It's been a while since I read any Lethem, and I was glad to come back to him. I purchased this book a while ago but it's been sitting on the shelf. Because so many compared it to This Shape We're In I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it.

Both stories were engaging and reminded me of the second Lethem I came to know. My first experience was with As She Climbed Across The Table which I bought at the Bennington College bookstore while working there one summer and read while walking home and then sitting outside of the house where I was living.

After reading that I started with things like [b:Amnesia Moon|32078|Amnesia Moon|Jonathan Lethem|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168324923s/32078.jpg|2209] -- and this reminded me more of that. The first story was reminiscent of some of the stories in "Men and Cartoons", but I enjoyed it more. I had a great picture in my head the entire time I read it. The two characters followed are easy to be intrigued with, and keep you guessing. The story moves quickly and left me wanting more, but in a good way.

The second piece reminded me a great deal of Gun... Music. I loved all of the characters, and the scenes with the television were awesomely funny and disturbing. Kind of a Willy Wonka flashback for the grownups.

I don't want to give anything away... just like the sleeve of the book. I'd say if you're a fan of Lethem's more sci-fiy stuff, this is definitely for you. Actually, I bet a fan of any of his works would enjoy it.