chamblyman's review against another edition
3.0
Call this a 3 and 1/2 star book.
Jonathan Lethem is a very talented writer and I've more or less enjoyed everything he's done. From absolutely brilliant (Fortress of Solitude, Chronic City), to very clever and stimulating (Motherless Brooklyn, As She Climbed Across the Table), to interesting genre experiments (Girl in Landscape, Gun With Occasional Music, Amnesia Moon), he's progressed by leaps and bounds, and covered much more diverse stylistic territory than most writers ever do.
His prose in Dissident Gardens is as good, if not better than, ever. His characters are fully fleshed, his setting vibrant. If the mid-20th century New York world of commie-pinko-jewish-lefty-hippy-bohemians is of interest to you at all, you will probably highly enjoy this. It paints a wonderful portrait of human interaction over three generations; framed by ideology, and colored in family blood.
It's episodic nature and lack of any big surprises kept it just shy of being a 4 star book for me.
Jonathan Lethem is a very talented writer and I've more or less enjoyed everything he's done. From absolutely brilliant (Fortress of Solitude, Chronic City), to very clever and stimulating (Motherless Brooklyn, As She Climbed Across the Table), to interesting genre experiments (Girl in Landscape, Gun With Occasional Music, Amnesia Moon), he's progressed by leaps and bounds, and covered much more diverse stylistic territory than most writers ever do.
His prose in Dissident Gardens is as good, if not better than, ever. His characters are fully fleshed, his setting vibrant. If the mid-20th century New York world of commie-pinko-jewish-lefty-hippy-bohemians is of interest to you at all, you will probably highly enjoy this. It paints a wonderful portrait of human interaction over three generations; framed by ideology, and colored in family blood.
It's episodic nature and lack of any big surprises kept it just shy of being a 4 star book for me.
jenmillie's review against another edition
2.0
he lost me about half way through....maybe a third of the way through. i loved rose's story and would have liked a whole book based on her but he started making each chapter (or 4) about different characters that intersected with her. and those characters were unfortunately oftentimes annoying. oh well.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book by Lethem I've read and am pretty much awed by his artistry. He moved across several decades capturing the lives of a family of leftists across 3 generations. The hold of the matriarch Rose over her family is evident to the end of her life. I appreciated the way Lethem constructs the story by foreshadowing and even announcing events to come without details. As a reader I realized that he would give me the details in a later chapter. Instead of seeming gimmicky, it worked to keep me reading. Also, I enjoy books with clearly defined chapters, and appreciated the elegance of his crafting of each. His characterization of the mindset of leftists from 1950's members of the Communist Party to the Occupy movement was particularly brilliant.
lovebird9's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
alixgb's review against another edition
4.0
Though following a leftist family, the novel very much focused on interpersonal relationships rather than politics generally. The author really did a wonderful job giving each character a voice once their turn came around. Though Tommy's part in the middle was definitely a lull (I couldn't tell if it was purposeful or not, but either way it was tough to get through). But the rest of the characters were easily recognizable if you've ever worked with any kind of organizing. I really appreciated the strong central female characters. Definitely worth the read.
robforteath's review against another edition
3.0
Very early, the time extent of the book is established: early 1950s until the present. And the cast of characters is also established early. You're immediately aware that the book will consist of anecdotes from their lives, in nothing resembling chronological order. Main events in the lives of the characters are handed to you in quick "by the way..." style at unimportant moments, to emphasise that these events are not the point.
The writing style is a very dense mass of tangential references and musings, with story details woven in. Some of it is extremely clever; some of it is masturbatory. Forcing your way through this can be tiring, even though it is rewarding most of the time.
The book somewhat runs out of steam for a while, near the end of the third section. (The Archie storyline starts out well, and the character is done well; unfortunately it ends without packing the promised punch) But hang in there. If you make it through the good and the not-so-good parts, you will probably be happy with the end section.
The writing style is a very dense mass of tangential references and musings, with story details woven in. Some of it is extremely clever; some of it is masturbatory. Forcing your way through this can be tiring, even though it is rewarding most of the time.
The book somewhat runs out of steam for a while, near the end of the third section. (The Archie storyline starts out well, and the character is done well; unfortunately it ends without packing the promised punch) But hang in there. If you make it through the good and the not-so-good parts, you will probably be happy with the end section.
corrompido's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoy Lethem's writing, but the characters and story in this book did not grab me as some of his past novels had.