Gun, With Occasional Music (1994)

Not dark eough to be Noir, and the SF-nal elements were clunky. ( )

I loved this when I read it. Wonder if it holds up? ( )

This is so weird. Very black humor. Liked it. ( )

It has a kangaroo walking into a bar, see? What's not to like? This was Lethem's first novel and it's just as confident and sharp as the rest. A dystopian noir detective novel of the future, Gun, with Occasional Music hits its tone well and sustains it evenly throughout. Some detail (including the occasional music of the title) is not as well-developed as I'd have liked. The plot develops in the Fahrenheit 451-A Scanner Darkly range, plus the expected Chandler-Hammett twists and complications. The final conceit is a little simplistic and not nearly as effective as the narrator (and perhaps author) seem to think, but if that doesn't bother readers of McCarthy's The Road, neither should it trouble Lethem's fans. If you're planning to read both, read The Yiddish Policeman's Union before this; otherwise, Chabon will be too depressing by comparison. ( )

An interesting mystery set in the future, where animals can be evolved to human intelligent, everybody is on some drug to help them get through the day, and news is reported through music.

Its a depressing world - In the pursuit of privateness - asking questions is illegal. This allows for the police force (inquisition in the book) to institute a totalitarian type government.

In this book, Conrad Metcalf is private detective. He unwillingly gets involved with a case that could land him in trouble. As he untangles the mystery, he goes all in, with everything to loose if he doesn't solve this case.

The world building is quite amazing - for a book written in 2001, it feels very much like it was a backlash against today’s very un-private world. The characters are flat - but than, this world is flat. The people in charge want it that way - having a population that doesn't care is easier to manage than one that is angry. Highly recommended. ( )