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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
The first Lethem book I read was "Gun With Occasional Music" and I remember reading the back cover and being really interested, only to be kind of let down by the execution. With "The Arrest" something similar has happened.
A community living after all technology has failed is interrupted when a Hollywood mogul arrives in a Nuclear-powered impenetrable drill vehicle
And that's really enough to get me onboard for whatever comes next. I can always appreciate a short stilted speculative novel that doesn't take itself too seriously and I don't think Lethem is really commenting too much on whatever themes pop up here. Still it doesn't have much to say and the plot, much like the drill machine, slowly churns itself to the ending. Yes, points for the premise and points for the little hideaway Lethem builds here.
A community living after all technology has failed is interrupted when a Hollywood mogul arrives in a Nuclear-powered impenetrable drill vehicle
And that's really enough to get me onboard for whatever comes next. I can always appreciate a short stilted speculative novel that doesn't take itself too seriously and I don't think Lethem is really commenting too much on whatever themes pop up here. Still it doesn't have much to say and the plot, much like the drill machine, slowly churns itself to the ending. Yes, points for the premise and points for the little hideaway Lethem builds here.
A strange story, but what I think is too much to call dystopic, after all dystopic is just the background against which a rather classic game is played, if it weren't for the steampunk machine.
I never know what to expect from Lethem and I didn't know it this time either, but I can only say that I was a bit disappointed by the finale, but all the way there I had a lot of fun.
Storia strana, ma che chiamare distopica mi sembra eccessivo, in fondo distopico é solo lo sfondo sul quale si gioca una partita piuttosto classica, se non fosse per la macchina steampunk.
Da Lethem non so mai cosa aspettarmi e non lo sapevo nemmeno stavolta, posso solo dire peró, che il finale mi ha un po' deluso, ma tutta la strada per arrivarci mi ha divertito parecchio.
THANKS EDELWEISS FOR THE PREVIEW!
I never know what to expect from Lethem and I didn't know it this time either, but I can only say that I was a bit disappointed by the finale, but all the way there I had a lot of fun.
Storia strana, ma che chiamare distopica mi sembra eccessivo, in fondo distopico é solo lo sfondo sul quale si gioca una partita piuttosto classica, se non fosse per la macchina steampunk.
Da Lethem non so mai cosa aspettarmi e non lo sapevo nemmeno stavolta, posso solo dire peró, che il finale mi ha un po' deluso, ma tutta la strada per arrivarci mi ha divertito parecchio.
THANKS EDELWEISS FOR THE PREVIEW!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
** I read an advance reader copy of this book that I won through a Goodreads giveaway. **
This book was really neither good nor bad. It just existed. The writing was a bit pretentious and not what I generally like. The main character had no personality or reason for existing. It was rather like reading the diary of some dull survivor of a not-so-serious apocalypse who had no difficulties and ran into very little trouble. This probably makes this a more realistic apocalypse book in many ways but it's not what I was expecting nor what I look for in a story. I'm sure it will appeal to many readers. Just wasn't my cup of tea.
This book was really neither good nor bad. It just existed. The writing was a bit pretentious and not what I generally like. The main character had no personality or reason for existing. It was rather like reading the diary of some dull survivor of a not-so-serious apocalypse who had no difficulties and ran into very little trouble. This probably makes this a more realistic apocalypse book in many ways but it's not what I was expecting nor what I look for in a story. I'm sure it will appeal to many readers. Just wasn't my cup of tea.
Never ever got into it. Surprised that I finished almost quit. Not my shtick.
Brisk writing, keeps you turning the page, but there are few, if any, likable characters. There's little explanation of how the world got to be the way it is with many questions left hanging.
Jonathan Lethem reinvents his oeuvre in nearly every novel. I can't think of many writers who leap so fearlessly from one genre to the next, riffing on formulas while blowing up notions of what can and cannot be done in conventional forms. The Arrest tackles a common trope, but with an intriguing twist. In this post-apocalyptic setting, all technology, from airplanes to guns, has simply ceased to function. The main character, Sandy Duplessis, is a sad sack who just happened to be visiting his organic farmer of a sister on the east coast when the world falls apart. They form a small communal enclave that seems idyllic until Sandy's past inexplicably shows up, and the community is forced to respond. I almost always enjoy Lethem's novels, and this one is something of a return to his more freewheeling genre-busters like Gun, With Occasional Music and Girl in Landscape. Highly recommended.
I didn't actually finish this one - gave up after 150 pages in.
