Awards
British Fantasy Society (nominee)
Nebula (nominee)
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
British Fantasy Society (nominee)
Nebula (nominee)
The first novel by Jonathan Lethem is a hard-boiled, noir mystery, a dark and funny post-modern romp serving further evidence that Lethem is the distinctive voice of a new generation. Conrad Metcalf has problems. He has a monkey on his back, a rabbit in his waiting-room, and a trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. (Maybe evolution therapy is not such a good idea). He's been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an Oakland urologist. Maybe falling in love with her a little at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, Metcalf finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the inquisitor's Office and gangsters who operate out of the back room of the Fickle Muse.There are people who have a story to tell and then there are storytellers. Jonathan Lethem is a storyteller as Gun, with Occasional Music clearly shows--but he's also a craftsman and it's the latter quality that is on display in this, his first novel, though not the first in print in the UK. In previously available (but later) works, Lethem's craftsmanship has come into its own: like Don DeLillo or film maker Hal Hartley, he's a master of characters in absurd situations, as well as absurd characters in sane situations. But his debut shows a different side of Lethem and while still enjoyable, Gun is a prime example of an author getting through the difficult first novel, a storyteller still learning to use his tools.
A Chandler-esque piece of detective noir by way of Philip K Dick or Eric Garcia (Anonymous Rex, Gun is the story of private inquisitor Conrad Metcalf, a down-on-his-luck detective in a world not too different from our own. That is, if you discount the evolved animals and babies (called babyheads), a public injunction against asking questions, self-tailored drugs and the reliance on mortal karma as a criminal deterrent. There's a girl, a gun, a mysterious crimelord and some heavies on both sides of the law to deal with; the usual suspects are all present and accounted for. So too is the stylised dialogue:
She and Stanhunt had been freshly separated and the electricity between them had still been going strong--back when Stanhunt was still capable of generating electricity. Now there was a blackout. I wondered if the lady behaved any differently in the dark. I wondered if maybe she was the one who cut the wires.It's only the knowing tone--the fact that the author realises just how silly all of this is and has some fun with it--that saves this book from being a fourth-rate Chinatown. In Motherless Brooklyn, Lethem revisits crime with better results; and does science fiction better in Girl in Landscape. --Randy Silver
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Used availability for Jonathan Lethem's Gun, with Occasional Music
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
January 1995 : Hardback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 141770733X / 9781417707331 (USA edition) Publisher: Topeka Bindery Availability: Amazon Amazon UK |
March 1994 : Hardback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0151364583 / 9780151364589 (USA edition) Publisher: Harcourt Brace Availability: Amazon UK Amazon Amazon CA |
Paperback Editions
December 2004 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0571225047 / 9780571225040 (UK edition) Publisher: Faber and Faber Availability: Amazon Amazon UK |
August 2003 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music (Harvest Book) Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0156028972 / 9780156028974 (USA edition) Publisher: Harvest Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA |
2003 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan 1 Lethem ISBN: 1616882077 / 9781616882075 (USA edition) Publisher: Harcourt Availability: Amazon UK |
August 2001 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0571209599 / 9780571209590 (UK edition) Publisher: Faber and Faber Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA |
January 1995 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0312858787 / 9780312858780 (USA edition) Publisher: Tor Books Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA Amazon |
February 1995 : Paperback
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: 0340632259 / 9780340632253 (UK edition) Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks Availability: Amazon CA Amazon UK Amazon |
Kindle Editions
September 2003 : Kindle edition
| Title: Gun, with Occasional Music (Harvest Book) Author(s):: Jonathan Lethem ISBN: B004H1U2MO Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Availability: Amazon |
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