| Gun, With Occasional Music |
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| 1994 novels | |
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''Gun, with Occasional Music'' ( 1994 ) is a Novel by Jonathan Lethem . It blends Science Fiction and Detective Fiction . The novel follows the adventures of Conrad Metcalf, tough guy and wiseass, through a futuristic version of Oakland and Piedmont , California . LETHEM'S FUTURE Thanks to technology, children can become smarter and more cynical than adults; such children are known as ''baby-heads''. Animals, too, can be given the intelligence of a human being through bioscientific techniques, a Concept explored previously by David Brin in his '' Uplift '' novels and Roger Zelazny in '' Dream Master ''. Lethem's animals stand midway between these two; like Brin's, they have clearly delineated and delimited rights; like Zelazny's, however, they are part of a darker symbolism. Another technology Lethem envisions is nerve-swapping, in which couples trade erogenous zones for purposes of sexual experimentation. The progatonist of ''Gun, with'' previously underwent such a procedure, and is now trapped with a woman's neuro-sexual apparatus because his girlfriend skipped town with his male one. People are more sensitive in Lethem's future; asking questions is considered astonishingly rude, making private detectives, whose job involves prying, social pariahs. Rather than broadcast bad news to squeamish listeners, the radio plays ominous music instead. ( Handgun s also come with threatening violin soundtracks.) And everyone is "on the make"--''make'' being a snortable Drug available in a dozen different blends (Acceptol, Avoidol, Forgettol) in stores called ''makeries''. PLOT SUMMARY Metcalf is hired by a man who claims that he's being framed for the murder of a prominent who works for the local Mafia boss. |
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