Men and Cartoons Audiobook

" Lethem as both product and producer of popular culture is in fine form for alternately successful and moderately entertaining short stories. He's at his best when making us slightly uncomfortable, which means parsing these stories with their underlying comics and sci-fi bent will take some time. He can be read fast, but I think that undoes the quality that he's cultivated--that life is slow and terrible at times, and we are forced to live mundanely despite our occasional moements of super-heroism. "

" this was good storytelling, but it was way too guy for me. The comic book theme went too far for me. The book breathed hip disaffection. I get sick of that in the New Yorker and I got tired of it here. (now watch me apply for MFA programs and have Lethem on my admission's committee) "

" Two or three of these stories haunt me, all are memorable. "

" 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 "The National Anthem," the former for its intriguing dystopia and amusing plot twist at the end, and the latter for its clear soul-searching and scathing introspection (though whether or not either of those were of the author himself, I don't know). Maybe his full-length novels are better--more fully realized and fleshed out--since those are generally what I've heard people speaking highly of, but I wouldn't really recommend this collection of short stories. "

" Lethem's second short story collection isn't a bad effort at all, but funnily enough (considering how good an essayist he is), I'm not sure the format suits him. Several of the pieces here feel like outtakes from a longer story, that sacrifice the character and thematic developments of a novel but don't quite pack the punch of a great short story. If you've read Fortress of Solitude (and you should) there's really not much new in stories like The Vision or Planet Big Zero, and sci-fi stories like Access Fantasy may be entertaining but come across as too obviously Vonnegut-meets-Bradbury without the sharp observations of either. That said, The Spray is a brilliant idea done very well (a couple are robbed, the police use a mystical spray to identify what's missing from their apartment, and the couple then turn the spray on each other to see what's unspoken between them...), The Dystopianist, Thinking of his Rival, is Interrupted by a Knock on the Door is not just a great title, and Super Goat Man makes the perhaps best use yet of Lethem's fascination with comic book heroes by featuring a jaded and retired superhero trying to make a living as a college teacher in Nixon's America - and then showing us exactly why heroes retire, and what happens to those who trusted in them; superhero deconstructions are a thirteen per dozen these days, but Super Goat Man is one of the better. Lethem is never not entertaining, and when he gets it right, that Pynchon-lite walk through an America built as much by Stan Lee as by Abraham Lincoln, populated by people trying to pick up the world their forebears handed them in bright colours promising caped baddies and upstanding heroes that somehow never delivered, works very well in short story form as well. But Men And Cartoons is a little too slight, with one or two stories too many that just fizzle out without going neither SPLAT nor POW. "

" A wonderful collection of stories inspired in part by comics culture. Lethem's fluid prose reads like a benign version of PKD, constantly teetering between hallucination and fantasy. "

" A bunch of half realized surreal short stories. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because there were a couple of ideas that were mildly interesting (but not fully explored). "

" Well, I love "Fortress of Solitude." That's really all I have to say about this book. "

" Poignant modern science fiction stories. One or two disappointments, but enough gems to warrant four stars. The more surreal stories seem to be the most inspired. "

" Lethem revisits a lot of the same themes from Fortress of Solitude (Brooklyn, cartoons) in short stories, but they don't really do much for me. Read for Elle 2004 Fiction Readers Prize. "

" The man likes cartoons. "

" Some stories in this collection were amazing, some not so much. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Lethem collection. "

" i only read some of these stories... i should finish it one day, i like lethem a lot "

" I liked the tragic story about a spray . . . "

" This was a good read of short stories. I loved Motherless Brooklyn, which is what made me pick this up at the library. I really enjoyed all of the stories except "Access Fantasy" which I wasn't able to get through. A quick and worth the effort read for sure. "

" mine has a different cover but just the back of this book's dust jacket has me cracking up....can't wait to read it...I need some humor in my life (the dog is dying):( "

" This was my first Lethem, and I am so glad I found him. Goat man was my favorite. "

" A couple of the stories were good, but I was neutral about the rest. "

" jonathan lethem writes a much better novel. "

" Some of the stories seemed short, too short. Unfinished, cramped. Most were fun and enjoyable. "

" Some of the stories are exceptional and a good introduction to Lethem "

" Fantastic stories! Beginning to harbor a really serious liking for Lethem books. "

" I love short stories! This book was filled with quirky, weird, and deeply thought provoking stories. My personal favorite was "The Spray." "

" Word of advice: If you go on a Lethem-reading marathon & start with this, you'll see so many ideas taking shape for Fortress of Solitude, it's ridiculous. Great short stories though. "

" Ogni racconto è una piccola perla: in questa raccolta Lethem mostra il meglio di sé nelle short stories. "

" Some of these stories I really liked. Some were okay. A couple of them seemed like they've been rattling around in Jonathan Lethem's undoubtedly crowded head for years, and never quite made it to completion. Not his best stuff, but certainly amusing. "

" Two and a half stars. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I found that some of the stories worked for me, and others were almost too bizarre and experimental. I'd be interested to read one of his novels, but I wouldn't necessarily read his short stories again. "

" Some of the stories seemed short, too short. Unfinished, cramped. Most were fun and enjoyable. "

" 'Super Goat Man' is the reason to buy this book - it's one of the best pieces of short fiction I've ever read. The rest of the stories range from great to modestly good, but 'Super Goat Man' is the stand-out tale. "