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Amnesia Moon
Amnesia Moon
Author: Jonathan Lethem
In Jonathan Lethem's wryly funny second novel, we meet a young man named Chaos, who's living in a movie theater in post-apocalyptic Wyoming, drinking alcohol, and eating food out of cans. — It's an unusual and at times unbearable existence, but Chaos soon discovers that his post-nuclear reality may have no connection to the truth. So he takes to...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780156031547
ISBN-10: 015603154X
Publication Date: 8/8/2005
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 12

3.2 stars, based on 12 ratings
Publisher: Harvest Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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reviewed Amnesia Moon on
A fun post-apocalyptic tale with alternate realities complete with mutants. It is a pretty breezy read and recommended if you like Lethem's other work.
althea avatar reviewed Amnesia Moon on + 774 more book reviews
Since I just re-read 'Motherless Brooklyn' I thought I'd get around to reading the sci-fi book of Lethem's that's been sitting on my shelf. Unfortunately, I didn't like it nearly so much.
'Amnesia Moon' is really a seriously wanna-be-Philip-K.-Dick book. If you really like Dick and his trippy perspectives on things, you might love this book. I thought it had some interesting moments - but, as a whole, it didn't work for me.
It's a post-apocalyptic scenario. There's definitely been some kind of disaster, but no one seems to remember exactly what happened. No one really seems to remember much. Everett Moon, aka Chaos, etc, leaves the derelict town he believes he's been in for the last five years, along with a mutant teen, and embarks on a journey... it seems that everything has become very "localized" - different areas are completely different realities, possibly controlled by those individuals whose dreams have gained the power to influence reality. Moon seems to be searching for something - but it's hard to identify what you want when you can't even remember your old loves or friends...
Like I said, there were some interesting scenes - the "green" town is memorable, and the idea of accessing and communicating with people by injecting drugs was kinda interesting (if, again, Dick-ian). However, the book has no conclusion whatsoever, let alone an explanation. I felt like the author couldn't think of a satisfying way to explain what had happened - so he just decided not to bother with an ending at all. Disappointing.


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