9/18/08
You Don't Love Me Yet
In Lethem's novel, You Don't Love Me Yet, the character Falmouth is a very interesting character. The thing that strikes me about Falmouth is that he constantly strives to do art that seems to have no purpose whatsoever. For example, Falmouth's Aparty was intended to have guests dancing to their own music while a band played silently and Falmouth was to only tease the guests with food. If it is a work of art it is nothing anyone can really explain or admire, the only one it could be considered art for is Falmouth. The Aparty is like a postmodernist novel, with Falmouth as its author. Although Falmouth wanted a work of art rather than a party, a normal social gathering would have allowed the guests to eat and interact to the same music while dancing. Falmouth instead disrupts the linearity of the party by not serving food to the guests and separating them from each other in what would have otherwise been a social setting. Another example of Falmouth supposed "art" is the complaint telephone line. This complaint line itself embodies the characteristics of postmodernism in the sense that it serves no purpose to Falmouth in the story, but it allows Lethem the ability to connect Lucinda with Carl and draw him into the story. After Lucinda and Carl are brought together, Falmouth discontinues the complaint line and turns his attention to other things.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This is an amazing post, Alex. Falmouth does indeed seem the stereotypical postmodern artist. It's fun to think that Lethem is poking fun at the postmodern project here. Do you remember him saying in the youtube clip that he wants to avoid being labeled a postmodernist?
By the way, I was researching the novel on Wednesday and learned that Lethem sent out the review copies of the book with Falmouth's review already attached. Needless to say, Falmouth didn't like the book because he felt that the main characters didn't have the depth of the minor characters. In other words, he wanted the book to be about the minor characters, e.g. himself!
Post a Comment