Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Motherless Brooklyn
Book Review: Cool Character, Quick Read and a Stylistic Discovery
Summary: 5 Stars
I was given this book as a gift from a friend and it was every bit as good and as forward-looking as she said.
It is told from the perspective of an obviously intelligent yet oh-so-socially-compromised lead character, Lionel Essrog, who is "raised" by a member of the mob out of an orphanage in Brooklyn, and who suffers from pronounced Tourette's syndrome. The plot is a simplistic gotta-find-my-benefactor's-killer-before-I-rest, but its own level of obsession serves as a tool to mirror the compulsive nature of Lionel's syndrome, in turn creating a stronger, more identifiable lead character to boot.
This book was not only fun to read but a learning experience as well as it delves deep into Lionel's internal chatter and describes the feelings and idiosyncracies that are attached to his syndrome, and suffice it to say the languaging used by author Lethem opened up a few new grooves in my brain that were previously untapped.
It takes something that moves in an entirely different direction to get me to believe that it is anything new, but Motherless Brooklyn is the real deal.
Book Review: Creative and entertaining, but not a favorite
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the first novel by Jonathan Lethem that I have read. I was impressed with his creativity and was genuinely entertained, but this was not a favorite for me. I got the sense that all his creative energy had been absorbed in producing a readable character with Tourette's, and he did this fantastically, but I felt the plot suffered for it.
I would recommend this book, but caution that the value is in the character and not the story.
Book Review: Dash Hammett does Woody Allen
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great novel, providing a fresh take on the detective genre. Lead character Lionel Essrog has Tourrette's, and Tourrette's has surely got him. He's a great narrator for this sensitive tale of mentorship lost and found. The movie rights have been acquired, and they will have to adapt it considerably, so don't settle for that. Read it first, and get all the fun of Lionel's herky-jerky narration, twitches and all.Book Review: Don't believe the hype
Summary: 2 Stars
I read this on a recommendation because of my love for Fight Club. I don't think the comparison is fair and I found myself bored from start to finish. The prose is dense and colorful, which is why I gave it two stars, but it is too cumbersome for a story and a lead character such as this. The plot never twisted, I was never surprised, and I didn't relate to any characters nor learn anything from the whole book. The Tourette's theme, in my opinion, seemed wedged into the story at times, and would only amuse the most simple-humored. Maybe Edward Norton will make something out of this, but I sure couldn't.Book Review: Eatmebailey!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Motherless Brooklyn" starts off with a bang, as the narrator Lionel Essrog desperately tries to trail his boss, Frank Minna, a small-time Brooklyn hood, when he is strong-armed into a car and driven across the city. The action is relentless, but then Lethem turns around and develops Essrog's back story: a man with Tourette's, prone to inappropriate barks and touching, a sensitive, stranded orphan who is "adopted" by Minna for some low-cost labor. The orphans become the "Minna Men," and the tic-ridden Essrog strangely becomes the man who must find his boss' killer.
Maybe "Motherless Brooklyn" isn't as plot-oriented as the stalwarts of the genre, but I love how Lethem paints Brooklyn through Essrog's eyes, accurately rendering his symptoms and syndrome without undue interference in the story itself. Lethem is juggling a lot of elements here, from the open questions of the plot to Essrog and the other characters, and pulls it all off with panache.
This is the best book by Lethem I've come across, and I highly recommend it for those new to his work.