Synopses & Reviews
At McDonalds, when Im throwing out the stuff on my tray, theres a point where I get scared that my wallet could have been on there, too. I always think, as everything is tumbling into the garbage, that I might have tossed my wallet on the tray and forgotten. It always feels possible.
So begins Jonathan Goldsteins first novel, Lenny Bruce is Dead. Its the story of Joshua, a young man whos uncertain about a lot more than the possible loss of his wallet. He might as well be talking about his whole life. Josh is having a hard time finding his way in the world; deciding on a career and keeping a girlfriend are too much to handle, not to mention the fact that after the death of his mother he has moved back into his childhood suburban home to be with his father, Chick. Oh, and then theres the arrival of the Moschiach (inventor of the infamous Love Lotion) to further complicate things.
Lenny Bruce Is Dead walks a tightrope between being searingly funny and poignant youll laugh, youll cry, youll long for Love Lotion (and a Moschiach of your own). And you wont forget Josh ineptitude, scatological neuroses, urban angst, self-deprecating humour and all.
Review
"Josh, the confused, creative, obsessive ladies' man at the center of Lenny Bruce is Dead, is a neurotic antihero as funny and compelling as the ones Mordecai Richler and Philip Roth used to dream up, but funnier and more compelling. With dazzling sentences and deadpan humour, Jonathan Goldstein guides us throught the odd moments and keen observations that make up Josh's gonowhere life: old men at the Burger Zoo demand hardboiled eggs for breakfast and beautiful girls bike through the earlymorning streets of Montreal in their pyjamas, a toothbrush clenched between their teeth. With Lenny Bruce, Goldstein puts the tour back in tour de force." Paul Tough, editor of Open Letters
Review
"This is an assured, completely original debut from a writer to be reckoned with..." Kevin Connolly, eye
Review
"One wishes Lenny Bruce is Dead a long life." Kevin Chong, The National Post
Synopsis
This startlingly original debut from
This American Life contributor Jonathan Goldstein is, according to a
Vice Magazine reviewer, the cleanest dirty book I've ever read. It's a snapshot of the mind of Josh, a rather confused young man who must cope with his father's listlessness and his own overwhelming lust, not to mention the arrival of the Moschiach, inventor of the infamous Love Lotion.
Lenny Bruce Is Dead walks a tightrope between the searingly funny and the poignant. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll long for some Love Lotion of your own. And you won't forget Josh-ineptitude, scatological neuroses, urban angst, self-deprecating humor and all.
About the Author
Jonathan Goldstein is a native of Montreal. He is currently living in Chicago where he is a producer at public radio's This American Life.