A Guide To the Perplexed by Gilad Atzmon

glyn · Post by **glyn** » Fri Jan 10, 2003 3:34 pm

I read this novel whilst in France. It is by a Hebrew writer, I don't know if he is Jewish. I never really have read anything like it since reading Cohen's novels in its style. I thought it was very good. Anybody else read it? I'd love to read your feedback.

tomsakic · Post by **tomsakic** » Fri Jan 10, 2003 3:48 pm

Never heard of this, Glyn, but I think that LC's novel are pretty postmodernistic. If there is someone like him, that would be probably the best U.S. novelist in the second half of 20th century, Thomas Pynchon.
There is a novel similar to Beautiful Losers, in its structure and, let's say, halucinogeny trip of its narrator, that's "Generation P" by contemporary Russian writer Viktor Pelevin. I think this onfluence is obvious, and I have even 2 objective clues: 1) Pelevin wrote "excellent Zen novel", his best (I didn't read because it is not translated) called "Chapayev and emptiness" 2) motto for "Generation P" are Leonard's lyrics from Democracy: "I love the country if you know what I mean... to get lost in that hopeless little screen". I think that these few lines descibe the novel completely. It's a kind of simulacrum - idea is that Russia don't exist really, but only virtually...
Pelevin's novels are translated into English... So:-)
t.