Often favorably compared to contemporaries Michael Chabon and Lev Grossman, New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Lethem won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In his post-apocalyptic novel Amnesia Moon, he introduces a young man named Chaos who can seemingly remake reality in his dreams. Setting off on a grand adventure, Chaos attempts to learn the secrets behind the world's destruction. "Lethem tempers a liberal dose of quirky surrealism with interesting, believable characterizations and a compelling, imaginative story line."-Booklist
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"Jonathan Lethem is one of my favorite science fiction authors. This one is really wacky, but good. I had Amnesia Moon dreams afterwards. He can create the most exceptional ideas and turn them into well written prose that just flows, no matter how odd the subject matter."
— Michelle (4 out of 5 stars)
“[Letham is] an author to be reckoned with…A social critic, a sardonic satirist like the Walker Percy of Love in the Ruins. But with Amnesia Moon, Lethem slips out of the shadow of his predecessors to deliver a droll, downbeat vision that is both original and persuasive.”
— Newsweek“At its heart, this novel remains a simple story—the search for identity, the search for family—but Lethem uses it successfully as a springboard for both a commentary on American culture and a convincing portrait of his main character.”
— Publishers Weekly“A hip, updated conflation of Harlan Ellison’s A Boy and His Dog and Jim Thompson’s The Alcoholics. Jonathan Lethem escorts us down an impossibly post-terminal Route 66, kicking and screaming and loving every minute of it.”
— Barry Gifford, author of Wild at Heart" This is a wild and wacky novel with fun plot twists and interesting characters that probably fits into the post-modern magic realism genre. "
— Craig, 2/14/2014" I'm still not sure what happened, what's "real," but I guess that's the point. Very strange book, strange characters and scenes, but entertaining and thought provoking. I'm going to have to read more by Lethem, I think. "
— Sara, 2/10/2014" People are always comparing authors to Philip K Dick, but in this case I think they're pretty much right on the money. Just as wacky, slightly less crazy. "
— Amber, 2/5/2014" I'd enjoyed Lethem's other books, and kept waiting for this one to get somewhere, which it never did. I can't help but feel that was maybe the point. Which would make it no less unsatisfying. "
— Glenn, 2/1/2014" Well, I have had this book on my shelf for months and I finally read it this weekend. It's not exactly science fiction but it has that quality. It mainly is exploring different realities that are created by dreaming. Once I got into it, it was pretty intriguing and engaging. The end was wierd. It just ended. "
— Malinda, 1/25/2014" This book was good but not great. It is a classic Lethem genre book with twist and alternate realities but it lacks what most of his books have . . . a great finish. I enjoyed reading it but felt hanging at the end. He didn't tie the loose ends together, etc. "
— Pamela, 1/19/2014" WTF? He's don't much better work after this was published. "
— Ray, 1/18/2014" I love Jonathan Lethem generally, but this book was disappointing. His imaginative story crossed the line from delightfully mysterious into irritatingly confusing. "
— Robert, 12/16/2013" Satisfying sci-fi that has more to it than the typical fare. Definitely one for fans of P.K. Dick. "
— Noah, 11/17/2013" Falls into the "pretty alright" category. Lethem had a lot of good ideas here, and he knew what to do with some of them. "
— Tim, 11/7/2013" Cool premise, middling execution, still an interesting read. "
— Alex, 10/3/2013" the ending was very open ended which was annoying "
— Arielle, 4/16/2013" With this one, Lethem out-Dicks Dick (Philip K., that is). Wild, mind-bending, and insightful. "
— Marc, 1/6/2013" I heard this book was influenced by Philip K. Dick. Instead, I found it to be derivative of PKD. But since I like PKD's work, you might think I'd be okay with "Amnesia Moon;" instead, I'd say this was like reading a bad PKD novel. "
— Andy, 12/8/2012" I dug it. Heavy PKD influence, slightly unsatisfying finish. "
— Steve, 11/20/2012" I'm glad I read Chronic City and The Fortress of Solitude before this, because I wouldn't have tried Lethem again had this been my first experience. "
— Christopher, 8/14/2012" Guy had ideas that he didn't seem to know what to do with yet. "
— Steev, 4/19/2012" Fun and trippy romp. Enjoyed it so much I can almost forgive the lack of true answers or concrete resoution. "
— Andrew, 4/12/2012" Outrageous, somewhat zany take on a futuristic dystopian America ala Road Warrior/Mad Max. Fun, imaginative yet not all my questions were answered. "
— Justin, 1/24/2012" Unfortunately I read this book directly after reading The Road. Another post-apocalyptic version of America, this one light-hearted--America is now controlled by dreamers who can project their dreams onto other people and control reality. But compared to The Road, it fell flat. "
— Kira, 11/28/2011" This was a fantastic book. In the form of a road novel, it explores many concepts which we hold too close to see using a post apocalyptic landscape. Fascinating. "
— Spencer, 9/4/2011" Amo questo libro, per me uno dei migliori in assoluto nella fantascienza. Assomiglia a 2/3 libri (un assemblaggio+personalizzazione, tipo)? Beh, come migliaia di altri, e questo lo trovo bellissimo. Leggete e godete! "
— Infernatron, 9/4/2011" I dug it. Heavy PKD influence, slightly unsatisfying finish. "
— Steve, 8/10/2011" Cool premise, middling execution, still an interesting read. "
— Alex, 7/10/2011" A book with some interesting ideas, but far less polished than either GUN, WITH OCCASIONAL MUSIC or MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN. Still, Lethem's prose has the tendency to occasionally stop me dead in my tracks with wonder. "
— Lisabet, 5/24/2011" un mondo post apocalitticvo visto da quel genio che è lethem "
— Bicefalus, 2/2/2011Jonathan Lethem is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Fortress of Solitude and the National Book Critics Circle Award winner Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem’s stories and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and the New York Times, among others. He lives in New York City.
Scott Sowers is an actor and audiobook narrator. AudioFile magazine named him the 2008 Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense. He is the winner of seven Earphones Awards.