- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: GROVE/ATLANTIC; 1 edition (Sep 12 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802117465
- ISBN-13: 978-0802117465
- Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 16 x 3.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 617 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,253,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This ambitious and very funny novel tells the coming-of-age story of Lyle Clemens, "the child who would grow up to become the Mystery Cowboy who appeared naked along Hollywood Boulevard." It's a tall tale, a simultaneously sweet and vicious satire of contemporary America, with the handsome, empathic and guileless Lyle an innocent in a cruel world serving as vehicle for Rechy's reflections on religion, sexuality, fame and greed. Self-consciously modeled on Henry Fielding's 18th-century classic The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, the book begins with Lyle's birth in Rio Escondido, Tex., to the unwed Sylvia Love, whose dream of becoming Miss America was shattered by her Bible-thumping mother Eulah. The book feels at times like one of Robert Altman's classic films, perhaps Nashville, with its expansive canvas and its mixture of humor and sadness. Moving with fluid grace from Anaheim, Calif., to Las Vegas and Hollywood, the story features a large cast of characters, most of whom use Lyle to further their own ambitions, notably Brother Bud and Sister Sis, a pair of greedy televangelists, and a has-been actress named Tarah Worth. Rechy has great command of this sprawling narrative, and he generally strikes the right balance between satire and real emotion. His humor can be less than subtle an unsavory pair of mismatched pornographers and a crooked banker are named after several standing Supreme Court justices and his explicit, campy sex scenes won't please everyone. Still, this distinctly American novel is ultimately about the search for love and redemption, about the ideal of "amazing grace" from the old song that serves as a touchstone for Lyle. It's a comic tour de force and, at the same time, a truly heartfelt book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
When Lyle Clemens was born, in Rio Escondido, Texas, in 1984, his mother quickly covered his rosy nakedness just before she fainted, either from the rigors of the birth or from her first impression of the child. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
When Lyle Clemens was born, in Rio Escondido, Texas, in 1984, his mother quickly covered his rosy nakedness just before she fainted, either from the rigors of the birth or from her first impression of the child. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Critics: The Apes of Apes, and the 2 cents of one,
By
This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)
I picked this book up when it first hit the book stores, and devoured it in a single reading (something I haven't done since reading Madame Bovary). I've never written a review on Amazon before, but felt somewhat compelled to do so by the New York Times flap, which demonstrated to me that Rechy is a thousand times more honest, self-aware and has a much better sense of humor than all of the hypocritical authors (never mind "professional" critics) who were alluded to, but apparently didn't have the spine to own up to their own creative doings on Amazon. So, in case any one is still reading this: this book is masterful, emotional without being sentimental. Rechy renders situations in a way that are at once heart-breaking and hilarious. The aging Hollywood actress who is able to use her imagination to turn each bit of humiliating news into, if not triumph, then at least hope; the nouvelle-riche porn producer's wife who frets about vulgarity-- the book is comprised of high adventure and wonderful characters. I think that what I liked most about this book is that Rechy never makes fun of or patronizes his characters the way, I think, a lesser writer might. As a result, the characterizations are rich, and I was completely lost in the characters' desires and pipedreams. Buy this book!
1.0 out of 5 stars
A book to fall asleep,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)
ItÂ's boring and cursory.Save your money; Save your time and read something else ItÂ's not one of the author's best.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hands Down, One of the Year's Very Best,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens (Hardcover)
A beautifully written story that will go down as one of the author's best. The tale of the lovable Lyle Clemens is not only funny but incredibly touching. The ending is sublime. Fans of Rechy and those who have never read a word of his work are in for a real treat.
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