I’ve been pondering what to say about Jonathan Lethem’s forthcoming novel Chronic City all week. No matter how careful, I worry that I’ll give something away in writing about it. Not that there’s a secret twist necessarily, but the whole book seems cloaked in a paranoia. Perhaps it’s all the pot the characters smoke?

Like his other books, this one plays with genres mixing mystery, romance, science fiction and more all in one. Chase Insteadman acted in a beloved sitcom and now lives off the royalties in Manhattan. His girlfriend is trapped aboard the International Space Station and sends him love letters which the media publish to great fanfare. His social cache makes him a must have at monied dinner parties. One day he meets Perkus Tooth, a slightly agoraphobic, pot smoking critic, whose paranoid delusions oddly rouse Chase’s paternal side. Several mysteries arise including rumors of a loose tiger who causes destruction to various neighborhoods.

There’s so much to talk about with this book! First, I’ll say that the main theme is the disconnectness of modern day urbanites. And what about the names? “Insteadman” stands in for Everyman, but because we’re all so disconnected we can’t imagine a person representing all of us. So we get Insteadman instead. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this. A name can just be a name after all. Twists and turns abound in this book. It goes places you might not imagine when you start reading it. And many of the pop culture references are close but not quite the same.

Gripping, tragic, fantastical are words I’d use if I thought it would help describe this book. It’s too difficult to categorize however. Everyone should definitely read it. I look forward to the discussion I know it will generate.

Summer finally hit New England. I spent a lovely, hot Saturday wandering around Davis Square’s ArtBeat. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for ten years and not a day goes by that I’m not thankful I live in such a great area.

I also finished reading Christopher Priest’s The Inverted World over the weekend, published by the fabulous New York Review of Books Classics. They really publish some amazing stuff. I don’t think I’ve read any of the series and not liked it to some degree. This is a strange and interesting story about a city constantly on the move. It’s trundled along on rails that must be laid ahead of the city and removed after it has passed. The inhabitants of the city is governed by a Guild system built around moving the city but most know nothing of the outside world. Helman Mann becomes an apprentice to the Future Guild becoming responsible for plotting the city’s path. As he ventures outside the city and learns about their fragile existence and why the city must constantly move, his loyalties are put to the test. I won’t ruin the ending but suffice it to say, it’s thought provoking to say the least. Jonathan Lethem said this about The Inverted World: “A somber psychedelic journey through a landscape that seems a collaboration between Breugel the Elder and M.C. Escher, Priest’s book is an engine of epiphany, and a formal marvel: a narrative in the exact shape of the conundrum it presents.”

I quote Lethem because I started reading his forthcoming novel Chronic City after finishing Priest’s book. I haven’t read all of his books but I’m not sure if makes a difference or not. Kind of strange is the best I can come up with right now to describe it. I’m eager to see where’s he going with this. It’s also another novel set in New York. I’m on this strange New York kick. I should start a Boston one after this.

Also, if you haven’t seen this already, you should check out author Marc Fitten’s website where he’s traveling to 100 independent bookstores around the country. We were his fifth visit. He’s at number thirty five now!