Wherever You Go, There You Are

I originally purchased Wherever You Go, There You Are, through the mail from John Hampel himself after seeing him talking about his book on a Chicago TV show. As I got into the book, I was fascinated with all the little details Hampel put in to let the reader know that this was an alternate timeline story; the cereal industry is centered in Chicago rather than Battle Creek, Michigan; L'Oreal as snack food giants instead of Hostess and Kelloggs. The "sound-pacs" are obviously supposed to be Walkman radios (Capt Jimmy used the time machine to go steal the idea from the future, and then make millions manufacturing them in the mid-1960s). Capt Jimmy also founds the Church of the Electronic Trinity, which turned up morphing into an earlier version of the Church of Scientology (with Capt Jimmy being a kind of alternative L. Ron Hubbard). But the most thought-provoking section of the book is when Synandra and Basil are using the machine and it pops them into the mirror scene of Citizen Kane, and the Orson Wells character "sees" than, although they have fully matrialized yet, and reaches in and adjusts one of the knobs on the machine and they pop into his reality. And they're in a real place, not a scene of a movie. I think one of Hampel's best ideas in the book is hinted at here. That there is more to the concept of reality than we currently think. And the humor is just fantastic! I just can't say enough.

I had a great time reading this book. It takes you from the heartland of Wisconsin to places (literally) out of this world. The plot, a sort of ecological love story, is pretty complex, but Hampel is a skillful writer and I never got lost, not once. The part about the Green Bay Packer-backer is priceless. I found myself laughing out loud several times. Highly recommended.

I loved this book! A friend got Wherever You Go, There You Are, in a bookstore in northern Wisconsin, and recommended it to me. I got a copy and wasn't able to put it down for the whole weekend until I finished it. What I liked best was Mystery Rock Hill and the Synandra Wasson character, who has the most amazing relationship with our planet earth. She's guided by an old Indian medicine man who also has amazing magical powers. Synandra's a truly magical person in a magical world, and is now one of my favorite literary characters. The book also has a strong, but upbeat ecological message that I liked. I hope Hampel will write another book about her and Mystery Rock Hill.