Jonathan Lethem and the Galaxy of Writing

Author of <i>Motherless Brooklyn</i> and <i>The Fortress of Solitude</i> Jonathan Lethem is one of the most celebrated and significant American writers working today. This new scholarly study draws on a deep knowledge of all Lethem's work to explore the range of his writing from his award-winning fiction to his work in comics and criticism.<br/> <br/> Reading Lethem in relation to five themes crucial to his work Joseph Brooker considers influence and intertextuality; the role of genres such as crime science fiction and the Western; the imaginative production of worlds; superheroes and comic book traditions; and the representation of New York City. Close readings of Lethem's fiction are contextualized by reference to broader conceptual and comparative frames as well as to Lethem's own voluminous non-fictional writing and his adaptation of precursors from Franz Kafka to Raymond Chandler. Rich in critical insight <i>Jonathan Lethem and the Galaxy of Writing</i> demonstrates how an understanding of this author illuminates contemporary literature and culture at large.