Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem, Random House, 1999, 311 pp
I wanted to read this before I saw the movie, which came out a few weeks ago. I have always meant to read Jonathan Lethem and now I wish I had started earlier. Born in 1964, he is a generation behind me but he is of the generation of much fiction I love.
Four orphans in pre-gentrified Brooklyn are picked out by small time gangster Frank Minna to do "errands" for his "limo service" and "detective agency." Soon they become Minna's Men, his comrades in crime.
Lionel Essrog, one of those orphans, feels he is the closest to Minna. His nickname, created by Frank, is Freakshow because he suffers from Tourette's Syndrome. His barking, counting and outbursts of fractured language, make him one of the most endearing orphans in literature. I am a sucker for orphan stories. It all started for me with Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.
When one of Frank's capers goes wrong ending in his murder, Lionel's obsessive nature drags him into real detective work. He MUST find who murdered the only father figure he has known.
The scene of the evening Minna is killed became seared into my mind. According to my husband, who has already seen the movie and is now reading the book, it is reproduced exactly at the beginning of the film.
So yes, this is a riff on the classic detective novel, but actually it is a coming of age tale as great as David Copperfield, a tale of a city as gritty as John Fante's Ask the Dust, as intricately plotted as anything by Raymond Chandler, all combined to blow your mind.
Lethem does it with a scintillating display of language that goes beyond words. He can write six really intelligent things in one paragraph without ever losing his rhythm.
Now to see the movie and better yet to read as much as Lethem as I can over the coming months.
I can't even tell you the number of years I've been meaning to read Jonathan Lethem, but this sounds like a good place to start. Hope you enjoy the movie, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, JoAnn. It was a great start!
DeleteSounds excellent. I'll move it up my 'To Read Soon' List...
ReplyDeleteGreat! I wonder what area(s) of London would compare to Brooklyn in the 1990s, because that is a factor in the story.
DeleteGreat review. I have not read Lethem but it sounds like I should. Though the story sounds like it has some common elements it also sounds very well done.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the film. I will try to give it a watch soon.
I hope you have a chance to get to one or the other, Brian.
DeleteHey Judy: we saw the movie of this on Saturday, wahoo! It is good! So thanks for telling me your husband recommended it -- the scenes are pretty wonderful. I read this novel when it came out and was very caught up in it, but I didn't recall much other than Lionel's tourette's. I haven't read any other of Lethem's books ... but I sort of think this is his best. Ha. I'm making that pronouncement.
ReplyDeleteOK! I will try to see the movie before the week is over. I accept your pronouncement but I really want to try Fortress of Solitude. I will let you know when I do.
DeleteThis is one of those books I meant to read but, never did. I might have to wait for the movie on our sofa:)
ReplyDeletePerhaps while you wait for that you could read the book? I found it a worthwhile read.
DeleteI have read Lethem, most recently (I think) A Gambler's Anatomy which was not a favorite, but he is a remarkable writer and I hope to get to this one sometime in the new year.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your review!
DeleteThis one is on my list since I heard about the movie. I'm glad to know you liked it. Hopefully I do too!
ReplyDeleteI think you will. And it is easy to get from the library.
DeleteI am glad I am not the only one who had an obsession with orphan stories - and you named too of my most favorites!
ReplyDeleteYou are by far not the only one. Another friend said the same to me yesterday!
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