This book is fiction the brain can dance to, by one of the funniest and most subversive writers of this or any other decade.
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Mar 03, 2008
Brent
rated it: 
I had a crush on this book when I was a kid. The book, not the man behind the book. I remember reading the story, The Suggestiveness of One Stray Hair in an Otherwise Perfect Coiffure, in my head -- in the bookstore before buying it -- and laughing like a friendless madman. And I sort of remember reading it out loud at a party or at several parties and laughing like a drunken, friendless madman. Girls really dig me, I sort of remember thinking. Those were the days.
I still laugh when More...
I still laugh when More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Carrie
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It is more fun reading this book than watching Frank Sinatra gently grate cheese over a head of hair before garnishing it with a sprig of parsley. (It's been 12 years since I've picked the book up, but I swear, there is a line somewhere in it referencing such a scene.)
This is one of the few books that was so precious to me that I could not bring myself to recommend to anybody. That, and the fact that any friend of mine who read it would immediately know how much of my conversation More...
This is one of the few books that was so precious to me that I could not bring myself to recommend to anybody. That, and the fact that any friend of mine who read it would immediately know how much of my conversation More...
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Jul 15, 2010
Nick
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An awful lot of fun. The first half of the collection is noticeably better than the second. Loved the use of E-13B IDAutomationMICR for the chapter number font, which I (maddeningly!) couldn't place until this morning -- I kept thinking "space invaders" for some stupid reason. The text itself is of course just logorrhea and farrago, but the best of its kind. Found myself laughing so loudly at times that I worried I'd wake my roommate.
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Discovered in David Foster Wallace's More...
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Discovered in David Foster Wallace's More...
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Dec 16, 2011
Michael
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I read this book half a lifetime ago, while I was in college. If goodreads had been around then, I would probably have rated it five stars, or at least four. Going through it to prepare for this review, I debated giving it two - I might have if I had re-read the whole thing. This reflects the ways we change as we grow older, as well as how what we want from literature changes. The book hasn't changed, but I sure have. People in their early twenties are often trying to figure out the rules of the
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Nov 18, 2010
Tony
rated it: 
46. Leyner, Mark. MY COUSIN, MY GASTROENTEROLOGIST. (1990). *. If you read this book, you will probably think that one star is too high of a rating β and you would be right. Itβs hard to describe. There is no plot line, per se. There are no characters of any importance β besides the author/narrator β that you can follow, so there is, obviously, no character development. The setting is mostly New Jersey, but it could be anywhere, so there is no sense of place. Maybe a series of quotes w
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Jan 09, 2009
Jenny
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I gave this book four stars because of the sheer fun it is to read. It is like every word is equally important or not important at all, depending on what you are feeling at that particular moment.
It is interesting that this edition of the book actually says "A novel" as the subtitle because I'm not sure it is, more of a group of short stories, only not really. It is true that the gastroenterologist makes more than one appearance.
I feel like this made the most se More...
It is interesting that this edition of the book actually says "A novel" as the subtitle because I'm not sure it is, more of a group of short stories, only not really. It is true that the gastroenterologist makes more than one appearance.
I feel like this made the most se More...
Dec 07, 2010
Chris
rated it: 
Really unsure how to rate this, as it seems most people are. It's made me ask: is the mere sound of literature enough, or must it have some discernible meaning?
If the sound is enough, this is a three or four star book. But I'm not convinced. I did find it funny at times, but not as riotously funny as some people did . . . still, I wouldn't be opposed to reading another of Leyner's books.
As with "Naked Lunch," I enjoyed this a lot more when I read it aloud.
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If the sound is enough, this is a three or four star book. But I'm not convinced. I did find it funny at times, but not as riotously funny as some people did . . . still, I wouldn't be opposed to reading another of Leyner's books.
As with "Naked Lunch," I enjoyed this a lot more when I read it aloud.
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Jan 19, 2008
Patrick
rated it:
Pretty much impossible to read, but I did anyway.
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Aug 02, 2008
Matt
rated it:
This is a rare document. An experimental postmodern fiction artist named Mark Leyner makes crazy word collages, byzantine temples of thought in a nihilistically symbolic universe. Be careful not to get your head caught! I read this in brief spurts while I worked in a bookstore and it is a definite headfuck, like an experimental drug. The wordplay is wild and you are definitely going to get some comical and disturbing images. I don't even remember the plot.
Word on the street was that More...
Word on the street was that More...
Jan 29, 2008
Mike
rated it:
Leyner writes hyperkinetic gonzo prose which is a mutant hybrid between William Burroughs at his most schizoid and Dave Barry at his most laugh out loud. This is gag-a-minute writing for A.D.D. addled avant guardists drenched in the toxic jetsam of pop culture. I'd post some exceperts but I lent the book out and unsurpsingly never got it back. While Leyner's book is one of the rare few that can make me laugh out loud, my enjoyment has been tempered by David Foster Wallace's pointed criticism of
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Oct 10, 2007
Kathy
rated it:
From a blog post I wrote in 2005:
Some readers may think I like every book I read. Well, this book disproves that theory. Author Mark Leyner's book was described as "Brilliant mutant prose" by the San Francisco Examiner. I think a more accurate description is "Nonsensical drivel."
Here's an excerpt:
"tonight at madison square garden the new york rangers disemboweled the boston bruins' goalie, brought a hibachi onto the ice, roasted his intestin More...
Some readers may think I like every book I read. Well, this book disproves that theory. Author Mark Leyner's book was described as "Brilliant mutant prose" by the San Francisco Examiner. I think a more accurate description is "Nonsensical drivel."
Here's an excerpt:
"tonight at madison square garden the new york rangers disemboweled the boston bruins' goalie, brought a hibachi onto the ice, roasted his intestin More...
Jan 29, 2009
Nicky
rated it:
I have no idea when I read this - senior year of high school, I think. I bought a signed copy in Cambridge on a college visit. What I remember most about this novel is the phrase "vigilate squirrels are coming to get you." That has stuck with me since. I guess I've always had a thing for vigilantes and squirrels, and once combined my life was never the same.
Jun 28, 2009
Bryan
rated it:
Mark Leyner has many unique and bizarre turns of phrase in *My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist*, but the novelty wears off after thirty or so pages as one begins to question what the story is really about. At a superficial glance it seems to be about nothing--it seems to be about warped perception, a psychedelic filtering between reality and the brain. Burroughs and Thompson are major influences, apparently, but Leyner's novel (if you can describe it as a novel) isn't innovative in the ways that h
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May 08, 2009
Jason
rated it:
This book will make you schizophrenic! Not really, but it has some good reads. The schtick gets awfully old around the half-way point and at time it feels like he's just throwing crap up against the wall for the sake of non sequiter and the reader (you) is getting jerked around. Great avant-guarde, sure, but some of the jokes are a little corny.
Apr 09, 2010
Oliver
rated it: 
I was initially quite skeptical of this collection of short "stories," but Leyner does pomo fiction the right way: with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It's impossible to explain what happens in here, save for the fact that the phrase "my cousin, my gastroenterologist" appears in nearly every piece. A few of Leyner's gags fall flat, but most of his sentences are among the saddest and funniest I've ever read.
Jul 11, 2009
mark
rated it:
twee little dessert item from a time when po-mo writing was the shite. kathy acker kicks this guy down a flight of stairs, literarily speaking. still, some enjoyably oddball passages keep the interest, much like listening to someone go on and on during their acid trip....mainly irritating, at times hilarious.
Dec 18, 2010
Erin
rated it:
I found this book very difficult to read. I forced myself through the first 40 pages or so and couldn't force myself to pick it up again---except to return to the library. It's true what others say that there are a lot of unusual descriptions, but that doesn't seem to add anything to the work...in fact, I think it detracts. Another reviewer indicated it was as if it was written using madlibs. I agree completely.
Nov 15, 2009
Kye Alfred Hillig
rated it:
Mark Leyner is a literary anarchist. His stories are wild creatures that evolve like bursting fireworks. He seems to care little for delivering some kind of straight forward story structure and opts to instead just have fun. Some of Mark's stories are so funny and clever that it is hard to picture someone sitting their writing it. The work is smart and it is truly poetic. Leyner proves that a story doesn't have to have any character development to pull you through it. I absolutely could not wait
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May 30, 2011
Matt
rated it:
Pshew ... thank goodness that Leyner gets better with each book, because I Smell Esther Williams was truly awful. I really liked this outing, although I didn't think it was as good as Et Tu, Babe.
Aug 23, 2010
Rebekkila
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If I finish this book I will end up with permanent furrows between my brow, It was like it was written using mad-libs, completely random. I hope the next reader can made some sense of this.
Nov 27, 2011
Carrie
rated it:
Not much of an avant garde lit fan, but this one was pretty fun to read. Sketches had a lightness and playful attitude, which made it much more bearable than similar shit I've read.
Jan 26, 2011
Nate
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Where it all started for me with Mr. Leyner - "I was an infinitely hot and dense dot" - completely nonlinear, incredibly hysterical.
May 04, 2011
Ben
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I think this is the Leyner I read. Stylistically intense but broadly funny in a kind of unfunny way. You don't need to read this.
Dec 04, 2008
Shawna
rated it:
dont remember the plot but i remember that it was crazy and enjoyable.
Dec 06, 2009
Curt
rated it:
This is one of the funniest, strangest and most brilliant books I've ever read.
