Girl in Landscape
by Jonathan Lethem
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 539)
Worldbuilding, careful word choice, not over-expository
- Ending a little rushed
This is the third novel I’ve read by Lethem, and I may have to read them all. In this genre (he writes in several), Lethem creates what I’d call literary science fiction. Here (and in Amnesia Moon) the reader is immediately in medias res with little preliminary exposition and even less later clarification. This works only because Lethem is so skillful at evoking environments and social circumstances thro...more
- Ending a little rushed
This is the third novel I’ve read by Lethem, and I may have to read them all. In this genre (he writes in several), Lethem creates what I’d call literary science fiction. Here (and in Amnesia Moon) the reader is immediately in medias res with little preliminary exposition and even less later clarification. This works only because Lethem is so skillful at evoking environments and social circumstances thro...more
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This one is a strange mix even for the genre-bending genius that is Lethem. "Girl in Landscape" combines a young girl's coming of age and awakening sexuality with an alien landscape and the strange relationships between human and alien beings. At times charting the landscapes of children and adults and the odd spaces in between, at others chronicling failure, loss and the inherent possibility of settling a new world. This is my favorite of his novels. It is poignant and lovely, qui...more
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i found nothing unlikeable about this book.
the perspective from the preteen girl is, as far as i can tell, totally infallible. i buy it completely in the sense that i never feel like it's a guy writing how he THINKS she would feel.
on top of that we have classic western set in sci fi future.
and itsy bitsy alien deer.
the strength of his work is to write great characters and stories but set them in a sci fi setting. it's not about the setting or the world. it's about them. and that's how ...more
the perspective from the preteen girl is, as far as i can tell, totally infallible. i buy it completely in the sense that i never feel like it's a guy writing how he THINKS she would feel.
on top of that we have classic western set in sci fi future.
and itsy bitsy alien deer.
the strength of his work is to write great characters and stories but set them in a sci fi setting. it's not about the setting or the world. it's about them. and that's how ...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
People who like people AND science fiction
I really enjoyed Lethem's auto-biography, The Dissappointment Artist, i very much enjoy his voice. That said, i can't seem to get behind science fiction. i just don't dig the alternate relities or distopias or whatever. Any day now i'm gonna give up on it. i'm at about page 180 and have no idea what is going on. i just like to read how the author tells the story, but i don't really give a shit about the characters and probably couldn't tell you any of their names.
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Read in July, 2007
More overtly science-fictiony than much Lethem. I loved the first 3/4 of this, but there wasn't enough payoff. Perhaps better said, it never became the novel I wanted it to be. As sci-fiy as it is, it's still just a coming-of-age tale in a wacky environment. I wanted more Archbulders, more interaction between species, more reveals about the world, but it's really about Pella. I think it's the first time I ever wanted a book to be more traditionally sci-fi.
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Read in January, 2008
Not my favorite Lethem book (so far, that's a toss-up between Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude), but still great. It has a fascinating setting on another planet populated with kind, strange aliens and gives the protagonist unexpected out-of-body powers. It's also a thought-provoking meditation on the importance of community and the dangers of witch hunts.
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Read in August, 2007
pretty poor, considering I've read really good stuff from lethem. i like both some of the literary fiction he's written (motherless brooklyn) and scifi genre writing (as she crawl across the table) but this one is just sort of bad- like he took the borges idea of writing a story like it's a summary of a novel way, way too far, it's like a skeleton of a book.
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Read in January, 2008
This is the first book I read by Latham and I really enjoyed it. It takes the usual coming of age story and places it in a new time and place. I would have liked to know more about the new planet and its inhabitants (human and archbuilder) pre-Marsh family, but all in all it was an enjoyable quick read for reader who usually shies away from science fiction.
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Read in January, 2001
recommended to Inder by:
Elizabeth
This book has one of the coolest premises ever (Lethem is really, really good at cool premises) - a Western Sci Fi, set on an alien planet. A very evocative and disturbing book on many levels, the ending was pure Western, but a bit disappointing to me nonetheless. If you like Westerns, mind you, you might like the ending.
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Read in October, 2004
Against a barely explained SF background, a 13 year old girl must deal with loss and grief. She starts to grow up and see things with new eyes and everything is threateningly alien - except as a pioneer from Earth, *she's* the alien. Dense and sinister, an amazing and disquietening story. (October 18, 2004)
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This is my favorite Lethem book by far. It's the only one that doesn't really go off the rails at some point, not that off the rails is always bad. This book makes me swoon, but so does JL.
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Read in January, 2008
Again, I love you Jonathan Lethem. I had dreams about this book and the household deer. Where do you come up with this stuff? I want to get inside your head and hang out for a few days. This wasn't my favorite of his books, but I will read anything he writes, including his grocery list.
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Read in January, 2001
This book was disappointing. seemed promising, pulled me in right away and created this totally sinister, conspiratorial environment--which then proceeded to go nowhere. I should give Jonathan Lethem another try, though, I realize. I don't think this book is considered one of his best.
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Read in September, 2007
Very weird book. I’m sure only published due to the popularity of Lethem’s other, more famous New York books. Wow this guy is obsessed with bad parents. Also there are some strange ideas in this book. It was depressingly negative. Tragic and sad and no way out.
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Read in January, 2008
I listened to this in audio version. I really like Jonathan Letham's ability to put realistic characters and situations in fantastic settings. His writing, to me, can be a bit too dry. But the other-worldliness (especially in his earlier novels) keeps me engaged.
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Very good novel, kind of an odd duck. I do wonder, after reading the novel, if the main character was slipped something in her drink by the (villian? Other main character?) at one point in the book. I don't think she was, but suspect it, if that makes any sense.
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Read in April, 2006
I like that there are sci-fi books you can buy in the 'fiction' section of the book store. That being said, I didn't like it as much as Gun with Occasional Music or Amnesia Moon. On a plot diagram, the rising action and climax just didn't reach as high.
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Read in January, 2005
This is good but wistful coming-of-age book. The setting of the book is sci-fi in a way that frames the story and adds to the ambiance of what happens to the characters. It stimulates your ideas but it's not too out there to turn-off non sci-fi fans.
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Read in January, 2008
Still thinking about this novel after reading it months ago. I really enjoy Jonathan Lethem and I am still doing my best to get into the scifi genre (and particularly space westerns), but none have appealed to me quite so much as this one.
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not such a great book, but very creative to combine the western and the sci-fi genres. if I knew more about either maybe i would have thought it genuis. actually, the most interesting part is watching lethem find his style.
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