Plagiarism
Plagiarism has long been an issue in the world of literature, but Lethem takes it to another level as he attempts to take already published stories and reimagine them. He however does not conceal this act in any form, as he openly advertises it as the heart of his book. Lethem incorporates direct quotes from well-renowned books and even name-drops the authors to further promote his idea of sharing. He uses his skills to nit-pick great cultural phenomena that he thinks could use some more information and insight. His ideas of counterculture seek to liberate literature from intellectual property and copyrights. Lethem envisions a future where literature is like open-source software, available to all that require inspiration.
Influence
Lethem is greatly influenced by authors that inspired him to take on writing as a way of expression. He is not shy to name-drop individuals that he thinks have played significant roles in pioneering new forms of writing. Lethem implements the ideas he’s picked up from his role models and crafts a book that seeks to be honest, vulnerable, and unpredictable. Through this book, he envisions that he can also influence a generation of young writers bold enough to break the rules of literature.
Pop Culture
Pop culture is an essential aspect of this book as it acts as the backdrop for all its stories. He calls out certain pop culture phenomenon’s for being too outdated and irrelevant to the times. Lethem describes the 2002 Spider-Man film as a concept that was too late in the making since the popularity of comics had peaked in the 1960s. He seeks to topple the dominance of pop culture as the main reason why authors are limited to what they can write in search of popular success.
