Word: leyner
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...Leyner's satire extends to modern life and stereotypical Jewish angst. "Young Bergdorf Goodman Browr, " his adaption of Nathanial Hawthorne's dark masterpiece, satirizes paranoia apropos to Jewish-extraterrestrial conspiracies, Six Degrees of Separation, and the gauntlet to be run when trying to escape those downright annoying perfume sales-woman at the department store who insist that you sample their scents: "We've daubed your wrists, your lower arms, your chest, your stomach, your ankles, calves, knees...Let's see...Hey, if you don't mind, how about the upper portion of your buttocks...
...Leyner's paranoid rhapsodies continue in "Great Prentenders," an essay on the dominance of a thespian conspiracy in modern society--the idea that your neighbors, for example, are not really neighbors, but actors hired by realestate salesmen to convey the image of an ideal neighborhood. Leyner calls this the "De Niro-ization' of culture...Migratory shifts back and forth from the real to the simulacrum [that] will calibrate the rest of history." "The Mary Poppins Kidnapping" pokes fun at the over-sensitive parents who worry that all forms of media, even the innocuous products of Disney, are dangerous influences...
...Leyner loves to take you behind closed doors to follow him on his imaginative paranoid ramblings. Maybe senators give one another tattoos--during session--corresponding to their ideology and accomplishments, or lack thereof. Has the medical industry been suppressing data (at the behest of the federal government, of course) that proves criminal activity causes physical attractiveness, the soca
...Leyner's book subjects nearly every element of pop culture to light-hearted scrutiny, yet includes moments of insight into our human condition "Thoughts While Listening to Mahler in the Afternoon" and "Bassinet Mattress Day" discuss with comical yet realistic clarity issues such as death and, less serious but hopefully more immediate, what to do with that spare time in the car while waiting for your companion to finish her shopping...
...Tooth Imprints on a Corndog meanders along thematic paths through the discontinuous and often confounding amalgam that is contemporary culture. It successfully unites them under a splendidly crafted satirical umbrella, one that would fit perfectly on a beach this week. Photo Courtesy of Harmony Books and Mark Leyner...