Synopses & Reviews
Conrad Metcalf has problems. He has a monkey on his back, a rabbit in his waiting room, and a trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. (Maybe evolution therapy is not such a good idea.)
He's been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an affluent Oakland urologist. Maybe falling in love with her a little at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, Metcalf finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the inquisitor's Office and the gangsters in the back room of the Fickle Muse.
Jonathan Lethem's first novel is a science fiction mystery. It's funny. It's not so funny.
Jonathan Lethem was born in New York in 1964. His novel Motherless Brooklyn won the National Book Critic's Circle Award for Fiction. His other books include As She Climbed Across the Table, Amnesia Moon, and Girl in Landscape.
Conrad Metcalf has been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an affluent Oakland urologist--and also maybe falling in love with her a little. When the doctor turns up dead, Metcalf finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the Inquisitor's Office and the gangsters in the back room of the Fickle Muse. A sci-fi mystery with humor and ideas and suspense galore, Lethem's audaciously assured first novel . . . marries Raymond Chandler's style and Philip K. Dick's vision (Newsweek).
Call it tech noir if you must . . . But] this is not an Orwellian future. Lethem allows the reader to inhale another blend of dystopia, a page from a book of Huxley's.--Science Fiction Age
Marvelous . . . A stylish, intelligent, darkly humorous, and highly readable entertainment.--San Francisco Examiner
Sharp, funny, visionary.--Jill Eisenstadt, author of Far Rockaway
Among its smartly delivered first-person narrative and crackling dialogue, even the] tough-talking kangaroo that intermittently tangles with Metcalf seems plausible. An outstanding debut.--Booklist
Review
"Spare prose and tight plotting create a taut sf thriller that should appeal to both sf and mystery fans." Library Journal
Review
"Wild, postmodern, and funny... the acclaimed debut of a major new voice... a dazzling debut" Newsweek
Synopsis
Conrad Metcalf has problems. He has a monkey on his back, a rabbit in his waiting room, and a trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. (Maybe evolution therapy is not such a good idea.)
He's been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an affluent Oakland urologist. Maybe falling in love with her a little at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, Metcalf finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the inquisitor's Office and the gangsters in the back room of the Fickle Muse.
Jonathan Lethem's first novel is a science fiction mystery. It's funny. It's not so funny.
About the Author
Jonathan Lethem was born in New York in 1964. His novel
Motherless Brooklyn won the National Book Critic's Circle Award for Fiction. His books include
Girl in Landscape,
As She Climbed Across the Table,
Amnesia Moon and
Gun, With Occational Music.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Jonathan Lethem