Motherless Brooklyn

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Reinvention of Hard-Boiled Genre
Review: From the prose, you know right away Lethem is no mere genre writer. In this book, he subverts the hard-boiled genre while tipping his hat to it - what results is a delightful modern book that is as intensely gripping as it is witty. In taking on the hard-boiled genre, Lethem takes on the burden of (*gasp*) actually working out a plot. It's refreshing to see a literary writer who is unscrupulous about shaping a plot.

And the story is a good one. Lionel Essrog, a 'disciple' of Frank Minna who leads him and three others in a hapless detective agency, has to solve the murder of his mentor which he only witnessed through a wire tap. The story structure follows the hard-boiled structure of Chandler. But the characters and situations themselves are ingenious and hilariously modern.

Lionel Essrog, in my mind, is one of the most memorable characters in contemporary fiction. The Tourette's Syndrome he has is not just a gimmick, but a vent for Lethem to deploy narrative pyrotechnics. The subconscious rants and tangents of thought are made transparent in this book. It's a brilliant move on the part of Lethem.

One of the more lasting strengths of "Motherless Brooklyn" is its sweetness and earnestness. Lionel is as honest and emotional character as any we have had in recent fiction. As he remembers and yearns for (and to be like) his mentor Frank Minna, his release of emotion is straightforward and even, sentimental. It parallels Lethem's nostalgia for the old hard-boiled characters in Chandler's books and the style of writing itself (he directly quotes him a couple of times.) It's a beautiful tribute to a bygone era, a different time.

Rating:
Summary: Edward Norton Making a Movie of This?
Review: I admit it. The only reason I picked up this book in the first place was because Edward Norton optioned it as a possible movie. But then something funny happened: I couldn't put it down.

I completely see why Norton likes this book. The main character, Lionel Essrog is the ultimate anti-hero: a man afflicted with Tourette's Sydrome who tries to solve a murder with no leads, and nobody to listen to him.

Sure, the detective story subplot isn't always edge-of-your-seat, but it's not boring either. Much of this is due to the charm that Lethem brings to his endearing, fractured protagonist, a loner who can't connect with anybody on a physical or emotional level.

I'm going to tell you all a secret now. Motherless Brooklyn isn't really a detective story about crimes and murders and what not. Sure, those elements are in there, but in actuality it's a meditation on a man seemingly too smart for his life, but too afflicted with Tourette's to change it.

I highly recommend this book. Although I didn't give it five stars, I still think it's memorable and charming enough to curl up with whenever you feel like getting lost in somebody else's world.

Cheers...

Rating:
Summary: Lethem's best yet.
Review: Jonathan Lethem's previous novels have always incorporated very strange elements. Whether it's a genetically-enhanced kangaroo as a villain, or a singularity as one corner of a love triangle, Lethem doesn't shirk at incorporating the weird into his stories.

In Motherless Brooklyn, however, the only unusual aspect to the story is that the protagonist has Tourette's Syndrome. Lethem infuses the narrative with Lionel's tics and verbal outbursts, but the story's premise - a murder mystery - is somewhat more mundane than his previous novels.

I'm not a big fan of murder mysteries, but I was captivated by this novel. What held my interest was Lethem's writing. His use of language, his sense of pacing, and the voice of his protagonist made this book a pleasure to read. And Lethem's portrayal of Lionel was masterful. As the story unfolds, we come to understand how Tourette's works, a little - at least, how it seems to work for Lionel.

But while Lionel's Tourette's was a large part of the story, Lethem didn't let it become the story. There are questions, and Lionel looks for answers. There is danger, and Lionel tries to face it or avoid it. There is humour, too - and rarely at Lionel's expense.

If you've enjoyed Lethem's previous novels, I'd recommend this one without reservation. I think it's his best so far. If you haven't read a Lethem novel, try this one - even if you're not a mystery fan. I'm not, and I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Story of detective with Tourette's syndrome is great read
Review: Lionel Essrog, the central character in Jonathan Lethem's highly entertaining "Motherless Brooklyn," is not your average detective. Lionel is an orphan with Tourette's syndrome. He's a relatively gentle young man whose condition causes him to obsess on small details, gobble down one sandwich after another, tap people on the shoulder five times or yell things at inopportune moments. Lionel is one of four young men from a Brooklyn orphanage employed as drivers and detectives by the mysterious Frank Minna. Minna is a smalltime Brooklyn wise guy worshipped by the four orphans. When Frank winds up dead, Lionel goes on a mission to find his mentor's killer. Lionel may sound crazy, but his condition masks an intelligence few recognize. Frank kept dangerous company, including a nasty brother who practices Zen Buddhism, and two old, decrepit mobsters who worship their long dead mother. Lionel's investigation puts him at odds with his fellow "Minna Men" and endangers his life. By the end of his unorthodox investigation (during which he gets attacked by Zen Buddhists), Lionel has suffers more loss and discovers difficult truths about his friends. Lionel is wonderfully original character - simultaneously likeable and annoying. When he finds love briefly, a reader can't help but be happy for him. But it's just as easy to understand when he gets dumped. "Motherless Brooklyn" succeeds beautifully as a noir novel, but it's more than that. Using Lionel's condition, as well as the colorful speech of Minna, Lethem has a ball with language. Lethem's word play, humor and genre bending - not to mention the use he makes of the Brooklyn milieu - make "Motherless Brooklyn" a great, memorable book.

Rating:
Summary: A darkly comic tale, with a detective with a difference.
Review: Lionel is one of four orphans from St. Vincent's who are recruited by a small-time New York hood for grunt work. Afflicted by Tourette's, Lionel drives most people crazy, but he tickles his mentor's sense of humor. All four orphans (the "motherless Brooklyn" of the title) look up to their leader, but Lionel's admiration includes a large component of unstated love.

When his father figure is murdered in the street, Lionel is the only one of the four no-longer-boys with the intellect, loyalty, and determination to find out what really happened.

Previously a science fiction author, in this book, Lethem takes off into reality like a rocket. The only alien landscape we view here is the inside of the Tourette-inflicted mind, and Lionel is as alien as it gets. But his tics and hollers are the fuller realizations of our own small compulsions and fascinations. They bring the reader right into his mind and body. Despite the pace of the action, and constant plot twists and developments (he tells this story walking, alright) his is an internal journey, and very human.

This is an absolutely riveting good book.

Rating:
Summary: four stars for the Tourette twist
Review: Otherwise, I would just give it two or three stars. But if Lethem does not have Tourette's, he still does an unbelievably authentic job of giving us its quirks - especially the stuttering, bizarre free association wordplay - in an eccentric and likeable character. I wish there had been another character I wanted to root for, however.

The detective storyline is pretty standard. What distinguishes it is its main character whose disorder threatens to defeat his attempts to solve a murder case at every turn. This may not be enough to keep some readers' interests, but if you're interested in psychological twists, this one is as impressive as any I've come across. I only wish the same originality had been given to the rest of the book.

Rating:
Summary: a thrill to read, if not exactly a thriller
Review: the book is a wonderful surprise and delightful read. it (or i) kind of had a slow start, i must admit, but somewhere along the 2nd chapter it began to take off--and never came back down again. lethem's use of language is precise while beguilingly casual, much of the imagery simply brilliant, and the chapters' titles perfectly echoing their content and making even greater impact when you've read them through. and he captures the world of lionel's (that's the main character and the narrator) tourette's in such fine and imaginative details that it in turn captures our imagination. among other things, i'll never listen to prince's "kiss" (or look at a don martin cartoon) again without thinking of lionel's interpretation of it... although the whole book relates mainly what happened in only 3 days, the plot develops quickly, full of scenes and twists with more than a touch of dark comicality. with exception perhaps for the last chapter (which i think is a little bit weak, especially compared to the preceeding & so powerfully written ones), i've enjoyed most of the book immensely, and would gladly recommend this richly original novel.