Jonathan Lethem

Last night I attended my first book reading since sometime over the summer, perhaps July but maybe June or, gasp!, even May. Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn, Fortress of Solitude) was promoting his new novel You Don't Love Me Yet. At first, from reading the first twenty pages and comparing it what I was led to believe about Lethem, I was confused what the deal with this 200-ish page book about a rock band, kangaroo, and a performance art piece had to do with the literary genius I have heard at least Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude possess. Attending the reading gave me a new perspective on the novel. He characterized it as the first comical novel he has written since one of his earlier books. Taken as an exercise in humor, along with the fact that he cut out 60-70 pages in a final edit shortly before the manuscript was due, in addition to the creative process he discussed gave me a new appreciation of the novel. I hope to read more of his novels and some of his short stories and non-fiction pieces in the near future.