Girl in Landscape

By: Jonathan Lethem

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

Girl in Landscape is a daring exploration of the violent nature of sexual awakening, a meditation on language and perception, and an homage to the great American tradition of the Western. • "Jonathan Lethem's imagination [is]...marvelously fertile." --Newsday

The heroine is young Pella Marsh, whose mother dies just before her family flees a post-apocalyptic Brooklyn for the frontier of a recently discovered planet. Hating her ineffectual father, and troubled by a powerful attraction to a virile but dangerous loner who holds sway over the little colony, Pella sets out on a course of discovery that will have tragic and irrevocable consequences for the humans in the community and the ancient inhabitants, known only as archbuilders.

Girl in Landscape finds Jonathan Lethem twisting forms and literary conventions to create a dazzling, completely unconventional tale.©1999 Jonathan Lethem; (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of the most original voices among younger American novelists....Jonathan Lethem's imagination [is]...marvelously fertile." --Newsday

"Lethem is opening up blue sky for American fiction."--Village Voice

"Complex, scary and finally moving."--Atlanta Journal & Constitution

bold build up with bleak payoff read it anyway

was surprised when it was over because it was more that things started falling away rather than built to. by example. lots of ideas, plenty of space.

Amazingly mature for YA

The story is amazingly mature while being surreal at the same time. The performance was perfect, writing was outstanding. Characters are well written and defined. I had this as a recommendation on YT and I'm so glad I downloaded this title!

Unfortunately Problematic

I really really want to like this book... but the mechanisms of resolution is very problematic... and the books needs a CW for sure.

Disappointing, not science-fiction

This book was a big disappointment. It seemed to have such potential but it just never went anywhere. I was actually startled when it ended because nothing had really happened yet. I was still waiting for the real story to begin and find out who the arch builders were. The book takes place on another planet but there’s nothing remotely science-fiction.

One of the most bleak and disjointed stories ever.

Could not finish it. The narration was not really that bad but not even James Earl Jones could have this story sound in any way a desirable listen.