Bubblegum

A Novel

By: Adam Levin

Narrated by: Mark Deakins, Michael Crouch, Julia Whelan

"Adam Levin is one of our wildest writers and our funniest, and Bubblegum is a dazzling accomplishment of wit and inventiveness." (George Saunders)

"Levin's brains may have earned him a cult...but here he swells to a democratic reach. Give him a try sometime. His gate’s wide open." (Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review)

The astonishing new novel by the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award-winning author of The Instructions.

Bubblegum is set in an alternate present-day world in which the internet does not exist and has never existed. Rather, a wholly different species of interactive technology - a "flesh-and-bone robot" called the Curio - has dominated both the market and the cultural imagination since the late 1980s. Belt Magnet, who as a boy in greater Chicago became one of the lucky first adopters of a Curio, is now writing his memoir, and through it we follow a singular man out of sync with the harsh realities of a world he feels alien to but must find a way to live in.

At age 38, still living at home with his widowed father, Belt insulates himself from the awful and terrifying world outside by spending most of his time with books, his beloved Curio, and the voices in his head, which he isn't entirely sure are in his head. After Belt's father goes on a fishing excursion, a simple trip to the bank escalates into an epic saga that eventually forces Belt to confront the world he fears as well as his estranged childhood friend, Jonboat, the celebrity astronaut and billionaire.

In Bubblegum, Adam Levin has crafted a profoundly hilarious, resonant, and monumental narrative about heartbreak, longing, art, and the search for belonging in an incompatible world. Bubblegum is a rare masterwork of provocative social (and self-) awareness and intimate emotional power.

©2020 Adam Levin (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by The Boston Globe and The Chicago Tribune

"Admirably bonkers and fitfully phenomenal... As Levin’s previous novel, The Instructions, demonstrated even more amply (at 1,000-plus pages), you don’t come to this writer for elegance of proportion. You come for comedy, for sensibility, for style; and in this sense Bubblegum is prodigiously sustaining.... Levin can make the kitchen-sink ambition of midcentury postmodernism feel positively new, bidding fair for the maximalist mantle of a Pynchon or a Stanley Elkin. But Levin’s consuming interest in everyday subjectivity equally pulls in the direction of minimalism; what engorges the sentences here is actually the kitchen sink of consciousness.... When it’s humming, the pileup of plenitude and emptiness is as future-perfect as the Curio itself, the sound of the day after tomorrow.... Levin’s faith in his flesh-and-bone robots yields a stunning transubstantiation.... [His] brains may have earned him a cult like Belt’s, but here he swells to a democratic reach. Give him a try sometime. His gate’s wide open." (Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review)

"Delightful... As funny, sad, compelling and exhilarating as anything on the internet or IRL...Levin unspools a story that dramatizes thinking to an extent that thought itself becomes as riveting as plot, but in which there’s also actual plot in abundance." (The Chicago Tribune)

"Fantastic... Deeply reimagines our world for better or worse... Huge and deep and dark and hilarious and trenchant and powerful and complex." (The Austin Chronicle)

4.78 stars

There probably won't be many people who finish this audiobook. It's long and doesn't start off with a bang, and it can be a little bit confusing acclimating to this alternate reality, but it's well worth it for anyone who is interested. Levin is sometimes compared to DFW , and I can see why after listening to this one. If there were more audiobooks by this author, I would listen to them. If this book went on for another 40 hours I would have kept listening. This book certainly will not be for everyone, but for the patient listener, it is very entertaining.

Overall rating: 4.78 stars

Bizarre & disturbing. Narration = compelling

You may know Michel Foucault and his biography -in particular, details about his proclivities. I did not. At first I thought that the section where what Foucault did, and what Jonboat Pellmore-Jason believes can be learned from it, was completely and shockingly invented. I had to look Foulcault up and read details of the thing he did (but did not invent). i used the Internet which does not exist in 2013 Bubblegum, In most other contexts– books movies, conversations, I don't know, dreams- I would have given up at that point. Call me squeamish and straightish. But the earnestness with which Triple J approaches this topic captured me. as did the many other sections of this disturbing book. Levin does Dickens proud: Belt Magnet. WTH? Belt Magnet!

Pop goes the Weasel ... er ... Curio

Bubblegum by Adam Levin is a wild ride that defies categorization. It is intentionally tedious at times and thigh-slappingly funny at others, It's a coming-of-age story, a satire, a science-fiction epic, and a character study all rolled into one deliciously weird package almost defying definition and description. At times laugh-out-loud funny, at others heartbreakingly poignant, this book will keep you on your toes until the very last page.

Levin's writing style is unique, with a zany, almost manic energy that perfectly captures the absurdity of the world he's created. The characters are wonderfully flawed and relatable, each struggling in their own way to make sense of the world around them. And the world itself is a marvel, a bizarre dystopian landscape that feels both familiar and completely alien.

But what really sets Bubblegum apart is its sheer ambition. Levin isn't content to tell a simple story; he wants to explore big ideas and challenge his readers to think deeply about the world we live in. Whether you're looking for a laugh, a cry, or a mind-bending trip through the unknown, Bubblegum has something for everyone. So strap on your seatbelt, grab a stick of gum, and get ready for the ride of your life. Oh, and beware of the swing sets.

Two Thumbs Up. Way Up.

The book is by turns darkly hilarious, soul crunching, and maybe even heartening. Fans of Levin's earlier work will not be disappointed.

Most of the narration is performed by Mark Deakins and he does a masterful job. His timing and inflection complement the text perfectly and his rendition of the protagonist's Chicago Dad is particularly spot-on.

Some sections drag a bit when the characters' thoughts and conversations follow discursive paths. Other sections explore societal sadism in a way that I found difficult to listen to. But neither the tedium nor the violence is gratuitous, in my opinion, but rather in service of the whole.

RIYL David Foster Wallace, Kurt Vonnegut, Ron Currie

What did I just listen to?

I have 429 titles in my library, and there is nothing else even remotely like this book. The closest comparison for me would be some of the titles by Neal Stephensen. It's a long book, and for a while, I found it a bit annoying. The excruciating detail that the main character (named Belt Magnet of all things) goes into about virtually everything in his life, as well as exploring all other potential alternatives had he made a different decision about something and...well, it's kind of weird at first. But it serves the story, and being inside Belt's head is an interesting place to be. There's a lot to digest here, e.g., I may have to return to this review at a later date. Or maybe I'll just go smash my swing set.

So far- loving this book!

This is fairly amazing so far. I’ll write a full review when I finish but it’s like a world according to garp mixed with gremlins mixed with something that’s never been done.
Lovvvvving it!

Not a complete waste.

The oddness is what kept me listening, that, and the great voice acting kept me from listening to my own thoughts. Bubblegum is slightly better than my incessant drone of a brain. I hate myself, so this book automatically escapes hatred by default and the VO removes it even more. You could truly enjoy this book if you have expirienced talking to swing sets. I have only talked to one once. Also, it's the kind of book you can pretend to have read and enjoyed, because no one you know has ever finished it. If you know someone who has finished it(e.g me), slowly fade out of their life.

Stay away! Only boredom lies before you.

I am 16 hours into this book, and I can't do it anymore. 2 minor chuckles. No characters that matter. Nothing interesting has happened. The main character is neurotic enough to put Woody Allen to shame. The two things in this universe that have the potential to be interesting, are repeatedly pushed to the side so we can hear how awful the main character's life is. If you purchase this book, you will regret it!

Beware! This Audiobook Doesn't Want you to Buy it

Truly, it seems like Adam Levin has a grudge against audiobooks. I am a HUGE Adam Levin fan, but this is ridiculous. An 800 page book divided into five parts - five parts, each divided into several titled chapters. But the titled chapters aren't linked for audiobook navigation; only the parts - each link spans about 200 pages! What kind of jerk author? publisher? makes a decision like that? Unless it's someone who doesn't want anyone to buy their audiobook.

Did you fall asleep and forget to set the sleep timer - good luck finding your place ever again. Did the play button accidentally get pushed and it takes you hours to realize it? - sucks to be you. Are you trying to move between reading the print book and the audiobook? - you're also screwed.

Take a pass on this one unless you are confident you have what it takes to manage your audio tech flawlessly. I want to love this book, but how can I when I can never find my place?