raohyrule's review against another edition
4.0
Gone With the Mind has Leyner's usual flare but feels, in a way, earnest, and the result was entirely satisfying.
My favorite parts were the sections that focused on Mark's mother and her point of view, she's a great character.
My favorite parts were the sections that focused on Mark's mother and her point of view, she's a great character.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
3.0
Very bizarre. Format is very meta, very self-aware and self-deprecating. One of the weirdest books I've ever read.
jeremyhornik's review against another edition
5.0
There is a small group of writers that I love who are just smart, and not afraid to use language in a way that keeps them from becoming popular. Too strange, too disrespectful, too alienating, too much ugliness, too many big words, tone shifts crazily, jokes too esoteric...
At the center of all these things is the problem that the reader needs to WORK to keep up with them before you can even decide if you like them or not.
Leyner is that guy. I love him. Basically, he's the anti-Franzen. Odds are you won't get through it. If you do, you may not figure out why I do. But for a few people who read this, you're going to feel like you've leveled up.
His most approachable novel, about his relationship with his mother. What is true and what is false is not easy to sort out, because of the dazzle of the language (deliberately done to obfuscate while techically 'truthful') and because the absurdity of his humor and the absurdity of his life meld almost perfectly here.
Sections worth finding even if you aren't going to read the whole thing: the section on the eroticism of women's armpits, the poetry writing class at Brandeis, the description of the Imaginary Intern, and the complete lack of interest by the only other people at the reading, two food court employees who are on their phones and resisting all attempts to be part of the novel-reading.
At the center of all these things is the problem that the reader needs to WORK to keep up with them before you can even decide if you like them or not.
Leyner is that guy. I love him. Basically, he's the anti-Franzen. Odds are you won't get through it. If you do, you may not figure out why I do. But for a few people who read this, you're going to feel like you've leveled up.
His most approachable novel, about his relationship with his mother. What is true and what is false is not easy to sort out, because of the dazzle of the language (deliberately done to obfuscate while techically 'truthful') and because the absurdity of his humor and the absurdity of his life meld almost perfectly here.
Sections worth finding even if you aren't going to read the whole thing: the section on the eroticism of women's armpits, the poetry writing class at Brandeis, the description of the Imaginary Intern, and the complete lack of interest by the only other people at the reading, two food court employees who are on their phones and resisting all attempts to be part of the novel-reading.
schwimfan's review against another edition
4.0
It's not as exhilarating as Et Tu, Babe - but it is distinctively Leyner. What I like about him is that he does his own thing without making that "thing" the only focus of his writing.
daviddavidkatzman's review against another edition
3.0
Mark Leyner is a fascinating experimentalist. In his early writing, I thought of him as a comic absurdist, such as in his amazing short stories in My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist. And there is still some of that lingering in his work, there are moments of humor no doubt, but now they are embedded within a larger, weirder context that is pushing the boundaries of meaning in fiction.
Gone with the Mind reminded me in some ways of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Both novels purport to be about to present to you the full autobiography or memoirs of the main character (in this case, it's "Mark Leyner") and in both cases, the book never gets to where it's going. Tristram never actually tells us about his life. "Mark" is about to read from his "non-fiction" autobiography, Gone with the Mind, but instead he rambles digressively about primarily insignificant aspects of his fictional life. I say fictional, because most seem ridiculous and constructed nonsense rather than actual aspects of his life. Some, perhaps, may be real, I can't know but most digressions are radically insane and bizarre, such as his obsession with a beloved writing assistant who he conjured out of cracks in the tile of the bathroom floor as he was taking a crap.
The novel begins with a long run-on story by his fictional mother that was pretty honestly amazing because it sounded hella like my own mother. I mean, legit old school Jew from New York City who JUST. WON'T. STOP. TALKING. And mostly about meaningless details. Well, that and bodily failure and relatives or friends that you have never met. It was amazingly believable in style.
At times, Gone with the Mind is alienating. As in Sugar Frosted Nutsack, I think intentionally so. Such as the incredibly awkward Oedipal implications in the Leyner character's relationship with his mother. And while it was amusing to have the faux reading, which comprises the entire story, take place in a deserted mall food court, I found the brief interactions with the fast-food employees ignoring him to be rather unnatural. Everything is contrived here and that's part of the point. The story of our self is a contrived one. We lie to ourselves as much as we lie to others. Or are simply oblivious. As a story of autobiography gone wrong, Gone with the Mind is quite a treat. Certainly not as humorous as his earliest work, but he has other intentions these days, such as seeing how far he can explore pushing the boundaries of fiction.
Gone with the Mind reminded me in some ways of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Both novels purport to be about to present to you the full autobiography or memoirs of the main character (in this case, it's "Mark Leyner") and in both cases, the book never gets to where it's going. Tristram never actually tells us about his life. "Mark" is about to read from his "non-fiction" autobiography, Gone with the Mind, but instead he rambles digressively about primarily insignificant aspects of his fictional life. I say fictional, because most seem ridiculous and constructed nonsense rather than actual aspects of his life. Some, perhaps, may be real, I can't know but most digressions are radically insane and bizarre, such as his obsession with a beloved writing assistant who he conjured out of cracks in the tile of the bathroom floor as he was taking a crap.
The novel begins with a long run-on story by his fictional mother that was pretty honestly amazing because it sounded hella like my own mother. I mean, legit old school Jew from New York City who JUST. WON'T. STOP. TALKING. And mostly about meaningless details. Well, that and bodily failure and relatives or friends that you have never met. It was amazingly believable in style.
At times, Gone with the Mind is alienating. As in Sugar Frosted Nutsack, I think intentionally so. Such as the incredibly awkward Oedipal implications in the Leyner character's relationship with his mother. And while it was amusing to have the faux reading, which comprises the entire story, take place in a deserted mall food court, I found the brief interactions with the fast-food employees ignoring him to be rather unnatural. Everything is contrived here and that's part of the point. The story of our self is a contrived one. We lie to ourselves as much as we lie to others. Or are simply oblivious. As a story of autobiography gone wrong, Gone with the Mind is quite a treat. Certainly not as humorous as his earliest work, but he has other intentions these days, such as seeing how far he can explore pushing the boundaries of fiction.
michaelmaiello's review
4.0
A lot of fun. Deconstructs the memoir genre while still ending with the poignancy of memoir. I've liked Leyner since the 90s and am glad he's back. You have to be in the right mood for this. Say, like, you kind of feel like to want to read Samuel Beckett's "More Pricks Than Kicks" but you want more jokes. When you're there, read this.
erat's review
4.0
I'm trying to figure out if this could be categorized as high-brow-low-brow a la McSweeneys' publications. It has a similar feel (full disclosure: I like McSweeneys' publications so this is not a bad thing per se) but it doesn't have quite the same Dave-Eggers-MFA-clique vocabulary or pretension. It's quirky as hell and definitely goofy but not in an overbearing or unrelenting way. It just kinda works. I'm always happy to read books that just kinda work.
This is my first Leyner book, but I can't imagine it's my last. I've been disappointed with a number of books that I've read over the past few months so this one was a breath of fresh air. It's smart, it's hilarious, it's complete bullshit, and it's short. Can't beat that with a stick.
Fair warning: you'll probably need a dictionary close by to look up some of Leyner's words. I know I did.
I got this book as a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would honestly love to spend a day just wandering around, caramelizing random things with a creme brulee torch.
This is my first Leyner book, but I can't imagine it's my last. I've been disappointed with a number of books that I've read over the past few months so this one was a breath of fresh air. It's smart, it's hilarious, it's complete bullshit, and it's short. Can't beat that with a stick.
Fair warning: you'll probably need a dictionary close by to look up some of Leyner's words. I know I did.
I got this book as a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would honestly love to spend a day just wandering around, caramelizing random things with a creme brulee torch.
hahildebrand's review
5.0
In the early 90s, Leyner fractured and then reassembled fiction in his own image through My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist, Et Tu, Babe, and The Tetherballs of Bougainville. A Hollywood and pop-medical non-fiction hiatus lasted until 2012, when The Sugar Frosted Nutsack refracted mythology and the oral tradition through the prism of the internet and celebrity obsession.
Now, with Gone With The Mind, Leyner tackles the autobiography. And it’s stunning.
Reading a Mark Leyner novel is a singular experience - one that tends to polarise, if my experience is anything to go by – but his writing hits my pleasure centres more reliably than any other author. This new book dazzles with its language, structure and fizzing, exploding ideas, but also smuggles in a depth of feeling that is palpable.
I loved it.
Now, with Gone With The Mind, Leyner tackles the autobiography. And it’s stunning.
Reading a Mark Leyner novel is a singular experience - one that tends to polarise, if my experience is anything to go by – but his writing hits my pleasure centres more reliably than any other author. This new book dazzles with its language, structure and fizzing, exploding ideas, but also smuggles in a depth of feeling that is palpable.
I loved it.
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