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Summary: Wow! A complex, incredible pulp Orwellian/Huxley novel
Review: What a fascinating read. Lethem tosses off fantastic and compelling ideas like dirty socks. Each concept (Babyheads, legalized -no...forced- drug use, talking animals, the illegalization of the news) could be the focus of the novel but Lethem just uses these ideas as background for a pretty interesting detective story. What an incredible imagination and a knack for dialogue! One of the best books I have ever read.
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Summary: Enthralling
Review: After reading Letham's less-than-coherent "Amnesia Moon," I almost made the mistake of not reading him again, but a couple of reviews posted here convinced me otherwise. This book was magnificent: brilliant ideas and brilliant writing. I'm just surprised that I hadn't heard more about this author, because this work is far superior to most modern fiction I've read. Not being much of a genre fan myself, it was nice to see a hard-boiled detective story in a sci-fi (though entirely conceivable sci-fi) setting. Rich, developed characters (be they detectives, doctors, evolved apes or tiny mental giants) and a thick plot with no holes in the story to worry about. Be forwarned, its a real page-turner, and not something you want to pick up unless you've got a day or two free.
Rating:
Summary: a terrific read
Review: One of the best sci-fi books i've read so far. A funny, cynical book who's more far out concepts are strange without being annoyingly trippy. I was attracted by the bizzare cover and facinated by the text. You have gotta read this one.
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Summary: As easy to spot as a kangaroo in a dinner jacket.
Review: I read this book in one sitting, feeling like I had snorted a mixtue of Regrettol and Addictol, two of the many govenment-sponsored drugs made available for free to citizens of this future world. The narrator's personal blend of drugs was "skewed heavily towards Acceptol, with just a touch of Regrettol to provide that bittersweet edge, and enough addictol to keep me craving it even in my darkest moments." The blend he delivered to me, however, was light on the Acceptol.This bittersweet story would be too depressing to recommend to anyone were it not for the humor, which had me laughing out loud. Metcalf and the kangaroo are worth reading again and again, but with little jokes like Testafer "Here's a tip, Grover. You're supposed to go first-" "Shut up." Well, I'd tried to warn him" I was reading dectective fiction as good as Chandler, to whom the book is inscribed. This is some of the best fiction I've ever read and I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Philip Marlowe Meets Dr. Doolittle
Review: This was a stunning debut and a sure sign of things to come from this gifted and wildly imaginative writer. "Gun, With Occasional Music" takes the hard-boiled noir detective genre and twists it around like the torso of a man watching a good-looking woman pass him on the street. Conrad Metcalfe is a two-bit scuzz-bag P.I. ripped from the pages of Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald, spaced out on nose candy and 25 karmas away from an upstate vacation on a cryogenic slab. His nemesis, Joey Castle, is an evolved kangaroo born into a marsupial mob and working his way up from being Danny Phoneblum's flunky to being Mr. Big. Taking the case of a chump doctor set up to take the fall for the murder of his partner, Metcalfe uses guile, snappy repartee and dumb luck to blow the case wide open. If you start reading this book, be prepared to look stupid because you will have an ear-to-ear grin on your face until you put it down. This book will be for Generation X what Tom Robbins' "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was for the Baby Boomers - a cult classic enjoyed by those in the know. Jonathan Lethem deserves much more of a following than he has. Reading this book will certainly get the ball rolling.
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Summary: a blend of genres that pays off
Review: Just for its pure entertainment value, this book is worth reading. But Lethem is a smart writer, and his genre blending has a point. He's not just juxtaposing styles to amuse himself; he has some things to say and has found a clever and funny way to say them. Very impressive for a first novel; I'm looking forward to reading his later works.
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Summary: A wonderful first novel, first-rate story.
Review: Jonathan Lethem had a strong start with this whitty, subtle and clever first novel. His character, Conrad Metcalf, is not afraid to admit he has an addiction and that he is less than savvy when it comes to romance. He is an imperfect protagonist in a world that is perfectly twisted and corrupt. Lethem keeps the tension strong throughout, providing the right amount of plot-twisting exactly when it's needed. This book is a recipe for an enjoyable read, for either the mystery or the SF fan.
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Summary: It's a Brave New World After All
Review: I dont know how Jonathan Lethem does it, where he gets his ideas from but I stand extremely, beyond words, impressed by his writing. He is without a doubt one of the best contemporary authors out there. Gun with Occasional Music is a compelling, captivating story reminiscent of Huxley's Brave New World and Shute's On the Beach.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordninary
Review: Had to tell everyone that this is one of my all-time favorite books. Creativity and plot twists in a hallucinogenic landscape.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for me
Review: OK, I didn't "get" this novel. I'm a fan of detective novels but haven't read much hardboiled stuff. Maybe that's the key. I'm also not a great fan of SF, and there's a lot of SF stuff in this book. I picked this one up because the idea of the talking animals intrigued me - I read just about every "talking animal" book I could get my hands on as a kid, and I wanted to see how it was done in an adult's novel. I was disappointed. To me, the book seemed kind of cobbled together - lots of different competing ideas that got lost in the shuffle. One reviewer commented that he found the novel "scary". I didn't find it scary, just annoying. I'm generally pretty good at suspending disbelief when I read a novel; in this case, I just couldn't do it. The "talking animal" and "evolved baby" bits just were too unreal and didn't seem to fit. Another thing: I'm realy *not* a fan of explicit sexual comments and stuff. There's a fair amount in this book. Also, the idea of heavy drug use (even if it's "engineered" drugs) was sort of off-putting. I suppose that Lethem wanted to conjure up a dystopian future world; I almost got the sense from reading the novel that this dystopia contained things he *wished* existed (being able to trade sex feelings with a person of the opposite sex, taking copious quantities of cocaine-like drugs, etc.) This is one book that's headed for the used-book store.
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