Customer Reviews

The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jonathan Lethem is one of the best authors in the science fiction genre at making things bizarre and psychedelic seem utterly convincing and plausible.

The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye continues in that vein. Each story is set in a carefully crafted world that stretches the mind and defies the imagination. When reading a Lethem story one is almost forced into the position of simply absorbing the language for later digestion as his prose is at the same time lush and full of ideas as well as it is sparse as far as plot devices go.

This is the downfall of the stories in this volume. Of them, only Vanilla Dunk, and the Happy Man have truly conclusive endings, and the latter's ending is obvious right from the start. The rest of the stories simply trail off ambiguously or end rather abrubtly. In either case the stories fail to reach a satisfying conclusion. It feels as if Lethem has these wonderful stories, full of likeable characters and fascinating ideas, but that he doesn't know what to do with the worlds he creates, with his ideas and his characters. They seem to be incomplete.

Overall, however, it is impossible to deny the joy to be had in these stories. In spite of their shortcomings they remain highly well written...tidbits. To call them stories is perhaps stretching the definition of the word a bit since stories generally are brought to reasonable conclusion. But, as tidbits, or story fragments perhaps they serve well to show of Lethem's prowess at characterization and world building.

You never know what to expect from Lethem. Compare the terse, stripped-down language of "Gun, With Occasional Music" with his hyperverbose description in "Fortress of Solitude." The man is a literary chameleon, a ventroliquist of strange new voices.

Of what I've read so far, my favorite two Lethem stories are "Mood Bender" from The Best of Crank! anthology and "The Happy Man" from this one. Like what other reviewers have said, the rest is a mixed bag. Most are interesting, and might show the beginnings of Lethem's literary aspirations, as they are more vignettes than traditional stories ("Light and the Sufferer," about crackheads shadowed by strange mute aliens, is the best of these). Frequently, I found myself impressed by the ideas far more than the stories themselves.

But the collection is definitely worth reading, especially for fans of Philip K. Dick looking for something new in SF. I enjoyed them much more than his more recent novels, where he takes a nose-dive into big-L "Literature," with its endless description and dearth of plot.

There's one way to describe Lethem's writing: inventive. Reminiscent of Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick at their best, Lethem's stories are some of the most creative works of fiction you'll ever read. Unfortunately, "creativity" doesn't always equal "entertaining." While none of the stories in this book will bore you, some of them are kind of pointless. You'll get done reading them, and you'll be like, that's it? There is one story in here that's worth the price of the book alone, though: Vanilla Dunk. If you are a sports fan, buy this book, ignore the other stories, and read this one. It's about a futuristic basketball league in which players can have the skills and playing abilities of all the great players of history. It's one of the best sports stories I've ever read. Outstanding. I could pass on the other stories, though.

With this collection of seven stories (three of which are reprints from Asimov's) Lethem continues to befuddle me. I loved Motherless Brooklyn, Gun With Occasional Music, and a short story in the Best of Crank anthologyÑbut I hated Amnesia Moon and another story in Best of Crank. While all the stories in this collection benefit from brilliant premises and Lethem's dexterous prose only the two best two ("The Happy Man" and "Vanilla Dunk," both from Asimov's) have true "endings." The other five trail off into nothingness or incomprehensible weirdness that make me wonder if Lethem's subconscious is bound by the old writer's adage that no ending is better than a bad ending.

"The Happy Man" features a dead man who is raised from the dead so he can financially support his family, the catch is that his consciousness must reside in hell part of the time. There he has bizarre nightmares that lead to an unfortunately predictable denouement. In "Vanilla Dunk," professional basketball players are issued suits giving them skills of former greats. From this interesting idea, Lethem fabricates one of the best sports stories I've ever read, as an obnoxious white kid wins the "draft lottery" and gets to be the next Michael Jordan and racial tensions ensue. "Light and the Sufferer" follows a crack addict, his brother, and the mysterious alien who follows them around New York. The humans' story ends rather obviously, but the significance of the aliens is left somewhat obscure. "Forever, Said the Duck" is about a cocktail party inhabited by clones of everyone who's had sex with the two hosts. It's promising enough at first, but degenerates into a psychedelic nonsense. The nifty notion of "The Hardened Criminals" is that convicts are physically hardened and used as bricks for a massive prison tower. Lethem seemed totally unable to make anything out of the premise, however, and when a young criminal meets his father in the wall, the result is rather forced. "Five ..." presents the mystery of a woman who has sex with a man and "loses" two weeks of her life. Unfortunately, the story implodes rather than leading anywhere interesting. The final story, "Sleepy People" is simply odd and makes you wonder why it was included.

Lethem is certainly a creative genius, however, he's still pretty hit or miss in harnessing his creativity. Sometimes he doesn't seem to know what to do with it and ends up writing himself into a bizarre corner. Still, I'll continue to read him to catch the sparkling stuff.

I'm sorry, can't understand the hype about Lethem. While I do give him credit for his creativity in crafting imaginary worlds, I think his skill when it comes to using language is underdeveloped. His narrative style is banal and utterly unimaginative. Not everyone with a few novel ideas in his head is necessarily a good writer. Give me William Gibson instead any time.

Perhaps I've had the good fortune of reading no Lethem prior to this collection of short stories. Bereft of comparison, I'm also bereft of prejudice. Although I won't be for long. One of his novels is next on my bookshelf.

I know that since the publication of this collection of short stories in the mid `90s, Lethem's career has managed a steady evolution from more pulpy science and speculative fiction to more "literary credibility" (tongue firmly in cheek) with novels like The Fortress of Solitude and Chronic City. I'm excited to delve into more of his work. Lethem has prominently featured on my "to do" list for quite a while.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection, although it certainly is a mixed bag. As I type, I'm not sure what rating I'll give it; I'm vacillating between three and four stars. Stories range from excellent, to not bad, to far too impenetrable to be satisfying, one or two I simply found boring, and one downright terrible: "Forever, Said the Duck," I'm talking to you.

Of course, I can't say I was irritated or disappointed, knowing this was early work from a writer who would significantly improve.

The collection starts very strong, if disturbingly, with "The Happy Man," a somewhat shocking story about a man trying hard to provide for his family that also works as a fable or parable exploring the emasculating effects of modern society on the average working joe. Needless to say, take the title with a grain of salt.

The lame duck, "Forever, Said the Duck," lies smack dab in the middle of the collection. Perhaps editor/publisher thought no one would notice it there. Strictly dialogue-driven in a terrible way, I can't recommend anyone bother with the silly premise and absurd imagery. I'm guessing it was meant to be humorous, but either there's an in-joke behind this story that left this reader out, or the highbrow comedy far too erudite for me to relate. Regardless, that hour of my life would have been better spent elsewhere.

While most others were merely passable or too cryptic for my taste, I very much enjoyed the sixth story in the collection, "Hardened Criminals," which worked for me as a discussion about the tragic effects of urban violence and decay on family in a most unique and literal fashion.
Overall, Lethem's stories are full of interesting ways to explore familiar ideas, but they also feel unpolished, a bit too crass, unadorned, coarse. While many short story writers embrace cryptic or unresolved story arcs, they also must find a way to connect with the reader. I can certainly delve into the meaning behind "Vanilla Dunk" and "Sleepy People," but if it's not a great story, what does it matter of it's sending a thought provoking message?

Not a masterful collection, but worth checking out if you enjoy Lethem or speculative fiction. Keep expectations in check.

This collection of short stories from Berkeley-by-way-of-Brooklyn writer Jonathan Lethem explores the same sort of absurdist science fiction landscape as his novel "Amnesia Moon." These seven pieces show the depth and breadth of Lethem's creativity as he explores the outer reaches of this genre.

The stories that were previously printed in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine are among the standouts in this collection and speak both to the editor's catholic tastes and Lethem's ability to inhabit vastly different worlds and report back with chilling clarity.

"The Happy Man," the lead off tale of a guy who spends half his time in hell and the other half trying to make up with his increasingly distant wife and troubled teenage son, sets the tone for the volume. In this troubling story, the reappearance of a ne'er-do-well uncle in his Earth-bound life begins to draw the two worlds into closer proximity. Lethem telegraphs his final blow but it is devastating all the same. This story stays with the reader and reveals the barely-disguised malice in our classic fairy tales.

"Vanilla Dunk," is a slightly futuristic story of professional basketball in a time where the sport is in an advanced state of atrophy and has begun to consume itself like a snake eating its own tail. Powered "exosuits" give players the sampled skills of the greatest athletes of all time, turning the game into a live fantasy league.

Lethem uses the post-sport spectacle to probe the issues of race (when a white hotshot draws the much-vaunted skills of Michael Jordan) and fame like a tongue returning to the socket of a broken tooth. This is quite a different story than "The Happy Man" and it's a testament to Lethem's deft touch that one doesn't need an understanding, or fondness for that matter, of basketball to enjoy it.

Not every story in "The Wall of the Eye" is a slam dunk, but the penultimate tale, "The Hardened Criminals," shows what an incredible imagination Lethem possesses. To give away the story's main conceit would be a crime in and of itself, but it ends up being a chilling indictment of the prison industry and the way that it is set up to strip away the humanity of those stupid, crazy, or unlucky enough to fall under its purview.

Lethem is a prolific novelist as well as short story writer and at times his prose reads dangerously close to poetry as in this introduction of the prison in "The Hardened Criminals":

"The prison was an accomplishment, a monument to human ingenuity, like a dam or an aircraft carrier. At the same time the prison was a disaster, something imposed by nature on the helpless city, a pit gouged by a meteorite, or a forest-fire scar."

It is the sign of a true master that none of these short stories bears any resemblance to another, yet each is in its own way outstandingly audacious.

Some worked better than others, and from reading the other reviews here it seems the selection varies from reader to reader. Yet the range and boldness of his ideas nearly staggers the imagination, and to have pulled this off -- not once, but seven times -- is astonishing.

I loved _Gun with Occasional Music_ and _Amnesia Moon_ but this collection didn't really do it for me. _The Happy Man_ was great, I liked _And Forever, said the Duck_, _Vanilla Dunk_ was fun even though I hate sports. But like another reviewer said, no real conclusions, more like story fragments. His quirky style is great, he just needs more room to develop it.

It's pretty much a consensus that this is not Lethem's best work. Only a few of the stories are worth the effort - Happy Man, Vanilla Dunk & Sleepy People. Lethem knows how to write but these come across as stories written to fill a publishing commitment rather than ones he really worked on.

If you are a Lethem fan, this is OK to fill out a collection. If you haven't read him before, give this one a pass and read "Gun, with Occasional Music" instead. Four stars for the goodies, two (at best) for the rest - so three star rating.