The Getz Files

Just finished The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. I must admit I was a little disappointed. There are some good stories in the book, and enough to maintain one's interest through its 600 pages, but I found it quite pretentious at times, particularly in the importance it gives to music. The writing occasionally struck me as forced, a bit off. It also has a bit of a problem with pace, and there's a magical realist/science fiction elemnt which I don't think worked at all. Characters are also very uneven. I've just found out that the book was semi-autobiographical, which makes it marginally more interesting. Lethem also has a slightly interesting website.

Verdict: kind of worth reading. Better than The Corrections, not as good as Underworld, doesn't hold a candle to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Can't really compare it to Infinite Jest, because I haven't quite managed to finish it (it is infinite, after all).