Whew, Nutty, glad it's not just me..."Fortress of Solitude" knocked me out so I read a bunch of his other things, and the shorts are, in some cases, well-phrased exercises in WTF? But I'm not Sci-Fi Gal so I thought I was, you know, "showing myself" Still bitter that I didn't think of a band called the "Subtle Distinctions" first because I think that is the Best Thing Ever.
Easy Bake. Flop-a-palooza. Woosh. Pop. I don't skulk.
Angel ,'Shells'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
erikaj - Dec 29, 2005 9:56:19 am PST #9709 of 10002
Always Anti-fascist!
Jesse - Dec 29, 2005 10:05:08 am PST #9710 of 10002
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
I've liked a couple of Eggers's short stories -- "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly,"
I thought that was really good, but I can't say I liked it.
the shorts are, in some cases, well-phrased exercises in WTF?
Dude, Eggers SO MUCH MORE. SO much.
Strega - Dec 29, 2005 10:41:25 am PST #9711 of 10002
I've never found Lethem terribly self-conscious. Maybe there's more of that sort of thing in his short stories? I haven't read those in a while. If you like his stories I'd think you'd enjoy his novels -- they're definitely a little odd, but they don't come with big banners attached that say "Look! This is daring and experimental! LOOK! Not that I care if you do."
Dude, Eggers SO MUCH MORE. SO much.
I'm with you. I find it difficult to make sense of the phrase "as self-conscious as Eggers" except as a whimsical way to say "something that self-evidently cannot exist in our reality."
Jesse - Dec 29, 2005 10:43:52 am PST #9712 of 10002
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
I've read a couple of Lethem's novels, and definitely liked the more real-world ones much much better than the more fantastic stuff. But I'm seriously almost as low-brow as a person can get and not get all of her books at the drug store. Some of the short stories in this collection (Men and Cartoons) feel like mostly playing with an idea, but in a way that I can enjoy.
Strega - Dec 29, 2005 10:53:00 am PST #9713 of 10002
Girl in Landscape is a western in space, if you're into that sort of thing.
In a "Little House on Altair" way.
Nutty - Dec 29, 2005 10:55:11 am PST #9714 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
The weird part is trying to compare Eggers with Lethem at all -- in so many ways, they are nothing alike. And then you realize that they are grouped together, in a lot of people's minds, as are ten other names that show up in McSweeney's and the Georgia Review and Zoetrope. Really, though, I think they all have their own tangents, and are compared so often because they're both youngish writers who have cracked the New Yorker set.
Which is like comparing people because they stand on the same commuter platform in the morning, waiting for a train. I guess it's a function of how small the short-fiction world is, in part; if five people are all dabbling in the same vague areas, they must be a Movement.
Jesse - Dec 29, 2005 10:56:32 am PST #9715 of 10002
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Really, though, I think they all have their own tangents, and are compared so often because they're both youngish writers who have cracked the New Yorker set.
Well, and for me because I was given books by both of them on the same day. Edit: And I don't tend to read short stories, so I'm especially noticing them.
erikaj - Dec 29, 2005 10:59:01 am PST #9716 of 10002
Always Anti-fascist!
I found 'Cartoons" a little masturbatory.(not in porniness, but, you know) Yeah...Eggers is funny, but the bitch is he knows it, too. Better than me. And if I forget, he'll remind me with a cute footnote.
- I'm a hoot and a half. Love, your friend, Dave.
victor infante - Jan 03, 2006 4:32:51 am PST #9717 of 10002
To understand what happened at the diner, we shall use Mr. Papaya! This is upsetting because he's the friendliest of fruits.
My newest column is up at GotPoetry.com: Your Mediocre Political Poem Is Hurting America. Usual Victor grumpiness.
erikaj - Jan 03, 2006 4:44:48 am PST #9718 of 10002
Always Anti-fascist!
No, actually, I thought it was much grumpier than usual. In another few years, you're headed for curmudgeon, babe. Then you'll wear shorts with long black socks and be a "Whatever happened to..." for some of us devoted followers.