Now that you’ve seen the movie The Spectacular Now, you want to know how the book by Tim Tharp ends.
Here is the last page:
I open my arms wide and let the wind flow over me. I love the universe and the universe loves me. That’s the one-two punch right there, wanting to love and wanting to be loved. Everything else is pure idiocy—shiny fancy outfits, Geech-green Cadillacs, sixty-dollar haircuts, schlock radio, celebrity-rehab idiots, and most of all, the atomic vampires with their de-soul-inators, and flag-draped coffins.
Goodbye to all that, I say. And goodbye to Mr. Asterhole and the Red Death of algebra and to the likes of Geech and Keeeevin. Goodbye to Mom’s rented tan and my sister’s chargecard boobs. Goodbye to Dad for the second and last time. Goodbye to black spells and jagged hangovers, divorces, and Fort Worth nightmares. To high school and Bob Lewis and once-upon-a-time Ricky. Goodbye to the future and the past and, most of all, to Aimee and Cassidy and all the other girls who came and went and came and went.
Goodbye. Goodbye. I can’t feel you anymore. The night is almost too beautifully pure for my soul to contain. I walk with my arms spread open under the big fat moon. Heroic “weeds rise up from the cracks in the sidewalk, and the colored lights of the Hawaiian Breeze ignite the broken glass in the gutter. Goodbye, I say, goodbye, as I disappear little by little into the middle of the middle of my own spectacular now.
I highly recommend the book if you liked the movie. While the movie gives some hope that Sutter and Amy will end up together, the book leaves no doubt that they have no future together. What do you think? Leave a comment!
By Brian Roizen
I can’t believe that I am seeing this film for the first time, In fact 30 days ago I didn.t know who Miles Teller and Shailen Woodley are. Being a victim of the quarantine I’ve watched way more TV than normal and The Spectacular Now is a movie that came up on a cable channel. Didn’t pay much attention at first but as the film went on I found myself watching intently. I am surprised at how much I liked it. I felt every actress/actor was perfect tor their role. I think Sutter’s Dad when he answers the door in a completely disheveled state was excellent. Also, enjoyed the dinner party scene specifically when Aimee asks Kutter’s Brother in Law if he thinks that dreams are important. Instead of verbally answering her question he nods his head and smiles. Was beautifully done. I think Aimee was caught off guard by Sutter’s arrival she was not sure how to react but deep down she is shocked that he would make that much of an effort to be with her and ultimately stay together.