Having stormed mainstream literature from the outskirts, Lethem has won a readership both wide and deep, all of whom appreciate his literary excellence, his mordant but compassionate humor, and the cultish attentiveness of his SF origins. He has earned the right to tread anywhere, and his many admirers are ready to follow.
This collection compiles his intensely personal thoughts on the most interesting and deplorable topics in post-postmodern America. It moves from original new fiction to insights on popular culture, cult and canonical authors, and problematic people.
Plus
David Bowman and the Furry-Girl School of American Fiction is a personal true adventure, as Lethem tries (with the help of a seeming expert) to elbow his way into literary respectability. The Collapsing Frontier and In Mugwump Four are fictions mapping ominous new realms. Calvino's 'Lightness' and the Feral Child of History is an intimate encounter with a legendary author. In My Year of Reading Lemmishly and Snowden in the Labyrinth he explores courage, art, and the search for truth, with wildly different results.
And Featuring: Our usual Outspoken Interview, in which Lethem reveals the secret subtext of his books, how he spent his MacArthur award money, and how a Toyota he owned was used in the robbery of a fast-food restaurant.
