The New York Times Book Review - Julia Elliott
…J. Robert Lennon's funny and poignant new collection…[coaxes] the jaded reader through familiar genre portals into narratives that defy expectations by mixing farce with gothic mystery, cartoonish absurdities with an earthy emotional depth…Many of Lennon's main characters, befuddled men in various states of midlife funk, have been scarred by crazy, cruel or dissatisfied women…Though these men stumble through the uncanny bleakness of 21st-century life weighted by depression, the stories percolate with wry observations, compact poetic lines and deft shifts from existential exhaustion to sentiment. Step through a portal into one of Lennon's tales, and you will find a suburban dystopia peppered with lyricism and wonder, touched with moments of transformation and grace.
Publishers Weekly
09/08/2014
Menace runs through many of the 14 stories in novelist Lennon’s (Familiar) first collection, tales of quotidian suburban existence into which he often introduces a surreal element. In “Hibachi,” the gift of the eponymous grill leads to an odd act of liberation for a frustrated wife. “Total Humiliation in 1987” features an unhappy family on vacation that finds another family’s time capsule and thereby casts a pall on their own activities. In the entertaining title story, a young man of “good qualities” successfully romances a CEO’s daughter only to find that he has made a deal with the devil. While “The Accursed Items” is a failed attempt at experimental fiction, “Weber’s Head” generates dread and humor in equal measure as a man who rents out a room in his apartment gets more than he bargains for when he takes on the proverbial roommate from hell. Three of the best stories, “Zombie Dan,” “The Wraith,” and “Portal” are postmodern riffs on classic science fiction and horror themes. Although several individual stories score, the collection as a whole strikes the same note of suburban disaffection over and over again to the ultimate point of diminishing returns. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Unconventional yet emotionally resonant stories. . . . Much like his contemporaries Kevin Wilson or Wells Tower, Lennon is one of those writers who defies categorization and is as likely to fit comfortably into Weird Tales as he is into Granta.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[Lennon] leads us through his own magic portal into weird, slightly-aslant worlds brewed and steeped in the hot coils of his brain.” —The Quivering Pen
“J. Robert Lennon finds the uncanny hidden in the every day. His dark, subservise stories are both hilarious and unnerving. See You in Paradise is smart, inventive and full of the fascinating particularities of various wayward humans.” —Dana Spiotta
“These are wonderful, fearsome stories, and I read each with a growing sense of unease and delight. J. Robert Lennon is a master of the dark arts.” —Kelly Link
“To say that J. Robert Lennon writes speculative fiction is like suggesting that Tom Waits is known primarily for a couple of toned-down love songs. Dark, dazzling and reeling with a constant undertow of dangerous unpredictability, See You in Paradise is a brilliant return to the short story by one of the great masters of eerie domestic dystopia. In Lennon's world, anything can happen—and does.” —Téa Obreht
Kirkus Reviews
2014-07-23
Fourteen short stories about the quiet desperation and weary pessimism of a disparate collection of travelers. One sometimes wonders if Lennon (Familiar, 2012, etc.) published his recent Salon essay, "How to Write a Bad Review," in hopes of catching a break. Fortunately, the gifted novelist doesn't need the help, especially if he continues to produce short fiction such as the unconventional yet emotionally resonant stories on display here. Culled from the past 15 years, the stories tend to drift toward two categories. The more exotic and eye-catching are those that insert some magical or paranormal element into a drab suburban landscape. In "Portal," an otherworldly doorway to alternate universes becomes as boring as an old gaming console with time. In "Zombie Dan," a couple finds that their recently resurrected pal is even more irritating when he comes back with an omniscient knowledge of their sins. In "The Wraith," a wife's depression cleaves from her to become a golemlike ghoul that haunts her husband. Then there's "Weber's Head," an old-fashioned horror story whose narrator wouldn't be amiss in the other category of stories of disaffected people on the edge of despair. "I was thoroughly debased, and at thirty-two felt like I'd been an old man for a long time," says Weber's roommate. "I saw no way of escaping the life I'd made for myself, save for the mountain falling down and crushing me." This theme of characters with their songs stuck in their throats runs throughout the book in stories like "No Life," in which a couple struggles with adoption; "Total Humiliation in 1987," about a marriage on the rocks; and "Hibachi," a Carver-esque tale of the liberating power of home appliances. Perhaps best to end with "The Accursed Items," an interesting diversion originally broadcast on This American Life.Much like his contemporaries Kevin Wilson or Wells Tower, Lennon is one of those writers who defies categorization and is as likely to fit comfortably into Weird Tales as he is into Granta.
