Chronic City

Chronic City
By Jonathan Lethem
Doubleday, 2009. 467 pgs. Fiction

Chase Insteadman lives off residuals earned from his work as a child star two decades ago. His fiancé is an astronaut trapped on a Russian space station. His life is composed of a series of social events where he contentedly plays his role as a celebrity conversation piece. But, quite by chance, he becomes friends with Perkus Tooth, an agoraphobic conspiracy theorist, who introduces Chance to a whole new side of New York City and a cast of new friends that alter his perception of the world and himself. Oh, and this story also involves a massive tiger demolishing buildings throughout the city and an insane amount of marijuana.

I didn’t have many expectations when I picked up this novel and I am still unsure, after reading the entire thing, how to describe it. Not an easy (or clean) read, it is filled with oddly endearing personalities and a fascinating theme of self discovery and the concept of truth. As Chase is forced to face the reality of what is of worth in life, so is the reader. I suppose it is a sign of good writing that I, the reader, feel a desire to reread the novel to revisit some of the revelations and insights I only fully discovered near the end.

CZ