L.I.E.

By David Hollander

Book Overview

"At once mordantly funny and achingly sad, L.I.E. is a soul map for modern suburbia." --Sheri Holman, author of The Dress Lodger Long Island, New York, 1987: Harlan Kessler--raised in Medford, a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345441001
• ISBN13: 9780345441003
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

wrong island

Being one of the 'fictional' characters in this book, I guess I can't really be unbiased in my opinion when I say I love this book. Reading really brought back that feeling creeping, suffocating, surreal, oppression and borderline-psychotic teenage depression brought on growing up in middle-middle-class LI in the 1980's. The bleak landscapes echoed the bleak culture (or lack of) and bleak future presented to any youth growing up there with any dream bigger than becoming a clam shucker, mall-employee, postal worker or swimming pool maintenance person. You either hit that LIE as soon as you can or you STAY FOREVER. But again, having been actually present at most of the places and scenarios which inspired this fiction, my opinion may be somewhat biased. In response to previous reviews: 1- The LIE does NOT act as a dividing line between North and South shore rivalries. The rivalries on LI are not divided by north and south (latitudinally). There are divided logintudinally, east/west, exit to exit, township to township, school district to school district. 2- Maybe the golf carts at Bellport Country Club are chained up now, but when I was in High School, they were most certainly NOT particulary on Halloween when full on egg-wars were perpetrated with ammunition looted from the nearby LI Duck Farms.

Is it real...?

I'd been carrying the electronic version of this book around on my PocketPC for months and finally got around to starting it a few weeks ago. I was instantly hooked! The collection of stories in this book, though linked together, all stand on their own as fine pieces of work. Hollander has a definite narrative voice that runs throughout all of the stories. At the same time, the style of most stories here are unique and quite different from one another. Some of the stories are totally surreal, and others point out just how surreal "real", everyday life can be. Hope to see much more from this author in the future.

Experiments in Form

I came across this book accidentally in a used book store, and I'll admit it, I liked the cover and the flap copy. But it's a really cool book. Basically, Hollander links together a bunch of short stories that revolve around a character (Harlan Kessler) who is entering adulthood in a suburban hell. At times it reminds me of Rick Moody's writing (the book is actually dedicated to Moody), but also of David Foster Wallace and some of the other new "ironists." But what sets Hollander's book apart is the strangeness of these individual stories. One is told as a play. One is told as a highway (no, really, it is). One is just a bunch of quotes from people in the book. I mean, it's not totally original, but it does make what would be just another coming-0f-age-in-suburbia novel something more. The experiments in form make the reader feel as confused about the future as Harlan does, and the ending (if you can call it that) is way trippy. It's his first book. I'll buy the next one too. No matter what's on the cover!

A fantastic book!

This is such a great book! I was surprised to find that it is hysterically funny; Hollander has a real gift to talk about very serious issues with a good dose of humor. This book is about much more than just the suburbs on Long Island, its commentary on American life & family. Its a wonderful, quirky, funny book.

A Philosophical Edge

This is a great collection of interlocking stories. On the one hand, it is about suburban, post-industrial society. On the other hand, it's less about living in a particular geographical location at a particular time, and more about living in a particular mind. The author of this book brings the reader deep into the experience of others, and challenges the reader to dig deep into the recesses of their own brains to find that part of life that's really just plain scary. When it's not hilariously funny (which it is often), it's a rich excercise in what it means to be a conscious thing in this world. A great book. Fun to read, and even more fun to think about.