Jonathan Lethem at Skylight Books 4.11.07

Having passed on the opportunity to go over to Vroman's yesterday, I couldn't miss heading over to my favorite Los Feliz haunt, Skylight Books, to see Jonathan Lethem reading and signing his new book You Don't Love Me Yet, covering the escapades of a group of penniless musician bohos struggling to make a go of it in Los Angeles. Of course, we don't expect Lethem, whose notable works include Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude, writing about L.A., but more on that later...


Of course, this being an evening featuring a novel about L.A. musicians, and this also being Skylight Books, the crowd was provided with a little Lethem preshow with three Silverlake musicians performing "Monster Eyes," a song based on You Don't Love Me Yet, which set a sort of laid-back tone(check out the guy in the animal mask complete with Vodka bottle) for the subsequent reading.

Lethem was great, really choosing passages which struck a chord with the audience. Although I was not sure he'd pull it off, he managed to capture the sort of completely-relaxed, yet simultaneously self-serious, tone of Silverlake bohemia, especially the band scene. I really thought it was a bold stroke that Lethem chose to have one of his main characters working for a telephone hotline where people air their random complaints. One part of the book I chanced to read had this character, aptly-named Lucinda Hoekke, asking her musician boyfriend to head down to San Pedro for crabs. When I later had the chance to ask Lethem about the scene, he said he stole the idea from a popular L.A. guidebook for tourists. Yes. I'm now reminded of Ports O' Call in good ol' Pedro...


Anyhow, digressions aside, Letham fielded numerous questions from the audience, including my own too-obvious inquiry about why he chose Los Angeles for his setting. He mentioned something to the effect of he was becoming tired of being the guy-who-knows-and-writes-all-about-Brooklyn. Refreshing reply.

So get the book. Read it. Tell me what you think. If you have any complaints, feel free to call the Grievance Hotline at (213) 291-7778. I can't promise absolute satisfaction if you take the time to read the novel, but I certainly can promise somebody's undivided attention to your somewhat factually-based, yet most strident, opinions and comments.