I was coerced into reading this book about four years ago. As a result I have coerced about five other people to read it. Who coerced…

You get the point. Jonathan Lethem is one of my favorite modern* authors, though my gateway book (Gun, With Occasional Music) has lost a lot of its luster for me. This is a winner, possibly his most oddly accessible book and definitely one that could make for a very interesting feature. It’s also a love story between a woman and a black hole.

Yeah. One of those.

The guy is a champ as a writer. But he’s no Cronenberg.

Which is why the idea of David effin’ Cronenberg doing the film version of As She Climbed Across the Table blows my mind out of my mind. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Thanks Empire (by way of Justin Waddell) for the news! Hope it comes to fruition, because the only direction to go with a concept like this is weirder than weird and Mr. Cronenberg might as well own the patent on it.

It’s a quick read, and it’s actually quite an easy one as things disappear into the void and two people’s obsessions crisscross and wave goodbye to each other on their way to bizarreville. This needs to be made because it quite literally could be a romance, a mindfuck, a Twilight Zone-esque romp, or a void of a movie itself. Consider my ticket bought. I’m gonna bring my favorite void.

Wait, just got an email with a scoop.

CHUD EXCLUSIVE: Richard Schiff’s playing the hole! :CHUD EXCLUSIVE

The sequel book As He Grabbed a Fistful of Clint Howard is currently awaiting publication.

* Sometimes a little precious for my primate brain, but I can handle it.