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mxmarks's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
moneyspider's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
spinstah's review against another edition
3.0
This was a weird book. Sort of a post-apocalyptic road trip story that reminded me in some ways of The Road, but there's not as much horrible physical illness/violence. It's all metaphysical/metaphorical, so who really knows what's going on. There are clearly some alternate realities in this book but it was a little frustrating at the end because we don't leave the story knowing which one is "real." Or maybe none of them are real? Who knows.
Hopefully there will be some good discussion about this one at the book club meeting.
Hopefully there will be some good discussion about this one at the book club meeting.
aleffert's review against another edition
4.0
This is an awesome book that makes no sense. It may have made thematic sense but I'm not totally clear on that. There was a very strong Philip K Dick vibe in that whole I don't know what's going on and you don't know what's going on but it's gonna be a good trip. Despite the incoherence I wasn't dissatisfied with the resolution or anything. Good strange time.
philibin's review against another edition
5.0
This is a story about a trippy romp across the backbone of America in a reality nothing is as it seems and dreams are more real than reality.
dfmjr's review against another edition
4.0
Amnesia Moon is the first [a:Jonathan Lethem|6404|Jonathan Lethem|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1226285833p2/6404.jpg] novel I have read. This book was written in sparse prose with a downward feel and attitude.
Chaos is a loaner and loser living in the projection booth of an abandoned movie theater which is only playing “Chaos, Chaos, Chaos”, or is he? In an area of Wyoming in a post-“apocalypse” America, Kellogg rules. He controls the people with dreams. And one day, Chaos decides he has had enough and moves on, takes a car a moves on to discover in a road trip what has happened. He heads to California and soon starts having his own dreams of a home and a woman he knew before. He also starts to discover a former identity and finds other isolated communities with different rules and leaders. The McDonaldians, a group of 3 employees that still run McDonald’s, a town where people are required to move 2 times a week and the government employees are the movie stars on propaganda TV shows. And then he is reunited with his former “friends” in San Fransisco. All while discovering more of his past and his quest to go back.
The symbolism in this book sits on a couple levels and Lethem’s prose is as sparse the landscape. Chaos’s want to get to his past and rediscover where he came from and who he was is a compelling story and reminds the reader of their own past and the scattered memories we use to recreate who we were. The book really lives in the present of the character who constantly redefines who he was depending on the past he is shown. I found myself relating to this relationship with the past. We live now, but remember then and look to tomorrow as a reflection of the past when the reality is moving and unsure.
One feature of the book that may frustrate some, but I found really interesting, is the lack of discovery. We never find out what happened to cause the apocalyptic turn. Different people have different stories, much like the past lives that Chaos is shown.
The book had a bit of the paranoia that [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1197324658p2/4764.jpg]’s writing has and the sparse writing at times echoed [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192825810p2/9226.jpg], though I found Lethem’s prose more lyrical and elegant. I think overall his writing was serving the story without ever getting bogged down in the externals of over running the reader with complete descriptions and unfocused side stories. I found the sparse writing rewarding in the book. It felt like the story, it matched.
Jonathan Lethem writes all over the place, some sci-fi, some mysteries, some coming of age stories, some of the above all run together. I love authors that write like this, that the story is what it is and weak genre defining terms are not there to limit their writing.
Chaos is a loaner and loser living in the projection booth of an abandoned movie theater which is only playing “Chaos, Chaos, Chaos”, or is he? In an area of Wyoming in a post-“apocalypse” America, Kellogg rules. He controls the people with dreams. And one day, Chaos decides he has had enough and moves on, takes a car a moves on to discover in a road trip what has happened. He heads to California and soon starts having his own dreams of a home and a woman he knew before. He also starts to discover a former identity and finds other isolated communities with different rules and leaders. The McDonaldians, a group of 3 employees that still run McDonald’s, a town where people are required to move 2 times a week and the government employees are the movie stars on propaganda TV shows. And then he is reunited with his former “friends” in San Fransisco. All while discovering more of his past and his quest to go back.
The symbolism in this book sits on a couple levels and Lethem’s prose is as sparse the landscape. Chaos’s want to get to his past and rediscover where he came from and who he was is a compelling story and reminds the reader of their own past and the scattered memories we use to recreate who we were. The book really lives in the present of the character who constantly redefines who he was depending on the past he is shown. I found myself relating to this relationship with the past. We live now, but remember then and look to tomorrow as a reflection of the past when the reality is moving and unsure.
One feature of the book that may frustrate some, but I found really interesting, is the lack of discovery. We never find out what happened to cause the apocalyptic turn. Different people have different stories, much like the past lives that Chaos is shown.
The book had a bit of the paranoia that [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1197324658p2/4764.jpg]’s writing has and the sparse writing at times echoed [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192825810p2/9226.jpg], though I found Lethem’s prose more lyrical and elegant. I think overall his writing was serving the story without ever getting bogged down in the externals of over running the reader with complete descriptions and unfocused side stories. I found the sparse writing rewarding in the book. It felt like the story, it matched.
Jonathan Lethem writes all over the place, some sci-fi, some mysteries, some coming of age stories, some of the above all run together. I love authors that write like this, that the story is what it is and weak genre defining terms are not there to limit their writing.
ktjawrites's review against another edition
5.0
I adored The Arrest (2020) and adored this (1995) so it’s likely safe to say that I absolutely adore Lethem’s weird and miraculous worlds.
willgrogan's review against another edition
5.0
Aw man! I can really see why some people hate this novel or find it too confusing and unstructured, but this is my jam. Amnesia moon's final chapters had me reading at 3am with 4 hours to go until I got up for work.
It's fun, confusing, absurdly trippy, and now, a personal favourite of mine.
It's fun, confusing, absurdly trippy, and now, a personal favourite of mine.
murph_the_serf's review against another edition
4.0
At first I thought the book was not very good but then I realized I had blown past several stops on my morning train ride and hadn't even noticed it. The same thing happened that night and the next morning and somewhere I hadn't even noticed that I went from thinking it wasn't very good to being hooked.
The mystery proved too intriguing to give up and Lethem does a good job of making the changing landscapes intriguing enough to keep going. I'm not 100% sold on the ending but I can understand why Lethem ended it how he did. It's a short-ish read but worth it as I kept the pages turning fast and furiously.
The mystery proved too intriguing to give up and Lethem does a good job of making the changing landscapes intriguing enough to keep going. I'm not 100% sold on the ending but I can understand why Lethem ended it how he did. It's a short-ish read but worth it as I kept the pages turning fast and furiously.
jglynn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0