Not a novel, but a collection of short stories by the author of Girl In Landscape – and the first short story collection I’ve read in quite a while. Lethem Men and Cartoons consists of 9 stories totalling 160 pages. I’m not going to try to review each story individually, mostly because I’m too lazy, but I will give some edited highlights.

I’m not a huge fan of the short story in general, I’ve only read those of a few authors. That said, overall, I enjoyed the collection a great deal. The stories ranged from whimsical to satirical to introspective, and though I’ve only read one novelby Lethem I felt that these stories were very Lethem-esque. His style is that distinctive, though not in an overbearing way.

The Vision – Childhood friends meet up again year later Digging up the past and throwing it in someone’s face has its price.

Access Fantasy – Life in a never-ending traffic jam, a mystery and classist rivalry with apartment owners. What’s not to like?

Vivian Relf – A story that could have been written by M. John Harrison (which is part of why I like it). A man meets, several times through the years, a woman by the name of Vivian Relf. Despite this things never seem to work out in a way that leaves them together. The repeated encounters are strangely haunting and preoccupying to the narrator.

Super Goat Man – A B-list superhero retires to the suburbs and later becomes a teacher at a liberal arts college. The narrator first meets the hero as a boy growing up in the suburbs and, as in Vivian Relf, the two seem to find each other again and again over the years. Unlike Vivan the two do have more of a relationship, even if it is an antagonistic one.

Now, just to be clear, there wasn’t a story in this volume I disliked, but some where clearly better than others for me. I think that anyone who enjoys a quirky story or two would enjoy Men and Cartoons.