ISP Blog #2, "Ava's Apartment," by Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem’s, “Ava’s Apartment,” uses several literary techniques that made his story a very satisfying reading experience. These techniques include the believability of the plot and the use of vivid descriptions. The aspect of Lethem’s plot that I admire is its unpredictability and element of surprise. The concept of the story is one that I had never seen before, and this concept caused me to be even more curious. I would like to be able to imitate this concept in my original fiction piece, through what I hope is an original idea that allows for unpredictability. The beginning of “Ava’s Apartment” shows the reader a glimpse of “Perkus Tooth’s” life, introducing him as he stumbles out the morning after a party. However, this is not the same “Perkus” that will be seen throughout the rest of the piece. This snippet of his previous life becomes the reader’s image for what “Perkus” refers to repeatedly as “his old life.” I found this image added to the effect of the story because it made Perkus’ character more interesting through explaining his history. Also, because it was at the beginning, it made the next series of events more exciting.

Another part that I enjoyed was how Lethem revealed that “Ava,” was a dog. Letting out small hints such as, “he heard the volunteers at individual doors, calling each apartment’s resident by name, murmuring ‘good boy’ or ‘good girl,’” made it very satisfying when it is revealed that “Biller’s words retroactively assumed a coherent, four-footed shape.” The development of a dog as an active character in the story was also an interesting part of the story. In some ways, the dog becomes personified as Lethem writes, “Ava was a listener not a barker.” I also find that this draws the reader into the story.

The other technique that was put into effect was the use of vivid description. There are multiple descriptions in the story that aided in making the particular scene “come off the page”. Examples include: “trudging sickened through the snowdrifts like a Napoleonic soldier in retreat from Moscow,” “passed out in a melting pool on the tile,” “a feast of familiarization, an orgy of pair-bonding,” “Ava’s surgery scar was clean and pink,” “she seemed like a muscular furry torpedo,” “the pale brown of her liverish lips,” and “the woman, perhaps fifty, in a lumpy cloth coat, her frizzy hair bunched under a woolen cap, now fishing in a Ziploc of dog treats for one to offer Ava.” These descriptions are used throughout the entire story. This element is something that I also hope to be able to recreate in my original fiction piece. I find it effective because each description creates a new image in the reader’s head. Through using comparisons of familiarities, such as “ugly Nikes,” the reader becomes drawn into the story.

In conclusion, I found that the several literary techniques used made “Ava’s Apartment,” by Jonathan Lethem to be very satisfying. The techniques used were the creativity and surprise element of the plot and the use of vivid descriptions.