David Duchovny Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Graphic Novels

David Duchovny is an American fantasy and literary fiction author. He was born in New York City, graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature, and later from Yale University with an ABD in English literature. He quit his Ph.D. studies to pursue his interest in playwriting which led him into the acting industry and later became one of the most famous actors in Hollywood.

He is famously known for his role in Californication, a 2007 drama series aired on ShowTime Original. Duchovny also played Fox Mulder in The X-Files TV series aired on Fox from 1993-2018. He is the only actor to have won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in TV series in both the Drama and Comedy categories. Duchovny has four books under his name, with his 2015 debut novel, Holy Cow, becoming a New York Times Bestseller book. Besides book writing, Duchovny has completed three studio albums in 2015, 2018, and 2021.

In his debut novel, Duchovny presents us with an intriguing and thought-provoking story with a unique main character, Elsie Bovary, and a cast of engaging supporting characters. Duchovny first wrote his debut novel as a screenplay for an animated film. In an interview published on the Guardian website, the author explains that he converted the script into a book after producers rejected it because it talked about a Jewish pig in Israel.

The main character Elsie is a cow living on a farm in upstate New York. Even though her days on the farm being somehow repetitive (every day, she gets milked, spends time in the field, and then milked again and spends her night in a barn), she feels that even the rainy days are also sunny in their way.
Elsie and her friend Mallory take an interest in the young bulls grazing on the farm, and one day they sneak through the unlatched gate to meet the bulls. She is happy but at the same time scared, and so she excuses herself by faking that she is going to find something to break the locks on the bull’s pen. Elsie goes around and slowly sneaks back to the farmhouse. Through the window, she can see the farm family gathered together in a room, bored but staring at a glowing talking box.
She is about to turn away when she discovers something else, “something that rocks her world off its axis.” Elsie sees chickens crammed into cages, pigs in pens, and then she sees cows. A full-scale cow murder that’s so fast and efficient. She sees cow carcasses skinned and chopped up; upon this discovery, Elsie passes out.

Upon returning to the barn later, she finds Mallory still high from socializing with the bulls, but Elsie does not have the strength to tell her best friend what she just witnessed. What she just witnessed is what she often refers to in the book as “The Event” that transforms her view of life. She often visualizes the gory images in her hade, making her feel “dead inside.” She had been hiding her anger after her mother disappeared one day without saying her goodbyes, but now she clearly understands what happened to her. It was never her mother’s fault. The humans are to blame.

As time goes on, Elsie often sneaks out and wanders around. The more she thinks about “The Event,” the more depression sinks in, and her anger towards humans builds. She remembers her conversation with her mother before she vanished and then starts to imagine new ones. In her new conversations, her mother gives her some advice: “Don’t hate because hate is a poison meant for the enemy that you end up swallowing yourself.” She also advises her to give the glowing box a second chance with the hope that there is more to be learned.

One night when Elsie is watching the glowing box, she learns about India, a country where cows are considered sacred and are not slaughtered. Elsie wonders that this place must be a paradise; hence, she must find a way to get to this paradise. She draws up a plan and decides when spring arrives, she will walk to the airport and board a flight to India. Through anima rumors, Jerry, a pig, discovers Elsie’s secret trip and plans to go with her. Jerry would like to visit Israel- they hate pigs there, but he would be lucky because they don’t eat pigs. He also adopts a new name for himself, “Shalom.”

Another night a turkey by the name of Tom Turkey pays a visit. He is very skinny and does this on purpose because he thinks no one would want to eat a thin turkey. He has conducted some studies of his own and found out that his destiny leads him to Turkey. He owns a cellphone he operates with his beak, and it comes in handy in their mission.

They carry out some planning, get air tickets and then practice walking on two legs, and before they know it, the night of the departure arrives, and the three animals simply walk away. The next day, they arrive in the city, steal some clothes for a disguise (hats, raincoats, and sunglasses) and feed from the leftovers in the dumpsters. Wondering in the city, they encounter evil rats, a drug-sniffing dog who has lost his sense of smell.

They board their flights, and Tom is happy that his finally “flying” and spends most of his time in the cockpit. Landing in turkey, they steal a smaller airplane and head to Israel, where they meet Joe Camel. Eventually, they land in India, and they are welcomed and treated with respect everywhere they go. Finally, they meet a group of sacred cows but soon, what Elsie discovers is not quite what she expected.

Holy Cow is simply an analogy/ metaphor for adults. David Duchovny uses this story to address some serious issues in society. Still, the buoyant and constant humor saves the story from being a vanity project, and in the end, it becomes uplifting and quite moving.