Details Out Of Books Motherless Brooklyn
| Title | : | Motherless Brooklyn |
| Author | : | Jonathan Lethem |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 311 pages |
| Published | : | October 24th 2000 by Vintage (first published 1999) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Mystery. Crime. Novels. New York |
Jonathan Lethem
Paperback | Pages: 311 pages Rating: 3.89 | 32145 Users | 2854 Reviews
Chronicle Supposing Books Motherless Brooklyn
Lionel Essrog is Brooklyn’s very own self-appointed Human Freakshow, an orphan whose Tourettic impulses drive him to bark, count, and rip apart our language in the most startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St. Vincent’s Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna’s limo service cum detective agency. Life without Frank Minna, the charismatic King of Brooklyn, would be unimaginable, so who cares if the tasks he sets them are, well, not exactly legal. But when Frank is fatally stabbed, one of Lionel’s colleagues lands in jail, the other two vie for his position, and the victim’s widow skips town. Lionel’s world is suddenly topsy-turvy, and this outcast who has trouble even conversing attempts to untangle the threads of the case while trying to keep the words straight in his head. Motherless Brooklyn is a brilliantly original homage to the classic detective novel by one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation.
Present Books In Pursuance Of Motherless Brooklyn
| Original Title: | Motherless Brooklyn |
| ISBN: | 0375724834 (ISBN13: 9780375724831) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Lionel Essrog, Frank Minna |
| Setting: | Brooklyn, New York City, New York(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (1999), The Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction (2000) |
Rating Out Of Books Motherless Brooklyn
Ratings: 3.89 From 32145 Users | 2854 ReviewsDiscuss Out Of Books Motherless Brooklyn
Lionel Essrog must rank as one of the most original narrators of a novel in contemporary fiction. He deals in good faith with his Tourette's syndrome, gently educating us, amid the harsh and brutal reality of Brooklyn. Essrog is a kind of existential orphan in a motherless city. He is consumed with finding order, patterns, balance, symmetry and controlling urges to scream his innermost sensibilities in public. His friends call him "Freak Show" and yet he has one of the most endearing narrativeWay too gimmicky! About Motherless Brooklyn Newsday calls Jonathan Lethem "one of the most original voices among younger American novelists;" while Entertainment Weekly describes him as "one of our most inventive, stylish and sensous writers." I strongly disagree. I think these organiztions have confused originality with gimmickry. Goodreads interviewed Jonathan Lethem in their November newsletter. I'd never heard of him. I checked out a couple of his books at the library, one for me, one for
Maybe I've just been lucky picking out some incredible books lately, but I feel like a lot of them are "my new favorite", or "one of the best I've read this year", but I really have to say it again for Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem's writing style had me from the beginning, and the story, being told from the perspective of Lionel Essrog, a man with Tourette's Syndrome was fascinating. It reads like a mystery/detective novel, but really, it's so much more than that.Also, it was just one of those
3.5 StarsWhat a unique interpretation of a mystery novel featuring an amateur detective with Tourettes. Lionel Essorg grew up in St Vincent's Home for orphans and quickly gets in with a group of Italian guys, with Frank Minna playing the father figure. Frank has a car service company and a secret detective agency within. Frank unexpectedly gets stabbed and that leaves the misfit pack of orphans to figure out what happened. Lionel is such a well drawn character, and one you want to root for. I
Well, shoot. Despite the many 4 and 5 star reviews from my GR buddies, I failed to get a grip with this one. At first the ticcing, touching, tapping, mirroring, and counting by Lionel Essrog (aka Freakshow) was entertaining and funny. But soon, it became tiresome and repetitive to me. And then I felt bad, because I could make it stop it by putting the book aside, a resolution that was not available to Lionel. There is some clever writing in here, and a scene set in a Japanese restaurant
I'd always planned on really loving this book, not sure why or how that started but it was probably when Fortress of Solitude came out and I really loved that (really loved the first half, anyway) and a bunch of people told me Motherless Brooklyn was even better. It sounded like something I'd like a lot, so I've tried every few years since then but could never make it in past the beginning. This time, though, I did, and read the whole thing pretty quickly and without too much groaning or whining
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