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bookhouseboi's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Here we are again. I gave Lethem a second chance and once again I'm referring to much better novels that do the same thing. Just read Auster's "The Music of Chance" if you desire a postmodern gambler's tale. Also one of the most sexist things I have read in a while. The most outstanding thing about the women in this novel are their "chunky nipples" (251). Sadly, I'm not making this up. Don't bother.
mrswhite's review
2.0
Overwritten and boring. I finished it out of sheer stubbornness rather than any true desire to see where the meandering plot was going (which was, unfortunately, nowhere).
tonyabeth's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alisonjfields's review
2.0
4.0/10
What literary event did Franzen, Lethem and Chabon all go to in Berkeley together? So. Weird. Anyway this is neither the best (Chabon) or the worst (Franzen, by a f-ing mile) of the overwritten, annoying, (mostly) out of touch books about the East Bay written by the above. If you're a 45-50 year old dude who's thought, "I can totally hang with George Clooney types and hipster anarchists because I am that cool and then maybe find a hot German woman to bathe me," you'll probably love this.
Jonathan Lethem, I have given you so much of a pass over the years because of "Fortress of Solitude" that even now, after "Chronic City" (which was, if not one of the worst books I've ever read, then far and away the most disappointingly shallow), after "A Gambler's Anatomy" (which is not as much a train wreck as a midlife crisis, published and committed to posterity), I still secretly, in my heart of hearts, believe you can do better. Do better.
What literary event did Franzen, Lethem and Chabon all go to in Berkeley together? So. Weird. Anyway this is neither the best (Chabon) or the worst (Franzen, by a f-ing mile) of the overwritten, annoying, (mostly) out of touch books about the East Bay written by the above. If you're a 45-50 year old dude who's thought, "I can totally hang with George Clooney types and hipster anarchists because I am that cool and then maybe find a hot German woman to bathe me," you'll probably love this.
Jonathan Lethem, I have given you so much of a pass over the years because of "Fortress of Solitude" that even now, after "Chronic City" (which was, if not one of the worst books I've ever read, then far and away the most disappointingly shallow), after "A Gambler's Anatomy" (which is not as much a train wreck as a midlife crisis, published and committed to posterity), I still secretly, in my heart of hearts, believe you can do better. Do better.
giter161's review
1.0
This was almost unreadable. I find it rather shocking that this author has written 9 books because they don’t seem to know their way around a sentence let alone a story.
ridgewaygirl's review
2.0
Back in the day, I read Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem's brilliant and emotionally resonant noir about a private eye with Tourette's Syndrome. I always meant to read more by this talented writer, but never got around to it. So when A Gambler's Anatomy began to be reviewed and I found myself with a copy of it in my hands, I was excited to see what Lethem would do with the story of a high-stakes backgammon player, down on his luck.
The book begins brilliantly, with Bruno going to Wannsee, just outside of Berlin, to play backgammon against a man he has been assured will be easy prey. Bruno needs the money; after the disaster in Singapore he's utterly without resources. And those opening chapters are excellent, with the small exception of the stereo-typical younger and attractive woman who is drawn to the desperate and thread-bare Bruno. Bruno's descent coincides with a blot in the center of his vision, one which requires him to look at things through the corners of his eyes and may be related to the headaches and other health issues. The evening in Wannsee does not go well.
From this promising beginning, A Gambler's Anatomy turns out to be just another WMFuN*, where the world and especially the women in it, exist to spotlight what's happening to the self-absorbed main character. Add a long stretch of men being more interested in their own thought-processes than anything around them and the utter relegation of women to helpers and sex and the book ended up being quite a bit less than I had hoped. It's stylistically interesting, in the way a novel by a prominent white guy who has read everything David Foster Wallace ever wrote usually is, but at the expense of any heart whatsoever. Also, Mr. Lethem, it's 2016. Women are no longer merely props. If you can't write them as people, leave them out.
*
The book begins brilliantly, with Bruno going to Wannsee, just outside of Berlin, to play backgammon against a man he has been assured will be easy prey. Bruno needs the money; after the disaster in Singapore he's utterly without resources. And those opening chapters are excellent, with the small exception of the stereo-typical younger and attractive woman who is drawn to the desperate and thread-bare Bruno. Bruno's descent coincides with a blot in the center of his vision, one which requires him to look at things through the corners of his eyes and may be related to the headaches and other health issues. The evening in Wannsee does not go well.
From this promising beginning, A Gambler's Anatomy turns out to be just another WMFuN*, where the world and especially the women in it, exist to spotlight what's happening to the self-absorbed main character. Add a long stretch of men being more interested in their own thought-processes than anything around them and the utter relegation of women to helpers and sex and the book ended up being quite a bit less than I had hoped. It's stylistically interesting, in the way a novel by a prominent white guy who has read everything David Foster Wallace ever wrote usually is, but at the expense of any heart whatsoever. Also, Mr. Lethem, it's 2016. Women are no longer merely props. If you can't write them as people, leave them out.
*
Spoiler
The all-too-common White Male Fuck-up Novel. There are already too many of these.spinstah's review
4.0
This was good! Less surreal than some of Lethem's other work; still absurd, but in a more real-world way.
kathrinpassig's review
2.0
Ich bin ein Leseprobengimpel. Es fing so an, dass ich wissen wollte, wie es weitergeht, aber danach passiert einfach nichts mehr, beziehungsweise passieren viele Dinge, die sich aber weigern, zu einer Romanhandlung zu werden und verdächtig nach Lesereisennotizen klingen.
Update: Jetzt auch etwas ausführlicher hier https://www.piqd.de/literatenfunk/lethems-langweilige-lesereisen
Update: Jetzt auch etwas ausführlicher hier https://www.piqd.de/literatenfunk/lethems-langweilige-lesereisen
dantastic's review
4.0
Alexander Bruno is a professional backgammon player. After a run of bad luck and a chance encounter with a classmate from high school, Alexander leaves Singapore for Berlin, where he winds up in the hospital after suffering from a seizure of some kind during a game. It seems Bruno has a nearly inoperable tumor and only a doctor in the US can do the operation, a doctor that lives near Bruno's former classmate.
I got this from Netgalley.
My only other exposure to Jonathan Lethem was [b:Gun, With Occasional Music|16718|Gun, With Occasional Music|Jonathan Lethem|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438840182s/16718.jpg|1119922]. When I saw this up on Netgalley, I decided to give it a shot.
A Gambler's Anatomy is a delightfully odd and wonderfully written book. Bruno's voyage into self-discovery is painful, grotesque, and somewhat sweet at times. Jonathan Lethem is very talented, phenomenally so, in some instances. I caught my mouth watering a few times at his descriptions of food and Bruno's surgery made my face hurt. His word play, use of allusions, and descriptive skills were dead on in this one. I have no complaints of any sort about the writing.
The characters were quirky but not unrealistically so. Stolarsky referring to Bruno as Flashman was pretty accurate since Bruno does a few Flashman style things in this one, including not really improving much despite everything he experienced.
The plot was secondary to everything else, which is the one ding I'll lay upon the book. Bruno was a passive lead, for the most part. There really wasn't much of a build toward a decisive ending. The antagonist just gave up and Bruno wound up back where he started. I know the journey is supposed to be more important than the destination in most books of this type but it would be nice if the journey wasn't a huge circle. Four out of 5 stars.
I got this from Netgalley.
My only other exposure to Jonathan Lethem was [b:Gun, With Occasional Music|16718|Gun, With Occasional Music|Jonathan Lethem|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438840182s/16718.jpg|1119922]. When I saw this up on Netgalley, I decided to give it a shot.
A Gambler's Anatomy is a delightfully odd and wonderfully written book. Bruno's voyage into self-discovery is painful, grotesque, and somewhat sweet at times. Jonathan Lethem is very talented, phenomenally so, in some instances. I caught my mouth watering a few times at his descriptions of food and Bruno's surgery made my face hurt. His word play, use of allusions, and descriptive skills were dead on in this one. I have no complaints of any sort about the writing.
The characters were quirky but not unrealistically so. Stolarsky referring to Bruno as Flashman was pretty accurate since Bruno does a few Flashman style things in this one, including not really improving much despite everything he experienced.
The plot was secondary to everything else, which is the one ding I'll lay upon the book. Bruno was a passive lead, for the most part. There really wasn't much of a build toward a decisive ending. The antagonist just gave up and Bruno wound up back where he started. I know the journey is supposed to be more important than the destination in most books of this type but it would be nice if the journey wasn't a huge circle. Four out of 5 stars.
puzzled_pagan's review against another edition
4.0
Not at all what I was expecting, but still thoroughly satisfying. Lethem is a master at blending surreal mysticism with realistic and universal truths, and this novel is a fine example of that. Reading about a man being shook to the very core of his being is usually a somber affair, but Lethem found a way to make it odd, funny, and enjoyable.