Fans of absurdist fiction will find much to admire in "Going to See The Elephant." Aspiring writer Slater Brown comes to San Francisco with a large number of books he's never read, and aspirations of becoming famous. Shortly after spending his last 50 cents, he is hired as a reporter for the Morning Trumpet, a newspaper that is doing so poorly that it is published thrice a week on paper so thin that you can see through it. Unfortunately for Brown, he has no contacts from whom he can obtain stories.Then Brown is given a small pocket radio, through which he is able to hear conversations via overhead Muni wires (the San Francisco electric bus system) and his career as a reporter takes off as he uncovers numerous political scandals. Throughout the tale, he falls in love, earns the enmity of the mayor, and runs afoul of a mad scientist.Quite an entertaining read, and a solid debut effort.(Review based on Advance Reader Copy.)
