would like to ask Willy Vlautin? You can send them via email or post to the addresses at the bottom of the next sheet and we will put your questions to Willy Vlautin in a video responding to you. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the book if you would like to write a review on Goodreads. Alternatively, you can send your review via email or post using the space below and the addresses at the bottom of this sheet. Willy Vlautin Don’t Skip Out on Me Review
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