Vision Quest (novel)

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Vision Quest
Vision Quest (Terry Davis novel) cover.jpg
First edition
Author Terry Davis
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Young Adult
Publisher Delacorte Books
Publication date
1979
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages256 pp
ISBN 978-0-385-73274-1
OCLC 55960931
Followed by If Rock & Roll Were a Machine  

Vision Quest is a young adult novel by Terry Davis, published in 1979. [1] In first-person, present-tense narrative, it tells the story of a few months in the life of Louden Swain, a high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington who is cutting weight and working toward the state championships. The book takes its title from the vision quest ritual of some Native American tribes, of going into the wilderness alone to 'discover who you are and who your people are and how you fit into the circle of birth and growth and death and rebirth.' [2] John Irving called it "the truest novel about growing up since The Catcher in the Rye ." [3]

Contents

Vision Quest was made into a 1985 film of the same title, starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino, with a cameo appearance from Madonna as a night-club singer.

The book has been published in many different editions, including re-releases in May 2002 (with a foreword by Chris Crutcher) and May 2005.

Critical reception

Kirkus Reviews called Vision Quest "a sunny and deft novel for lovers of wrestling, wit, and hang-loose talent." [4]

Awards and nominations

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References

  1. "A high-school sports hero, a mythic encounter, a vision of bleakness and Harlem preachers". The Washington Post.
  2. Davis, Terry. Vision Quest, Delacourte: 2005, ISBN   978-0-385-73274-1. p. 62
  3. Davis, Terry Vision Quest, Delacourte: 2005, ISBN   978-0-385-73274-1. Quoted on front cover.
  4. "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews.