Essential for fans of Sleeper and the like, yet not derivative or entirely like those bands. On some songs, the LBs guitar riffing even gets a little Sleater-Kinney-ish.

Not exactly essential (and it’s overpriced), but it IS Joanna Newsom and thus still very cool.

I don’t know, I just didn’t enjoy this a lot. I picked it up because I loved the essays and stories I’d read by Lethem in various magazines. I admire its scope/ambition, but ultimately I found the writing style somewhat exhausting. I found myself caring a little about the characters but not a lot.

As a side note, I thought that when the main character (Dylan Ebdus) was narrating, it was actually the voice of Lethem rather than the character. Cuz we hadn’t been presented with any information indicating that the character would know some of the historical and pop-culture references he supposedly thinks. Just my opinion, of course!

Highsmith at her near-best. “Unputdownable,” as one of the quotes on the back cover says.

Supposedly Graham Greene’s favorite among all her novels.

Sort of a heavier and sharper version of Pavement. Not that they should have to be compared to anyone else. I say that only to give a reference point for those who might be interested in these guys.

Absolutely outstanding.

Odd and beautiful! Poetry set to harp, with orchestration by Van Dyke Parks.

A little more oomph than Whiskey Tango Ghosts, which was super-mellow and maybe even (gasp) boring. This Hungry Life isn’t as lively as some of the upbeat songs in Tanya’s Belly days, but it’s worth hearing. Her voice is as gorgeous as ever, if nothing else.

Wow. Chilling. If you’ve heard about the book, that plot synopsis you heard is only about 1/10 of what actually happens. Yes, a guy kidnaps a dog from a rich Manhattan couple and holds it for ransom. But that setup is resolved in the first 75 pages or so. It’s what happens afterwards with the guy, the couple, and the policeman involved that makes up the bulk of the book. Amazingly suspenseful and psychologically scary. As with all of Highsmith’s work, the twists and turns are unpredictable yet completely believable. I don’t know how she does it.

ESSENTIAL for anyone who read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. And for those who didn’t, it’s a much lighter and easier entry into both Clarke’s writing style and her fictional world.

Outstanding. As the fancy shmancy New Yorker quote on the book’s back cover says, “Her strongest, her most imaginative, and by far her most substantial novel.”

I find many of her other novels equally substantial, but this is certainly among Highsmith’s best.