Where It All Goes Down
Southeastern United States, Cameron's Hospital Room
The Scenes in Cameron's Head
Cam and his family live somewhere in the vast state of Texas, and if we had to guess, it's probably the eastern part because the kid is bored. (Have you been to eastern Texas? If you have, we're sorry.) His epic quest to save the universe takes him and Gonzo to New Orleans (fun) via bus (yuck), then through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and into Florida as they drive their valiant Caddy steed, Rocinante.
Unlike some books where the location is almost a character on it's own, the setting of Going Bovine is largely background scenery, though it does help set the tone. For example, Cam and Gonzo have to go to New Orleans to meet Eubie's favorite musician—it's not like jazz legend Junior Webster could live anywhere else, right? And it allows characters like Miss Demeanor, who would be out of place pretty much anywhere other than Mardi Gras, to be right at home.
From there the author gives us a slightly batty, rural scene in which our tale can go down. The "rural" part is key, because it allows our main gang of guys to encounter the types of people that tend to flourish where the weather is hot and balmy and gun laws are viewed with leniency.
Perhaps most importantly, though, these adventures across the Southeastern U.S. exist entirely in Cam's head once he lands in the hospital. So much as they're real places, Cam's time in them is primarily fantasy.
The Grim Reality
Speaking of fantasy, the other place where things go down is the very real (and very bleak) sterile hospital room where Cameron lays dying. We only get glimpses of his room—the angel painting at the foot of his bed, his mom asleep in the chronically uncomfortable visitor's chair, the pockmarked squares of institutional ceilings—but it sets up a really depressing counterpoint to the wacky and vivid things that are happening in Cam's mad cow-riddled brain.