THE FERAL DETECTIVE by Jonathan Lethem

 I received the book from Amazon on Su 4/18/21 and finished the novel on Tu 5/25/21.

I bought the book because I loved 'MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN', but this novel was not as good.

I wonder why Lethem made the choice to use a female point of view. Phoebe Siegler tells the story in first person. 

Rabbits vs. Bears: Rabbits are like hippies, largely female and vegan (Democrats?) and Bears are masculine and like Hell's Angels bikers (Republicans?)

Phoebe is trying to find, Arabella, the missing daughter of a friend. She is given the number of Charles Heist. He is a PI who specializes in getting children out of clutches of dangerous groups such as The Bears and The Rabbits. Heist is “feral” in the sense that he’s rootless, unpredictable and hairy.

The novel is set near Mt. Baldy in California and at various camps in the Mojave Desert.

The novel is set directly after the election of Donald Trump. The heroine of the story calls him the 'Beast-Elect', and never mentions him by name.

About the novel at Goodreads:

 "Phoebe Siegler first meets Charles Heist in a shabby trailer in the desert outside of Los Angeles. She's on a quest to find her friend's missing daughter, Arabella, and hears that Heist is preternaturally good at finding people who don't want to be found. A loner who keeps his pet opossum in a desk drawer, Heist has a laconic, enigmatic nature that intrigues the sarcastic and garrulous Phoebe. It takes some convincing, but he agrees to help.

The unlikely pair traverse California's stunning Inland Empire, navigating the enclaves of hippies and vagabonds who aim to live off the grid. They learn that these outcasts exist in warring tribes--the Rabbits and the Bears--and that Arabella is likely caught in the middle. As Phoebe tries to delicately extricate her, she realizes that Heist has a complicated history with these strange groups and that they're all in grave danger.

Jonathan Lethem's first detective novel since Motherless Brooklyn delivers the same memorable delights: ecstatic wordplay, warm and deeply felt characters, and an offbeat sense of humor. Combined with a vision of California that is at once scruffy and magnificent, The Feral Detective emerges as a transporting, comic, and absolutely unforgettable novel." 

A line from a review in The New York Times that might sum up the heart of the novel: "You can get dizzy staring into the void where the center used to be".

I liked the novel, but I liked 'MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN' a whole lot more.