REVIEWED BY VICK BOUGHTON
FICTION
This is the story of a fledgling L.A. rock band, a stolen kangaroo and a mysterious guy known as the complainer because he often phones into a complaint line manned by one of the band members. But the gripe line is fake, a conceptual art project much like the party thrown by a promoter who asks the group to play their instruments quietly while guests wearing headphones dance to music they brought with them. Author of 1999's Motherless Brooklyn, Lethem is a wicked satirist, here slicing up L.A. hipsters, smarmy music execs and rudderless twentysomethings. It's an exhilarating ride through a weird yet recognizable landscape.
