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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
As Simon says, an emotional multigenerational family novel hiding in a tome about American communism. Wonderful characters and packed-to-the-hilt prose, but why such cruel fates for everyone? And until the end, so little examination of WHY this particular dogma is the dogma of choice. Why leftism? Why communism?
I've read and quite enjoyed a number of Lethem books. This one, a series of related stories about a family of radicals living in Queens in the mid-20th century, didn't really grab me. The writing was interesting, but over-wrought. There's not really a plot, which is sometimes fine in a novel, but only if the characters or other aspects of the book are very engaging. I read about half of Dissident Gardens, then felt that although I enjoyed some of the pieces, I wasn't enjoying it enough to want to keep reading, and that there were many other things I'd rather read right now.
I have mixed feelings about lethem writing about queens. It's the same feeling as when the ny times real estate section writes about queens. On the one hand I'm proud and like reading descriptions of the seven train. On the other hand, stay the hell in Brooklyn.
I found Dissident Gardens to be uneven in its ability to draw me into the characters and plot. It read more like linked short stories that make up a novel, but don’t quite succeed in painting a complete picture. At times I was fascinated, but at other times I realized I was just turning the pages to get through a section. I was interested in the politics of the novel, but never felt a real passion for the beliefs of the characters coming through. Lethem’s writing is good, but the storytelling lacks emotion somehow. I think the non linear arrangement of the stories also made it difficult for me to follow the characters and the story arc in this book. I don’t always dislike that kind of structure, but it didn’t work well for me in Dissident Gardens. I still enjoyed the book, but I would recommend it only to those who have an interest in the time period and subject matter.
i started out loving this book- enough that I bought it rather than sticking with my usual library copy- and then bought another copy as a as present... and then... I got weighted down by it. i think I would have liked it more if I had just read it through quickly; I was always leaving it at home since it was too heavy to carry on the subway. and I think I expected to love it because I have love every (2?) lethem book I've ever read... but not a favorite after all... the writing is really good but... overwrought at times?
I like clever writing. even when I feel like the author mostly just wanted to fit a clever sentence/thought into the story somewhere (vs the story dictating the sentences) - but sometimes a bit much still and I had mixed feelings: "His students regarded the [Occupy] movement, to his knowledge, with the agnosticism they'd feel toward a social media website from which no peer had yet sent them an invite." I loved that the book involved hostels/family/multiple generations/a city I know (sort of-- I don't know queens at all) - but it seemed like it was setting out to be an "ambitious" novel and it just wasn't for me. made me ready to pick up a domestic novel by a woman. other quote- this one I like, mostly. (lots of "shit" in book and shit involved in metaphors) - "his incompetent gallantry, a delicate bloom in a shit field."
oh, and metaphors specially-- they just got too ridiculous. like a parody of the overuse of metaphors (I love BR Myers' always negative, angry, self-righteous and probably unfair reviews and wonder what he would editorialize about this quote-- there are many other similar ones) - "A prewar boner, embodying knowledge of a time when neither Europe nor Communism nor the women before him had been ruined territories." (to clarify, he (the character) is talking about an actual boner, his own -then the character/narrator go on to say that it embodies something historical...? women as ruined territories? just awful.)
still a pretty good novel... I'm picking out the negative. I was just disappointed because I loved Fortress of Solitude and As She Climbed Across the Table so much that I thought I would love this.
I like clever writing. even when I feel like the author mostly just wanted to fit a clever sentence/thought into the story somewhere (vs the story dictating the sentences) - but sometimes a bit much still and I had mixed feelings: "His students regarded the [Occupy] movement, to his knowledge, with the agnosticism they'd feel toward a social media website from which no peer had yet sent them an invite." I loved that the book involved hostels/family/multiple generations/a city I know (sort of-- I don't know queens at all) - but it seemed like it was setting out to be an "ambitious" novel and it just wasn't for me. made me ready to pick up a domestic novel by a woman. other quote- this one I like, mostly. (lots of "shit" in book and shit involved in metaphors) - "his incompetent gallantry, a delicate bloom in a shit field."
oh, and metaphors specially-- they just got too ridiculous. like a parody of the overuse of metaphors (I love BR Myers' always negative, angry, self-righteous and probably unfair reviews and wonder what he would editorialize about this quote-- there are many other similar ones) - "A prewar boner, embodying knowledge of a time when neither Europe nor Communism nor the women before him had been ruined territories." (to clarify, he (the character) is talking about an actual boner, his own -then the character/narrator go on to say that it embodies something historical...? women as ruined territories? just awful.)
still a pretty good novel... I'm picking out the negative. I was just disappointed because I loved Fortress of Solitude and As She Climbed Across the Table so much that I thought I would love this.
My ranking system is 3 stars = worth a read; 4 stars = I would/will read it again; and 5 stars = a classic to be read by future generations.
I would have given this 3.5 stars, but you can't give half stars, so hence I decieded four was more appropriate than three. I will probably not read it again, but I am definitely planning on reading some of Lethem's other works. I won't bore you with a synopsis since you can get that from any of a number of websites, but let me tell you what I like about:
First, I really felt like I was alive with one of the main characters, Miriam, for the entire book. It was really interesting and Lethem did a stellar job with his writing where I could "watch" her grow, develop, and change throughout her years. There are numerous times throughout the book where Lethem references something from earlier on and it reminded me of how much I've learned about the characters and at the same time, how much I enjoyed reading it. Some of the writing/story got a little tedious, but outweighing that were the pages when I couldn't put it down.
A caveat: it took me about 50-100 pages before I quit wondering if I should put it down and pickup something else. At times, Lethem has an interesting way of writing that can be buffudling. There were times I didn't understand what he was getting at until I got half way down the page, but then re-reading it, it made perfect sense. There is a certain art with his reading - and one that I warmed up to and came to really enjoy.
This is definitely worth a read!!! Enjoy.
I would have given this 3.5 stars, but you can't give half stars, so hence I decieded four was more appropriate than three. I will probably not read it again, but I am definitely planning on reading some of Lethem's other works. I won't bore you with a synopsis since you can get that from any of a number of websites, but let me tell you what I like about:
First, I really felt like I was alive with one of the main characters, Miriam, for the entire book. It was really interesting and Lethem did a stellar job with his writing where I could "watch" her grow, develop, and change throughout her years. There are numerous times throughout the book where Lethem references something from earlier on and it reminded me of how much I've learned about the characters and at the same time, how much I enjoyed reading it. Some of the writing/story got a little tedious, but outweighing that were the pages when I couldn't put it down.
A caveat: it took me about 50-100 pages before I quit wondering if I should put it down and pickup something else. At times, Lethem has an interesting way of writing that can be buffudling. There were times I didn't understand what he was getting at until I got half way down the page, but then re-reading it, it made perfect sense. There is a certain art with his reading - and one that I warmed up to and came to really enjoy.
This is definitely worth a read!!! Enjoy.
There's good news and bad news about Lethem's new novel. First the good: If you're a diehard, and I do mean DIEHARD, Lethem fan, you'll probably love Dissident Gardens. The bad news: If you're not, you probably won't.
Dissident Gardens is, in a word, dense. It's the story of Rose Zimmer, a Communist living in Sunnyside, Queens, in the mid-1950s. And it's the story of various other characters — Rose's daugher, Miriam, Rose's lover's son, Cicero, Rose's gross cousin, Lenny, and Rose's grandson, Sergius. The novel's told in 20- to 30-page episodic increments, each slowly (and slog-tastically) building the story of each character — showing how interactions with each other in their formative years affects the way these characters interact with each other in the future.
It's also a novel is about ideology — specifically how rigid ideology (Rose's communism, etc.), ideology that doesn't consider actual human people and the ideologist's relationship to them, can easily alienate the people closest. What happens, the novel asks, when firmly held beliefs fail to bear out in the real world?
A few of these mini-stories are really entertaining — one of the first chapters is teenage Miriam coming home with a boy, determined to lose her virginity, but Rose interrupts, and they fight. And this singular fight affects their life-long relationship. Another shows Sergius in modern times, meeting a girl at an Occupy at a small college town.
But for the most part, these episodes (Lenny trying to talk William Shea, the new owner of the Mets, into using a folk song as the new team's theme) were either just weird, or felt like the writing a novelist must do to learn more about his characters before actually writing the novel and setting them into the story. So, unless you're a Lethem Diehard, I'd think about skipping this one.
Dissident Gardens is, in a word, dense. It's the story of Rose Zimmer, a Communist living in Sunnyside, Queens, in the mid-1950s. And it's the story of various other characters — Rose's daugher, Miriam, Rose's lover's son, Cicero, Rose's gross cousin, Lenny, and Rose's grandson, Sergius. The novel's told in 20- to 30-page episodic increments, each slowly (and slog-tastically) building the story of each character — showing how interactions with each other in their formative years affects the way these characters interact with each other in the future.
It's also a novel is about ideology — specifically how rigid ideology (Rose's communism, etc.), ideology that doesn't consider actual human people and the ideologist's relationship to them, can easily alienate the people closest. What happens, the novel asks, when firmly held beliefs fail to bear out in the real world?
A few of these mini-stories are really entertaining — one of the first chapters is teenage Miriam coming home with a boy, determined to lose her virginity, but Rose interrupts, and they fight. And this singular fight affects their life-long relationship. Another shows Sergius in modern times, meeting a girl at an Occupy at a small college town.
But for the most part, these episodes (Lenny trying to talk William Shea, the new owner of the Mets, into using a folk song as the new team's theme) were either just weird, or felt like the writing a novelist must do to learn more about his characters before actually writing the novel and setting them into the story. So, unless you're a Lethem Diehard, I'd think about skipping this one.
The nature of the ending of this book suggested that the writer simply could not bear to write one more word and stopped. An experience not dissimilar from that of the reader. Uggh. Despite flashes of brilliant and funny writing, this book is not well done. Another entry on the DNR list.
I don't know what to think about this book. More later when I've had time to digest.