What Im Reading When Im Writing
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For Vulture, Lethem mused on the many disparate books that inspired hiswildly entertainingnew tale.
Theyre obvious touchstones, above all for my use of a version of hard-boiled first-person narration.
But Imalwaystalking about Chandler and Macdonald, so you dont need to hear much more about them.
Instead, I thought Id mention some of the books more oblique points of reference.
The Feral Detectivereally belongs to the narrator, Phoebe.
If she wasnt real to me and my readers, I had nothing much at all.
(you’re free to see how many on my acknowledgements page.)
And funny I wanted Phoebe to be funnier than I was.
around the time I was gathering my materials, and I should thank my students for their useful ideas.
Coyotes book is remarkable, a real discovery for me.
Even though his trilogy is massively complex, this insight simplified my book.
I also stole something outright: a fight between two claimants to be King of the Bears.
Of course, in Pullmans book that bear-battle provides a superb resolution.
In mine, Im afraid, it solves nothing.
Im in my 50s, and a man, and I shouldnt pretend to know things I dont.
