The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens [Hardcover]

John Rechy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2003

From the author of the classic City of Night comes a captivating, wickedly entertaining novel in which an irrepressible young hero is set loose in the religious-fundamentalist world of Texas, the gambling palaces of Las Vegas, and the enticing mythos of Los Angeles

The internationally renowned novelist recently described by Gore Vidal as "one of the few original writers of the last century" re-creates himself yet again with a witty bildungsroman that pays homage to the classic eighteenth-century picaresque. Loosely inspired by Fielding’s Tom Jones, it sends the charming, handsome Lyle Clemens on an adventure from fundamentalist Texas to the contemporary wilderness of Los Angeles.

Raised in Texas, the son of a Miss America aspirant and an unknown father, Lyle Clemens approaches adulthood and notices that everyone wants him to be something he’s not. His beautiful mother wants to make him into the cowboy who abandoned her; a group of avaricious fundamentalists plot to convert him into "the Lord’s Cowboy"; and the lovely Maria wants him to fulfill her varying fantasies of "true love." When Lyle leaves home to make his own destiny, he encounters a gallery of charlatans and wistful souls, quirky gamblers, dreamy showgirls, wily pornographers, and fake magicians; and is seduced into an aging starlet’s mad comeback scheme during a rambunctious Academy Awards ceremony. Through it all, Lyle becomes himself. The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens is a hilarious, bittersweet, and wise book that establishes once again John Rechy’s great storytelling gifts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ambitious and very funny novel tells the coming-of-age story of Lyle Clemens, "the child who would grow up to become the Mystery Cowboy who appeared naked along Hollywood Boulevard." It's a tall tale, a simultaneously sweet and vicious satire of contemporary America, with the handsome, empathic and guileless Lyle an innocent in a cruel world serving as vehicle for Rechy's reflections on religion, sexuality, fame and greed. Self-consciously modeled on Henry Fielding's 18th-century classic The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, the book begins with Lyle's birth in Rio Escondido, Tex., to the unwed Sylvia Love, whose dream of becoming Miss America was shattered by her Bible-thumping mother Eulah. The book feels at times like one of Robert Altman's classic films, perhaps Nashville, with its expansive canvas and its mixture of humor and sadness. Moving with fluid grace from Anaheim, Calif., to Las Vegas and Hollywood, the story features a large cast of characters, most of whom use Lyle to further their own ambitions, notably Brother Bud and Sister Sis, a pair of greedy televangelists, and a has-been actress named Tarah Worth. Rechy has great command of this sprawling narrative, and he generally strikes the right balance between satire and real emotion. His humor can be less than subtle an unsavory pair of mismatched pornographers and a crooked banker are named after several standing Supreme Court justices and his explicit, campy sex scenes won't please everyone. Still, this distinctly American novel is ultimately about the search for love and redemption, about the ideal of "amazing grace" from the old song that serves as a touchstone for Lyle. It's a comic tour de force and, at the same time, a truly heartfelt book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

John Rechy is the recipient of two coveted literary honors: PEN-USA West's Lifetime Achievement Award (which he was the first novelist to receive) and the Publishing Triangle's William Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of twelve novels, among them the Los Angeles Times best-seller The Coming of the Night, City of Night, Numbers, Rushes, The Sexual Outlaw (all from Grove Press), as well as The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gómez and Our Lady of Babylon. An NEA recipient, he is also the author of several plays, essays, and short stories. John Rechy lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; 1 edition (October 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802117465
• ISBN-13: 978-0802117465
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,167,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Critics: The Apes of Apes, and the 2 cents of one, May 3, 2004

By 

Amanda Ferguson (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)

I picked this book up when it first hit the book stores, and devoured it in a single reading (something I haven't done since reading Madame Bovary). I've never written a review on Amazon before, but felt somewhat compelled to do so by the New York Times flap, which demonstrated to me that Rechy is a thousand times more honest, self-aware and has a much better sense of humor than all of the hypocritical authors (never mind "professional" critics) who were alluded to, but apparently didn't have the spine to own up to their own creative doings on Amazon. So, in case any one is still reading this: this book is masterful, emotional without being sentimental. Rechy renders situations in a way that are at once heart-breaking and hilarious. The aging Hollywood actress who is able to use her imagination to turn each bit of humiliating news into, if not triumph, then at least hope; the nouvelle-riche porn producer's wife who frets about vulgarity-- the book is comprised of high adventure and wonderful characters. I think that what I liked most about this book is that Rechy never makes fun of or patronizes his characters the way, I think, a lesser writer might. As a result, the characterizations are rich, and I was completely lost in the characters' desires and pipedreams. Buy this book!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LYLE IS VERY ENTERTAINING --- A Must Read, February 18, 2004

By 

M. Grace "NEVER ENOUGH BOOKS" (Pasadena, Ca.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)

After all the hullabaloos in the NY Times over authors writing their own reviews, because of the comments of Rechy, I picked up this book over the weekend and couldn't put it down. Curiosity got the best of me. The book is hilarious. I enjoyed every minute. I recall reading Rechy's excellent but dark CITY OF NIGHT. This is such a contrast. It is humorous yet touching, proving Rechy's strong virtuosity as a topflight novelist. It is story telling at its best - a bewitching wickedly entertaining tome in which an irrepressible young hero is set loose in the "born again" world of Texas, the clubs of Las Vegas, and then on to the seductive allure of crazed filled Los Angeles. Finely written, a very good read, highly recommended and I'm pleased to rediscover this excellent writer.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Riotous fun for some, but a bit of a disappointment for me., November 1, 2003

By 

M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)

I've really enjoyed most of John Rechy's work, particularly Marylin's Daughter The miraculous day of Amalia Gómez, and to a lesser extent, The coming of the night, but The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens, although clever in it's structure, was disappointing. This book just didn't work for me. I can appreciate that many readers will absolutely love the humor and comedy in this, but for me, it unfortunately, just fell flat. Part of the problem is perhaps that Rechy's dialogue just lacked sparkle and sharpness. The narrative works well as a type of "sit-com" situational comedy loosely modeled, of course on Henry Fielding's 18th-century classic The History of Tom Jones. But I just felt that the dialogue between the main characters lacked sharp acid wit, that we should expect from a writer such a Rechy. His writing seemed rushed and hurried, and I wanted him to take more time with his story; maybe relax and really consolidate his characters more securely in their time and place.

Lyle Clemens is indeed an endearing character, and there's an incredible sexual innocence to his character. Born in Texas, to the beautiful, but forsaken Silvia Love, who takes to drink when Lyle's father dumps her, and her hopes of becoming Miss America are crushed by her fundamentalist mother. Lyle is tremendously naïve and blissfully unaware of his good looks, lustiness and sexiness. People fawn around him like flies - there's Maria, the Mexican beauty, and Rose who teaches him about sex and how to seduce a virgin with confidence. Silvia's best friend Clarita - a rather staid stereotype of an older Mexican-American - who helps to raise Lyle and remains loyal to Silvia. There are lots of other minor characters that meet Lyle and help him along on his adventurous journey through life. Sister Matilda, is a gospel singer who befriends Lyle, the aging starlet Tarah Worth, the crooked evangelists Brother Bud and Sister Sis, and a couple of pornographers who have suspiciously well recognizable names. It's nice that Mr. Rechy has incorporated some gay content into his story with the character of Raul, a gay boy who falls in love with Lyle and falls into the "devilish" clutches of the evangelists.

Generally though, I felt that Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens read too much like an afternoon soap opera, rather than a satire of our contemporary age, which is what the story is supposed to symbolize. I'm sure die-hard fans of Rechy will love this - and they generally due judging by some of the other glowing reviews. But if you want the best John Rechy, I would venture into some of his earlier work, particularly City of Night.

Michael