Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 932 ratings · 80 reviews

My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist is a postmodernist/absurdist book composed of 17 loosely-related chapters with no general storyline. It is voiced in first-person by an anonymous narrator often using jargon, broken grammar and punctuation with a poetry-like structure. The narration shifts quickly from random idea to idea with little to no connectivity between them, typical...more

Paperback, 154 pages

Published May 10th 1995 by Vintage (first published 1990)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

Postmodern Genius

34th out of 138 books — 132 voters

My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner

My Mother, My Sister, Myself by Annamarie Schmidt

Titlemania II : My, My, My !

2nd out of 45 books — 11 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,526)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 03, 2008 Brent Legault rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the undervocabularied, the overegotistical

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 I bother to...more

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2007 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: college freshman who want their new friends to think them clever

Shelves: booksiveloved

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 was plagiarize...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2010 Nick Black rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: likely-reread

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.
----
Discovered in David Foster Wallace's essay "E Unibus Plura...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 16, 2011 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: College students, Burroughs fans, literary rebels

Recommended to Michael by: Tom Maddox

Shelves: literature, poetry

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...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 18, 2010 Tony rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

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 – and you would be right. It’s hard to describe. There is no plot line, per se. There are no characters of any importance – besides the author/narrator – 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 will give y...more 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 – and you would be right. It’s hard to describe. There is no plot line, per se. There are no characters of any importance – besides the author/narrator – 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 will give you an idea:

p. 17: “Soon psychopathology replaced ethnicity as the critical demographic determinant. There were no longer Italian neighborhoods, or Cuban neighborhoods, or Irish or Greek neighborhoods. There were Anorexic neighborhoods, and narcissistic neighborhoods, and Manic and Compulsive neighborhoods. There was no longer a Columbus Day parade or a Puerto Rico Day parade; there was an Agoraphobics Day parade. Fifth Avenue lined with police barricades, traffic diverted. But, of course, the designated route was empty, utterly desolate, because the paraders, the spectators, even the Grand Marshal himself – agoraphobics each and every one – had all stayed away, each locked within the “safety” of his or her own home.” Or,

p. 57. Chapter 6: “The Suggestiveness of One Stray Hair in an Otherwise Perfect Coiffure: He’s got a car bomb. He puts the key in the ignition and turns it – the car blows up. He gets out. He opens the hood and makes a cursory inspection. He closes the hood and gets back in. He turns the key in the ignition. The car blows up. He gets out and slams the door shut disgustedly. He kicks the tire. He takes off his jacket and shimmies under the chassis. He pokes around. He slides back out and wipes the grease off his shirt. He puts his jacket back on. He gets in. He turns the key in the ignition. The car blows up, sending debris into the air and shattering windows for blocks. He gets out and says, Damn it! He calls a tow truck. He gives them his AAA membership number. They tow the car to an Exxon station. The mechanic gets in and turns the key in the ignition. The car explodes, demolishing the gas pumps, the red-and-blue Exxon logo high atop its pole bursting like a balloon on a string. The mechanic steps out. You got a car bomb, he says. The man rolls his eyes. I know that, he says.”

I could go on quoting pieces and chapters. None of them seems to be related to each other. There is no forward motion, nor is there an intent to tell a story. This is just a bunch of schizoid sketches stitched together into one package.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 06, 2012 Ben Loory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

hated it at first and tossed it aside... then came back the next day and DEVOURED it. it's really more poetry than anything else (these definitely aren't stories in any meaningful sense), and i didn't find it funny so much as delightful, just a joyful and unbounded explosion of creative energy... that being said, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT FOR EVERYONE. (and i would never have suspected it'd be for me.)

Tasner stared out the window. From telephone pole to telephone pole, pendulous drops of rainwater dang...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read09

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 sense when I looked at it sideways,...more

1 like · like · see review

May 30, 2012 Mircalla64 (free Liu Xiaobo) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: postmoderni

mio cugino, il mio tormentone

mio cugino, il mio gastoenterologo
è un'autorità
lo cito di continuo perchè sa un sacco di cose
e diventa il filo conduttore dei deliri avant pop
che ho contribuito a inventare
sono un precursore
per questo sono così strano
nessuno è come me
e nessuno mi può capire...
ma mi seguiranno in molti
pure troppi
e neanche tutti così dotati di fantasia lisergica,
ma tra quelli che mi trovano interessante emergerà un narratore unico nel suo genere
e il solo fatto che mi ab...more

like · see review

Dec 07, 2010 Chris Hennessey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, experimental

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.

Oh, and though I have no memory of Dav...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2008 Patrick rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2001

Pretty much impossible to read, but I did anyway.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Jemiah Jefferson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-books-of-a-lifetime

This book gets me high. Honestly. I go into a completely different cerebrospinal temporospatial state of being when faced with the breathless mastery of these stories, as well as hyperventilating from laughing so hard for over a hundred pages. Mark Leyner is one of the greatest national treasures this nation has ever produced, and why he's not ruling over this hemisphere from a 45-foot-tall throne made up of discarded Jacob the Jeweler pimp cups, NuvaRings, frozen Charleston Chews, and gold doub...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Kyle York rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book after David Foster Wallace trashed it in an essay, because the passages he pulled from it were actually pretty funny. I've certainly never read anything like it, though perhaps it's similar to other postmodern fiction. So here's what I took from it:

-There are no characters in the book. The 'I' in every short story pretty much only consists in a consistent point of view. The book trails in a stream of consciousness, jumping in and out of meta-fictions, in what DFW describes...more I picked up this book after David Foster Wallace trashed it in an essay, because the passages he pulled from it were actually pretty funny. I've certainly never read anything like it, though perhaps it's similar to other postmodern fiction. So here's what I took from it:

-There are no characters in the book. The 'I' in every short story pretty much only consists in a consistent point of view. The book trails in a stream of consciousness, jumping in and out of meta-fictions, in what DFW describes as a "Parodic meditations on the boundaryless flux of televisual monoculture." Leyner presents a fragmented world united not by plot, character, or theme, but image. The sole recurring image throughout all the stories of "my cousin, the gastrenterologist" is itself, in its glib absurdness, a self-referencing jab at such a consistency. This unification by mass images mirrors popular culture and the centrality of capitalism to our culture.

"what color is your mozzarella? i asked the waitress it's pink - it's the same color as the top of a mennen lady speed stick dispenser, y'know that color? no, maam I said it's the same color they use for the gillette daisy disposable razors for women . . . y'know that color? nope well, it's the same pink as pepto-bismol, y'know that color oh yeah, i said." -144

In the same short story I quoted above, the protagonist reflects on his first love, which simply turns out to be a memory of a Carry Grant film he saw, Carry Grant turning out to be a mere facsimile produced by a special effects team. The feeling of ungroundedness and directionlessness does effectively criticize the culture we exist in merely by reproducing it in an ironic fashion.

In the end, most of the points made by the book were undermined by the dazzling, self-consciously funny, and shallow narrative of the book. Perhaps DFW was right when he said that the book ultimately adopts not just the methods and style of television, but it's goals- to flatter short attention spans and ironic hipness, and rarely if ever to risk sincerity. (less)

like · see review

Dec 03, 2012 Jesse rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-peace-corps

well this is an excellent execution of a pretty poor idea. We've all probably read chaotic "image fiction" lit like this by now spun off punk junk. The whole book is just channel surfing- no plot, no characters, no narrative longer than a couple pages... always feeling something's missing. If Leyner had just taken the time to frame the chaos somehow this could have been a really great read.
But his real point with this is to show off his knack for finding, building, and playing with phrases and b...more

like · see review

Aug 02, 2008 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 this guy ha...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 29, 2008 Mike Hetteix rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: po-mo pop-culture gonzo ironists

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...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Jeroen Kraan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, owned, second-hand

After the surprising hilarity of Et Tu, Babe, this was somewhat disappointing. My Cousin lacks any sense of plot, and while it does occasionally serve up some of Leyner's signature wit and absurdity, the lack of coherence makes this a flawed novel. In fact, it is so uneven and disjointed that this is probably the closest anyone's come to publishing a brain fart in 150 ink-stained pages. I suppose in hindsight, this book was a promising look ahead at what was in store for Mr Leyner, but on its ow...more

like · see review

Apr 28, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think this is Leyner's most fluid, though also least coherent, work that I've read to date. Though I am extremely impressed by the language and the bizarre course of the book, I didn't get into it as much as his other work. I admit, I have more trouble when things don't have a certain amount of coherency. It's my limitation and I recognize that. However, even with my hangups about coherency giving me a little more trouble with this one, I still liked it a great deal. I haven't seen anybody wri...more

like · see review

Oct 10, 2007 Kathy rated it 1 of 5 stars

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 intestines and served them on toast points to the howling homet...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 29, 2009 Nicky rated it 4 of 5 stars

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.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 28, 2009 Bryan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-fiction

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...more

like · see review

Aug 31, 2012 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

A loosely connected collection of short stories that are absurd, funny, and full of pop-culture and historical references. You never know where it's going next, and that's part of the fun. Postmodern in the best sense of the word, it won't appeal to everyone, but for a reader looking for something wildly different, it's worth seeking out.

like · see review

May 08, 2009 Jason Rizos rated it 3 of 5 stars

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.

like · see review

Mar 27, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-but-dont-recall-much, read-for-work, contemporary_fiction, comedy-parody

I was supposed to read this book for review, but ended up not writing the review because I was too young and callow to "get" Leyner's peculiar slant. Funny and strange as hell. Really loved this next book, Et tu, Babe, and remember laughing until I was hoarse. Inventive, insane, and pretty often massively entertaining.

like · see review

Apr 09, 2010 Oliver L. rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

1 like · like · see review

May 01, 2013 Christian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Unbelievable work of loud genius; perfectly deployed irony/humor, deceptive heart and honesty, entropic, a vivisection of cultures/societal impulses––all that can be beautiful in a piece of fiction, here turned ugly. Brutally interesting, smart, and funny. Fucking great.

like · see review

Dec 18, 2010 Erin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: unfinished-on-purpose

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.

like · see review

Nov 15, 2009 Kye Alfred Hillig rated it 5 of 5 stars

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...more

1 like · like · see review

May 30, 2011 Matt Piechocinski rated it 3 of 5 stars

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.

like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Short, but I loved it. Full of darkness, non-sequiturs and ridiculous gear changes. Kind of like an episode of an early Monty Python series crossed with William Burroughs.

like · see review

Aug 23, 2010 Rebekkila rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing, i-m-over-it

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.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 50 51 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (6)

More editions...

Genres

Short Stories

10 users

Humor

10 users

Literature

5 users

Literature > American

3 users

Poetry

2 users

Humor > Comedy

2 users

Novels

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Mark Leyner

Mark Leyner is an American postmodernist author.

Leyner employs an intense and unconventional style in his works of fiction. His stories are generally humorous and absurd: In The Tetherballs of Bougainville, Mark's father survives a lethal injection at the hands of the New Jersey penal system, and so is freed but must live the remainder of his life in fear of being executed, at New Jersey's discret...more

More about Mark Leyner...

Books by Mark Leyner

Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini

Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex? More Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About My Cousin, My Gas...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from My Cousin, My Gastroen...

“I was an infinitely hot and dense dot.” — 4 people liked it

“On our last mission - our "final exam" - we were airlifted to a remote region, and we parachuted directly into a hostile enclave. We had to subdue the enemy using hand-to-hand tactics like tae kwon do and pugil sticks, cut their hair in styles appropriate to their particular face shapes, and give them perms.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist
avg rating	preview: My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist Goodreads rating: 3.68 (932 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/131525.My_Cousin_My_Gastroenterologist?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348405910l/131525.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/131525.My_Cousin_My_Gastroenterologist?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner[/url]

My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website