Reed Jackson
A Room of One’s Own
By Reed JacksonJonathan Lethem, The Fortress of Solitude (Doubleday 2003) Jonathan Lethem has made a reputation for himself by writing fiction deeply rooted in genre, whether that stylistic hook be the dystopian science fiction of Amnesia Moon and many of his short stories, or the hard-boiled noir of Gun With Occasional Music.
Jim Shepard, Project X: A Novel and Love and Hydrogen
By Reed JacksonAt least in the metaphorical sense, Jim Shepard does not look good on paper. Consider the synopses of some of his recent stories: a family history related through a series of the old “Mars Attacks” cards; an imagining of the Creature from the Black Lagoon’s last moments, as told by the swamp thing itself; a slice of life, from The Who’s glory days, as recounted by John Entwhistle.
Darkness at the Edge of Town
By Reed JacksonLike another grand dissection of American dreaming, The Great Gatsby, Jay Cantor’s recent novel takes place in that moneyed compound of privilege, Great Neck, Long Island (aka Fitzgerald’s "East Egg"). Unlike Fitzgerald’s titular romantic, the wealthy denizens of Cantor’s novel do not chase the orgiastic green light of the future, and instead find themselves all too willing to be borne ceaselessly into the past.
