Leaving Pico (1999) by Frank X. Gaspar

1001 Novels: A Library of America

Leaving Pico (1999)

by Frank X. Gaspar

Provincetown, Massachusetts 

Massachusetts: 28/30

     Provincetown is on the tip of Cape Cod- I've been there several times with my partner, who is a huge fan.  There are several different elements to the Provincetown mix, chief among them the gay population/summer scene, a Massachussets family destination and a local Portuguese fishing community that has been there for centuries at this point.   It's hard to miss the Portuguese family vibe, they have churches and a large part in the public culture of the town.  I was still a little surprised to find that Provincetown is represented in the 1001 Novels: A Library of America by Frank X. Gaspar and Leaving Pico- a small press title about a boy growing up with a single mom in said Portuguese community.  Leaving Pico wasn't any kind of a hit- it barely even has an Amazon product page which...is tough to do. 

  I did enjoy the intimate depiction of the waterside community that is always submerged in the summer when I visit- I recognized the depiction of the family home from walking around Provincetown, and knew almost all the places they visited during the course of the book.  It's not surprising that this is one of the first and only books in the 1001 Novels project where the narrator does not leave the town where the action takes place.  He takes a couple of trips in his Grandfather's crude sailing ship but other than that it is Provincetown all the way.  

  One of the central plot points involves his mom "running off" to Florida with her paramour, and when she gets back she makes it clear that she doesn't want to see someplace, anyplace, other than Provincetown where she has spent her entire life.