The Lay of LaLa-Land

A.Y. Miles writes a brutally honest portrait of life, love, and reality in his book, The Lay of Lala Land. There is humor, although it is mostly the self-deprecating kind. There is drama, what with the turbulence between Lenny and his “once fat” father. But mostly there is mystery, the elusive Jane and her alter ego, Fortune. This book was one crazy ride from beginning to startling end.

When I first began reading The Lay of Lala Land, I found myself drawn into the self-contained world of nervous little Lenny. I could identify with Lenny and his issues and saw many similarities between us. I found Lenny’s voice to be amusing, funny, and real. There was nothing fake about Lenny, and I could picture him in my mind as a real person. About halfway through the book, I discovered the plot dissolving, becoming less about Lenny’s story and more about the story of Jane, Lenny’s love interest. As his emotional and personal involvement grow, so does the curiosity about Jane’s past and why she wants to masquerade as Fortune. What is her motive? Why 500? The more I read, the more Lenny seemed to become real to me. His constant comparisons between Jane and his deceased step-mother, Betty Anne, were hints that this story was not what it appeared, however light-heartedly Lenny tried to play it off. The recurring tragedies, the dream parallels, even the nightmarish interactions with Deadeye and Ramrod—these all blend together to form a very heavy novel, but the humor helps keep the novel from sinking under its own weight. Overall, I highly enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it. A.Y. Miles has done a wonderful job blending tough topics with light-heartedness, and this book is a jewel.