The Pickup Artist

I haven't read science fiction for a long time because science fiction had stopped being what it used to be. Science fiction used to be fun, challenging, stimulating, and critical. This novel brought all of those things back to me and I recommend it unreservedly. It starts with a neatly drawn, nicely consistent future society richly described with gritty detail. The characters are few but interesting and believable. The plot commenses with a nod towards Fahrenheit 451, but travels in unexpected directions. The author's style is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury, Alfred Bester, and Cordwainer Smith. Fine company for a contemporary author.

I had to laugh at the number of "stiff" reviews of the Pickup Artist, here. A fun imagination is definitely required for reading, otherwise the tongue-in-cheek absurdity appears to get lost on some hapless folks. "The Pickup Artist" is most definitely absurd, but also very inventive, and surprisingly, even thought provoking. "Fahrenheit 451" it is not, nor does it try to be. Bisson is very successful in creating a world unto his own; crazy, yet consistent. The book's ending is solid, satisfying and even poignant.I would love to read more.

Terry Bisson's new novel, _The Pickup Artist_, is an interesting, odd, novel that reminded me strongly of Jonathan Lethem, particularly, for some reason, _Amnesia Moon_. At the opening it seems almost a straightforward commentary by SFnal means on a theme reminiscent of _Fahrenheit 451_ (though at core very different), but by the end it has become a road novel through a very strange next century America. The title character is Hank Shapiro, who works for the government confiscating works of art which have been "deleted". It has been determined that contemporary artists are unfairly at a disadvantage in "competition" with the weight of all the works of literature, painting, acting, etc. from the past, and each month, a randomly selected set of authors, musicians, movies, painters and so on is "deleted", and all their works are supposed to be destroyed. Shapiro and his fellow "pickup artists" travel to people's homes who are reported to own copies of deleted videos, records, and books, and confiscated the works (while compensating the owners). Hank's dog is dying, and his mother is dead, and his father, who named him for the legendary country singer Hank Williams, left long ago. The combined effects of all these lead him to a criminal act -- when he confiscates a Hank Williams record he decides to try to find a record player on which to listen to it -- just once -- before turning it in. Before long he's involved with a long-pregnant librarian named Henry, and with a series of identical Indians named Bob, and he's breaking into a veterinary hospital to rescue his dog from euthanasia, and his Hank Williams record has been stolen, possibly by one of the Alexandrians (Library version) who apparently try to rescue deleted artwork. So Hank and Henry and the corpse of Indian Bob and the dying dog start to chase the record across the country, through flee markets and abandoned casinos and abandoned highways to the independent city state of Vegas.Alternating short chapters tell the history of the move for "deletion", which began with terrorist destruction of paintings at museums, and continued with the support of a mysterious software billionaire and an aging actress and a trial of the accidental killers of a number of people at a museum.The telling of this story is continually interesting, and the characters are quirky and involving if not quite ever real. The plot is discursive and really doesn't go much of anywhere, and the social background is interesting but not coherent. Much gives off the sense of being made of as it goes along. What seems to be the central argument, concerning the morality of this "deletion" and perhaps the "anxiety of influence" or something, is never really engaged, but the book is still about something -- about death, I think, and perhaps about art as a release from a dead life. I don't get the sense of a completed argument, or even, really, a completed book -- but an interesting effort in both areas.

Hank Shapiro is a pick up artist. He spends his days confiscating literature, music, art, and movies that have been scheduled to be deleted. Some clients are surly, others just want the money they get for turning items in, but Shaprio is always professional. Its a people job and he's a people person.The trouble starts one day when he picks for destruction up a Hank Williams record. He remembers that his father gave him the name Hank as he was a fan of this musician. He becomes obssessed with hearing the albumn and even goes as far as to visit a "Misdeamenor Cafe" where someone can hook him up with a black market record player.Shapiro finds himself on the run with a pregnant librarian called Henry, a dead clone named Indian Bob, and his dog Homer who is female. They travel ever west in search of Hank's stolen record.Full of interesting characters and also the history of this future world, the pick up artist is both entertaining and thought provoking. Its hard not to compare it to the classic "Fahrenheit 451," but the reasons for deletion are more complex. I highly reccomend this title.

The Federal Bureau of Arts and Information provides a critical service for the people. They pick up, pay`and destroy art that has had its "place in the sun." The importance is to make room for new art because space is at a premium. Salinger and Miller are ancient history, and Shakespeare must have been off planet as the Alexandrians proud of that ancient fire rule the arts.BAI PICKUP ARTIST Hank Shapiro thinks nothing of seizing a Sinatra or a Monet for ultimate destruction. Hank is polite and professional as he goes about his job as the repo collector. However, Hank makes a colossal error when he collects a recording by his namesake, Hank Williams and cannot resist listening. When he loses the record, Hank is obsessed to regain it. He begins an odd odyssey across the country accompanied by his often-dead dog. They continually run into the Bob clones that seem everywhere and other assortment of weirdoes.THE PICKUP ARTIST is weird, amusing, and entertaining as if Fahrenheit 451 occurred in Eerie, Indiana. The story line is cleverly written engaging the audience with Hank's story and the history of the fire movement. Anyone who relishes a wonderful satirical science fiction at its most humorous yet quite insightful best will want to pick up award winning artist Terry Bisson's ironic look into the future.Harriet Klausner