The Loss of Leon Meed: A Novel

By Josh Emmons

Book Overview

In Josh Emmons's inventive and utterly engaging debut, ten residents of Eureka, California, are brought together by a mysterious man, Leon Meed, who repeatedly and inexplicably appears -- in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743267184
• ISBN13: 9780743267182
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Loved this book

I had difficulty putting this book down. As someone who grew up in Eureka, I was impressed with how Josh Emmons was able to capture the essence of the town, of Humboldt County and in general of the lost coast of California. For those not familiar with the area, you will feel like you've been there after reading this book. Each character was a true representation of the odd mix of people one can find in this strange town in one of the most beautiful places in California. I couldn't wait to find out what was next in store for each character as I turned the pages. Lines like "it was 4:30 and Barry was not gay" - to describe a young man at the cusp of admitting his homosexuality to himself - were constantly popping up in this book. The writing is fresh and takes chances. Loved it.

Terrific First Novel

In the early pages of Josh Emmons' splendid first novel, THE LOSS OF LEON MEED, the author notes that dreams and the imagination, "like all engines of terror and transcendence, can do anything," and with those words guides the reader into this delectable story. The book explores the ambiguous conjunction of reality and the imagination through the intertwined experiences of a cast of about a dozen main characters. It is an audacious and spellbinding debut. The mysterious Leon Meed, who appears and disappears throughout the novel, is perplexed by his journey into, and out of, the lives of the townspeople of Eureka, California, just as those residents are puzzled by Leon's sudden appearances. This gives the book a fascinating structure and provides for moments that are both comic and evocative as Emmons explores traditional themes of loss, love, redemption, and forgiveness. Emmons is a solid novelist--and, if he ever turns his hand to short fiction or screen plays, he'll prove to be an excellent writer in those genres as well. He has a wonderful gift for characterization, dialogue, and sensory description. The cast of characters is varied, by age, gender, race, national origin, and personal experience. He is equally adept, for instance, at creating a young Korean who longs for love and wants to start his own restaurant, a black man who is a recovering alcoholic, and a middle-aged female school teacher whose marriage is dissolving. Emmons is also capable of making the small town of Eureka into one of the novel's main characters. I won't give away the story. It is too good to spoil. Emmons can do amazing things with language to evoke moods and feelings and characters. He is in firm control of this material, but one of the things I most admire about the book is that the author doesn't tie things up neatly. This is a novel about mysteries, about the important things in life that are hardest to grasp. The book's emotional and beautifully written epilogue--perhaps the most affecting passage in the book--leaves the reader with a deep appreciation for the power of the unknown. This is a terrific book. Don't miss it.

An worthwhile read

For anyone living in northern California and has spent time in Eureka, this book is a must. It is beautifully written both in tone and description.

Breathtaking

The author manages at once to evoke the vast expanses of the astral planes and the microscopic and endless labyrinths of the human heart. From the first page, drawn deftly into the into the familiar, yet layered world of Eureka, California, I was hooked. Emmons takes us into the lives of a disparate troupe of seekers--some of whom do not know, at first, that they so yearn--all whirling around the cryptic figure of Leon Meed. Eureka is not just the setting of this book, it is the feeling that one gets on the last page. I had never been to Eureka, but now I can say I have found it. Thanks to this author. Buy this book!

A Book I Couldn't Put Down

"The Loss of Leon Meed" is a book you don't want to leave for a second. I read it in two days, captivated by the painfully real characters making their way through the quirky alternative culture of Eureka, California--each character as distinct as this hideaway town. Josh Emmons has done something I haven't seen in recent novels--somehow he's raised the questions of how we interpret the ghostly, the bodily, the miraculous and the mundane, all at once in this amazingly crafted, sometimes hilarious story. Because of all the unanswerable questions this book approaches, I think it is perfect for book group discussions. It's endless with possibility. I'm telling everyone I know about this book.