tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post4373521125850858849..comments2024-02-28T05:20:51.002-05:00Comments on Kermit's Log: j. leth. and lackkermitthefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742856153167362749noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post-80142604521637503262008-04-14T12:54:00.000-04:002008-04-14T12:54:00.000-04:00As soon as I get the damn exams done, yes, let's! ...As soon as I get the damn exams done, yes, let's! Maybe I'll discover what my problem is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post-51150977340305212162008-04-12T21:24:00.000-04:002008-04-12T21:24:00.000-04:00Oooh, I can go on at length about 95% of contempor...Oooh, I can go on at length about 95% of contemporary adult fiction! Let's do it!<BR/><BR/>And yes, Fortress of Solitude seems dangerously close to that territory. But the earlier books don't try to be Important, so perhaps we are collectively sketching a nice little J. Leth. trajectory here?kermitthefroghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15742856153167362749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post-25434626421400916202008-04-12T13:33:00.000-04:002008-04-12T13:33:00.000-04:00I *have* read J. Franz, and Oh, The Hatred I Have ...I *have* read J. Franz, and Oh, The Hatred I Have For That Novel.<BR/><BR/>This is intriguing, though I can't tell whether I want to read more Lethem or not. I have read Motherless Brooklyn, and half loved it, and half hated how it seemed to me to try to become an Important Novel in the latter half of the book (this is purely subjective judgment on my part).<BR/><BR/>My uncertainty has kept me away from Fortress of Solitude, too -- despite my having heard J. Leth reading from it. I can't put my finger on why, though. Maybe it's the white male narcissism factor? (though I haven't read White Noise, either, so don't know exactly what you mean).<BR/><BR/>Then again, I am tremendously resistant to about 95% of contemporary adult fiction, and I can't put my finger on why.<BR/><BR/>But this is clearly something that I need to post about myself, instead of nattering on about it on your blog. Thank you for reminding me that this is something that I need to keep thinking about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post-45674879317538527682008-04-11T19:12:00.000-04:002008-04-11T19:12:00.000-04:00I'd definitely recommend both Gun and Girl In Land...I'd definitely recommend both <I>Gun</I> and <I>Girl In Landscape</I>--especially the latter, which I guess chronologically comes after <I>As She Climbed</I>, but <I>Gun</I> is just a lot of fun, in a bleak noir-ish way. <I>Girl</I> is pretty fantastic -- it does the coming-of-age (motherless, btw) thing in the context of a Mars Western. I've also read his short story collection, which was my least favorite, but mainly because they're more horror stories and I just don't like the genre as much. <BR/><BR/>Definitely looking forward to MB.kermitthefroghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15742856153167362749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20855844.post-15697840042125821852008-04-11T18:33:00.000-04:002008-04-11T18:33:00.000-04:00I gave my friend _Amnesia Moon_ because she loved ...I gave my friend _Amnesia Moon_ because she loved _Gun, With Occasional Music_, and then borrowed it back from her and read it. :)<BR/><BR/>I liked it but found it a rather weak novel. I thought _Motherless Brooklyn_ was amazing and much more well-constructed than AM, which my friend thought was less uneven than Gun (his first, I think). So he's getting better with his efforts and you're probably right to read his best stuff last.<BR/><BR/>I hate that grad school effect of having read someone's best work in undergrad and then going off to study that person in more depth and discovering that the rest of the stuff is kinda meh. It happens so often. <BR/><BR/>That means I've been holding off on the other Lethems I haven't hit yet, since I fear I'll be disappointed after MB. On the other hand, he has one more novel out since then.Sisyphushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09880634753539329199noreply@blogger.com