The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye
by Jonathan Lethem
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 406)
Read in January, 2008
A prime example of both what I like and dislike about 'literary' science fiction short stories. On the one hand, you've got unique, often just slightly different realities in which good stories are told; you get a world where resurrected people live half their lives in Hell and the other half in their bodies, all while keeping their day jobs; or you get a story that plays like an episode of the Wire, only with weird black snake-skinned panther-thing aliens tagging along. But on the other hand ...more
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Read in April, 2008
An older Lethem collection than his excellent Men and Cartoons which actually shares the finest of his stories from this period, "Access Fantasy". If intrigued by that story's brisk conceptual sci-fi, each of the stories in Wall of the Sky serves as another wholly different vision, with varying results. All are certainly inventive, though, and often come off as surreal vignettes into a future operating by hidden and une...more
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Read in January, 2001
a lovely offering from jonathan lethem's early efforts. i'm still haunted by his unsettling futuristic visualization of prisoners and prison life. his depiction of hell is similarly disturbing in an enjoyably macabre way. this is one of those books where i'm not sure i could recommend it to anyone. i enjoyed it, and i think it has value. but would the greater public agree? i'm not sure. i love jonathan lethem but i found myself stuck with this same conundrum after each book up until "...more
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An early short story collection from Lethem. As is usually true of his work, some stories are more postmodern with science fiction conceits, while others are the reverse. At times I'm content with the elusiveness, and at others I'd like more fleshed-out world-building. I enjoyed "The Happy Man" (though I anticipated the ending very quickly) and "The Hardened Criminals." "Forever, Said the Duck" was the weakest piece because the least original. I'm a huge Lethem fan ...more
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Read in August, 2008
Probably the nicest book of short stories i've ever come across. I approach collections like this with hesitation because they never seem to go as smoothly as full novels do. Like, they just feel different, I can't build that rapport with the stories because they're trying to achieve so much in such a small amount of time.
But I got through this in one day. Honestly, some of the best reading i've done in a while. The stories are Lethem through and through, and they're all just really good re...more
But I got through this in one day. Honestly, some of the best reading i've done in a while. The stories are Lethem through and through, and they're all just really good re...more
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Read in July, 2008
got this really cheap at The Strand, mainly because it has a slight but amusing story that repurposes the Krazy Kat/Ignatz/Offisa Pup love triangle into a bizarre sci-fi conceit involving what happens when the story's protagonist fucks the object of her desire. which is that she gets hit in the back of the head with a huge, metaphorical brick. he loves me!
p.s. the version i bought was the UK edition, which has much better cover art than the domestic. $3.95 at The Strand, New Yorkers.
p.s. the version i bought was the UK edition, which has much better cover art than the domestic. $3.95 at The Strand, New Yorkers.
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Like many other short story collections this has some very solid stories, and some that are not so hot as well. The majority of the tales, though, are quite good and worth a read. Lethem has a wonderful knack of elements of dreams and weaving them into elements of common life to create something both different, yet familiar. Truly one of the better surrealist writers working today. 'The Happy Man', 'Five Fucks', and 'Hardened Criminals' are among my favorites.
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Read in December, 2007
Accidentally bought the UK edition at Powell's last nigt. It differs from it American counterpart by 2 stories. Unfortunately, one of these, Access Fantasies, is also published in the American edition of Men and Cartoons, which I just finished. Developing a real fascination with short stories through Lethem, Gaiman, Lovecraft & Poe (my October reading) and Collier.
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Read in October, 2007
Lethem has a lot of great ideas and a knack for imaginative descriptions and weird inventions. When the stories describe big emotional things through sci-fi contrivance (The Happy Man, Vanilla Dunk) they're successful. Otherwise they just seem light. Why does it annoy me so much that his paragraphs are so freakin short?
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I will have to reread this sometime. A few of my friends recommended it to me back in high school with the promise that it was "totally fucked up" (as we were often times as well). I barely remember anything about the stories in it. I liked it though, I remember that much, hence the three stars...
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Read in December, 2007
I don't know what's with me and short stories lately...I'm having a phase. Anyway, I love Jonathan Lethem, and these short stories were too short for him to work in his usual cliches (pregnant women, etc.). He's brilliant at just slightly altering the world enough to be interesting.
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I loved this collection of short stories so much. Every new story was sure to have interesting characters and a completely original setting. My favorite story was "Hardened Criminals", a story set mainly in a prison where the walls are made of living criminals.
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Read in January, 2008
i would recommend this to any science fiction or magical realism fans. in fact, i kind of see these stories as a mix between the two genres. science fictional realism? something like that. i loved almost all the stories, and the ones i didn't love, i liked.
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Read in December, 2005
My first Jonathan Lethem. The very first story in this collection ("The Happy Man" I think), in which the dead can be resurrected as sometimes-conscious zombies, sold me on him. Like a Philip K. Dick that can write and isn't afraid to end his stories.
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Read in October, 2006
A mediocre collection of short stories. The first one was almost good, until it took a turn for the predictable. The rest were mostly forgettable. Lethem is capable of writing good short fiction, but he sure didn’t put any of them in this book.
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Read in July, 2008
I really like his later novels, and these early stories were a little disappointing. Really great sci-fi premises but a little heavy handed. If you like Lethem they're still worth a go.
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Read in April, 2008
Great little book of very weird short stories. This book launched me into my fascination w/ sci-fi back in high school. Not for the weak-kneed!
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Read in October, 2007
I liked a couple of the shorts, but I found a lot of them felt incomplete. Uneven, but worth checking out if you like Lethem.
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His first collection of short stories, some of which are still terrific, like "The Hardened Criminals."
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I love this book. "The Happy Man"? "Vanilla Dunk"? Such soulful, touching genius. And it's sci-fi!
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