about

LEMON

(the book)

A novel by Lawrence Krauser, from McSweeney's Books, 2001. For the first U.S. & Dutch editions the writer hand-drew11,000 individual bookcovers. Portions now legible in French in TINA.

“Lemon is sublime.” (Dartmouth Contemporary)

“His prose is immaculate; his premise, patently ridiculous.” (New York Times)

“A wise and poetic, gorgeously written literary gem.” (Mass Media, U Mass, Boston student paper)

“The perfect marriage of stunning intellect, a soaring sense of humor, and an intimate understanding of the absurd.” (greenapplebooks.com)

“Armed with a sense of humor that could cut a tomato paper thin after hacking an aluminum can in half.” (Staff Recommendation, University Bookstore, Seattle)

“Lemon moves through you like a dream. Its voice is a whisper one moment and a roar the next, its rhythms soothe you with an odd familiarity. And while you’re in it, it makes perfect sense. It’s a love story like none before . . . Exquisite.” (Matt Herlihy)

“Everyone. Hated. It. Passionately. And that made it the best meeting we’d ever had. We argued over which parts we hated more. We pondered our own proclivities for certain inanimate objects. (What’s said in the book club, stays in the book club.) I believe there may have been some yelling. Then we all had to admit that since we felt so strongly about it, maybe we actually loved it. I think we did.” (kimsaid.com)

“If you have no patience for the lengthy ruminations of brilliant madmen, Lemon isn’t for you. But you read Mindjack, so you’re probably into that sort of thing, right? The point of Lemon is not that there is a point, a plot, or an epiphanic climax. The point is the journey, which takes you into and out of a very peculiar spot without ever making you feel like you’re moving very much. It’s got plenty of story, along with plenty of affably postmodern showmanship, and its language begs to be read aloud. If this novel is any indication, the McSweeney’s house style of innovative prose surfaces, plus old fashioned wonder, plus fascination with very unorthodox opinions and states of mind, seems to be heading somewhere good. In the long term, Lemon could appeal (sorry) far beyond the confines of a cult audience.” (mindjack.com)