A boozy ex-military captain trapped in a mysterious vessel searches for his runaway son, an aging superhero settles into academia, and a profes... read full description
reviews
Feb 10, 2012
John
rated it: 
An Intriguing Blend Of Fictional Styles, But.....
"Men and Cartoons" is an all too brief return visit to the fictional worlds created by Jonathan Lethem in his memorable novels "Motherless Brooklyn" and "Fortress of Solitude", with more than a passing nod to such classic early work from him like his literary debut "Gun, With Occasional Music". Hence it is an interesting, often fascinating, blend of literary styles from quasi-cyberpunk science fi More...
"Men and Cartoons" is an all too brief return visit to the fictional worlds created by Jonathan Lethem in his memorable novels "Motherless Brooklyn" and "Fortress of Solitude", with more than a passing nod to such classic early work from him like his literary debut "Gun, With Occasional Music". Hence it is an interesting, often fascinating, blend of literary styles from quasi-cyberpunk science fi More...
May 20, 2009
Matt
rated it:
So, there's a story about a retired superhero named Super Goat Man. Super Goat Man has round table, wine-and-pot-soaked communals with students at a small New England liberal arts college. Everyone digs the goat man. Our narrator knew him as a kid and then meets him again at the college. SGM is part creepy uncle, part cool older brother, but, mostly ... as someone up here mentioned, an icon for the failures of the boomer generation to (a) properly inspire their children, and (b) fulfill the
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Feb 24, 2011
Mike
rated it:
Seemingly out of nowhere, I've been on a big Jonathan Lethem kick the past week or two. I started with his novel Motherless Brooklyn, a overall good read with a few moments of excellence. Next I found an incredible essay he wrote on the subject of plagiarism entitled, "The ecstasy of influence: a plagiarism." This I highly recommend. And so finally, my Lethem kick comes to a close with his collection of short stories: Men and Cartoons. I'm not normally a big fan of short stories; I bel
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Mar 17, 2010
Caris
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I can remember, quite vividly, a time in my childhood when I was playing barefoot in my back yard. I was, arms stretched out in front of me, flying back and forth at the base of the porch, wearing my Superman pajamas (complete with cape and all). Without warning, I stubbed my toe on a rather large rock protruding from the ground. The pain shot through my body and my eyes involuntarily filled with tears. I looked down at my bloody toe and felt so profoundly stupid. Superman was not supposed to ge
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Oct 15, 2011
Bill
rated it: 
Pretty damn fantastic. This is the first of Lethem's works that I have read, and now I can't wait to sit down with some more. As is inherent with any collection of short stories, there are a few standouts and a few misses, but all in all, I really enjoyed the collection as a whole. It's funny; I don't even remember how it is that I happened to purchase this particular book, and it has sat on my shelf for some months, but now I feel like I should thank whomever it was that brought this collection
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Feb 05, 2009
Fans of Lethem will recognize his favorite themes, trademark wit, and verbal dexterity sprinkled throughout this unusual collection. A few critics sense staleness, however. It's as if these stories were written years ago, and have been sitting in a drawer ever since. In fact, many are old and served as inspiration for Lethem's novels. Some of the tales are sharp ("The Glasses"), a few are unsurprising ("The Spray"), most are bleak, and a couple of them are stellar examples of
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Mar 08, 2009
Chris
rated it:
"You wonder to know whether you can stand never to know the touch of a fresh hand, the trembling flavor of a new kiss, and I'm desperately trying to keep from telling you the little I know: it's sweeter than anything, for a moment. For just a moment, there's nothing else. As to all you're weighing it against, your wife and child, I know less than nothing. The wisdom of your ambivalence, the whimsical, faux-jaded wit you share in your letter, as you contemplate the beauties around you, all t
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Nov 18, 2010
Anne
rated it:
A good collection of quirky stories with a modern feel. A couple contain characters who either are or consider themselves to be superheros and concern their relations with "normal" people. Another portrays a characters adventures in a dystopian world where some people live in apartments and the rest live in their cars, and there is no crossing over except for hire. In another, the narrator is named "the Dystopianist." One narrator's life is defined by a few chance encounters
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Jun 24, 2011
Levi
rated it:
This is my first taste of Lethem's fiction, and I picked a great book. Nine solid stories in a volume with beautifully quirky cover art that is appropriate to the tone of the fiction. The title suggests the skewed reality of the characters and the settings they find themselves in. Half the stories have an odd, magical realism twist and the other half feature men stumbling through parties trailing old lovers or opening up their sad insides to a friend. But he doesn't use a downer style common to
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Sep 01, 2010
Oleg
rated it: 
These screwy stories introduced us to half-finished protagonists lingering somewhere between the two-dimensional worlds of their cartoonish fixations and adulthood. Lethem is a talented writer (and good reader), able to make me squint at the CD player, shake my head, and smile in the course of a story. I chalk up the abrupt endings and occasional flights of fancy to the same eccentricity that lifts these story out of the mundane. Men and Cartoons are stories whose currency are solidly in the lat
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Nov 24, 2008
Powells.com
rated it:
The stories in Men and Cartoons show what Lethem does best, blending the fantastical with the literary. Tales of magical sprays and kids with superhero identities explore themes of loneliness, relationships, nostalgia, and more. Though uneven at times, the good stories more than compensate for the weaker ones. Lethem is a throwback to a time when writers just wrote and never worried about genre. If you like his other work, then you'll like this. If you've never read him, this is a good place to
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Jul 06, 2010
MacDara
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This is the first book I've 'read' as an audiobook, which was an interesting experience. The short stories collected here (with the exception of one or two, for the voices) certainly feel better listened to than read on a page, which says a lot for the flow of Lethem's writing. And unlike most collections, there's more than one tale that lingers in my memory long after, despite me not having read a word. But those stories, like 'The Dystopianist, Thinking of His Rival, Is Interrupted by a Knock
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Feb 03, 2012
Ie
rated it:
The stories here do not climax, but pivot: something else always fucking happens. Which usually pisses me off. I mean, I want the story to go somewhere. Lethem knows to how build anticipation, tension, then throws it away. This is a bad analogy, but I don't think I need to think for a prize-winning analogy anyway, so it's something like a b-movie killer closing in on his next prey, the shadow of his knife falling on the shower curtains while the sound of running water fills for her silence, he s
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Oct 31, 2011
Stasia
rated it: 
Despite the fact that there were a few good stories, I wasn't really into it. The reality-bending, superhero-mixed-with-normal-life, sci-fi-or-maybe-not type stuff didn't really do it for me. I often felt like things were happening in the stories that I didn't quite understand--not necessarily plot things, but human emotion things. Like people were acting for reasons I didn't understand. I don't know.
I did really like "The National Anthem," and a few other stories had some More...
I did really like "The National Anthem," and a few other stories had some More...
Apr 21, 2011
Brian
rated it:
"The Vision" - if you're familiar with the game "werewolf" Lethem reworks it (or there's an alternate in here called Mafia).
"Access Fantasy" - normally I like Lethem, but this one had me waiting for it to end.
"The Spray" - didn't do it for me. But it was short.
"Vivian Relf" - really didn't get it. Reminds me a little of that "someday you may wake up to realize that someone else is married to your husband More...
"Access Fantasy" - normally I like Lethem, but this one had me waiting for it to end.
"The Spray" - didn't do it for me. But it was short.
"Vivian Relf" - really didn't get it. Reminds me a little of that "someday you may wake up to realize that someone else is married to your husband More...
Jan 19, 2009
Mark
rated it:
Just finished this collection of short stories, which is the first thing I've read by Jonathan Lethem (other than his excellent essay for the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of All Time issue (Rolling Stone's editorial approach is blatantly whorish, but even within that context they hit on something now and then).
Speaking of which, this collection was hit and miss. I thoroughly enjoyed and may reread stories such as The Vision, Planet Big Zero and Super Goat Man. The only reason I More...
Speaking of which, this collection was hit and miss. I thoroughly enjoyed and may reread stories such as The Vision, Planet Big Zero and Super Goat Man. The only reason I More...
Jul 11, 2008
Richard
rated it:
This is my first read of Jonathan Lethem. I heard his story "The Spray" on the NPR show Selected Shorts, and I was rather impressed, so I tracked down this collection. I am not familiar with any of his novels.
What impressed me about "The Spray" when I heard it, and also when I read it, was its easy style--a couple find that their apartment has been robbed, but when the police come, the couple find that they are not sure about what has been taken, so the police sp More...
What impressed me about "The Spray" when I heard it, and also when I read it, was its easy style--a couple find that their apartment has been robbed, but when the police come, the couple find that they are not sure about what has been taken, so the police sp More...
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Mar 12, 2008
Andrew
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In Jonathan Lethem’s home of Brooklyn, New York, on 5th Avenue, there lives a reassuringly odd, tough-looking store called Brooklyn Superhero Supply. Set, when I first saw it, along a row of graying or graffitied businesses, Superhero Supply (”Ever vigilant, ever true”) features “fully serviced capery, workspace for research and development, and industrial-grade services for superpowers,” whatever those might be.
Superhero Supply (actually a storefront for social work by the publisher More...
Superhero Supply (actually a storefront for social work by the publisher More...
Jan 27, 2008
Belarius
rated it:
Men And Cartoons is a mishmash of uncomfortably real and uncomfortably speculative short stories that emerge from author Lethem's apparently infinite wellspring of neurosis. the author's highly consistent tone applies itself to a very diverse collection of stories, each stemming from an Interesting Idea.
The best story, without question is The Dystopianist, Thinking Of His Rival Is Interrupted By A Knock On The Door. TDTOHRIIBAKOTD is as screwball as its title suggests, and is delig More...
The best story, without question is The Dystopianist, Thinking Of His Rival Is Interrupted By A Knock On The Door. TDTOHRIIBAKOTD is as screwball as its title suggests, and is delig More...
Jan 20, 2008
Andrew
rated it:
This is really good. The writing is light and easy, and his ideas are fun to chew on. The book really is about men and cartoons: our ideas and the silly-looking but deadly-serious shapes they take, and what we do because of them. The dystopianist story boils it down: our utopias make the real world look dim. From here spins off the resentful power of Everett's awful line ending "Super Goat Man" or the bitter games in "The Vision." The power of cartoony ideas rules the ch
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Jul 09, 2010
Nate
rated it:
Lethem has described his older stories as a sort of condensed novel rather than proper story, trying to take on more story and content than properly fits into a short story-length work. Honestly, that feeling is what makes a lot of his older stories so exciting, and the culminations, the two best of that thread of Lethem's writing, are contained here: a "Access Fantasy", a noir set in a future New York where the underpriveledged live in their cars in a permanent traffic jam, dreaming a
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Jan 04, 2011
Osho
rated it:
+ Deft characterizations, deadpan delivery of outlandish premises, fun cover art
- There's not much wrong with it. The last story seems weak as an anchor for the collection.
This is my 4th Lethem and the most delightful short story collection I've read recently. Lethem's focus here is on relationships--with oneself, with others--and the failure of communication. In many of the stories, intrusive encounters and unwitting coincidental meetings (with people previously known an More...
- There's not much wrong with it. The last story seems weak as an anchor for the collection.
This is my 4th Lethem and the most delightful short story collection I've read recently. Lethem's focus here is on relationships--with oneself, with others--and the failure of communication. In many of the stories, intrusive encounters and unwitting coincidental meetings (with people previously known an More...
Jan 11, 2011
Peter
rated it:
A good collection of short stories from esteemed author Jonathem Lethem. Most of what's offered here is solid, with some exceptions. (The penultimate story just didn't click with me and some others were only so-so). A recurring theme seems to be the loss of innocence, a longing for childhood nostalgia and unconditional childhood friendships. A feeling I can relate to, but from time to time Lethem's writing here does border on self-pity. Still, overall a fun read. Recommended for anyone who likes
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Jan 29, 2011
Ben
rated it:
I had heard lots of praise for Lethem, but was sorely disappointed with these short stories. Some of them showed promise early on, or at points throughout, but most were mildly intriguing at best, plodding at worst. Maybe it is simply because I don't 'get' what he was going for in most of them, but on the whole I felt like there wasn't a point, or that the point was too obscure, or that if there were a point it would be silly and annoying. I will say that I enjoyed "Access Fantasy" and
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Dec 03, 2010
Carrie
rated it: 
I once tried to read "Fortress of Solitude" and could not get through it, mostly due to boredom. I thought maybe short stories would be a better way for me to get into Lethem. No. Just...awful. I understand lots of people like him, I just don't understand why. I liked the first story, so I was hopeful. Maybe I will try more of his work sometime, but for now I can only conclude that Lethem is boring. And whiny. With all his white man pain.
Sep 07, 2011
Gregory
rated it:
Like with many collections of short stories, with this book it was hit or miss. I was disappointed by Access Fantasy, being similar to Gun with Occasional Music (I guess?) I thought I would like it more. The rest of the stories were enjoyable, but often forgettable. Looking through the table of contents now, writing my review, I struggled to form strong opinions on many of the stories. The Glasses? The National Anthem? The Vision? Maybe I just don't like definite articles...
The upsid More...
The upsid More...
Oct 16, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
Lethem's writing is so good it almost shimmers. It makes you want to keep reading--even when his premise is preposterous and even though his characters seem mostly driven by pot and/or sex. This book is an odd collection of short stories (I love short stories), each of which features a "superhero." It's not at all what you think--as you might deduce when you hear of the stories is about "super goatman."
Dec 09, 2008
Ian
rated it:
Picked up the hardcover in Toronto for $8, read it during one bleary all-nighter in a diner. Brief, intense, kind of weird. Lethem's better at short stories than I would have guessed - he seemed more like the kind of guy who needs the room to stretch out that a novel would have provided. Some of these I do wish I could read more of ("The Vision" in particular) but this was very satisfying.
Dec 02, 2010
Kevin
rated it:
I'm a fan of Lethem's novels, but I found this collection of short stories a bit disappointing. It has most of the ingredients that make his novels great, and some of the stories are very good, but overall I feel like his style is better suited for the novel. Some of the more fantastical elements of his work seem to play out better in long form, where they become a bit more natural and interesting. Here, they seem to be a little forced and more transparently vehicles for whatever larger point ab
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Apr 23, 2011
daniel
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the dystopianist pushed away from his desk, and squinted through the blinds at the sun-splashed street below. school buses lined his block every morning, like vast tipped orange-juice cartons spilling out the human vitamin of youthful lunacy, that chaos of jeering voices and dancing dangled shadows in the long morning light. the dystopianist was hungry for breakfast.
