Bleed272@aol.com
Mon, 4 Oct 1999 10:33:33 EDT
In a message dated 10/4/99 8:59:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ansmith@netdoor.com
writes:
> Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn looks
> like book of the year material. Worthy of literary
prizes while still
> fitting snuggly into the Hardboiled category.
Interesting, because you can
> tell Lethem has a love for genre, and in all his
books, he works inside the
> genre to tear it apart and remodel.
I completely agree with Neil. Especially amusing are some of
Lionel Essrog's
(the narrator with Tourette's) outbursts, some of which
feature familiar HB names ("Flitcraft!"). There are also
frequent allusions to Chandler, Hammett, and Ross MacDonald
in particular, whose Archer novels inspire one character to
open a detective agency.
I especially enjoyed MOTHERLESS, because much of takes place
in the Carroll Gardens/Boreum Hill section of Brooklyn, where
I lived for two years. Once, in a brief conversation with
Lethem, he told me that he grew up in that area in the 70s,
before it was invaded by Manhattanites looking for cheap rent
and turned into a decent neighborhood again.
In fact, I unknowingly passed the Minna Men
Headquarters (just two storefronts from the "F" train on
Bergen Street) everyday when going to work.
--Swierczynski
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