Book Report: Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Motherless Brooklyn: Torgo disapproves

There are things to like here. But first, there are things to not like. This is the first Lethem book I've read. Looking at the synopses of other books included with this one makes me think I wouldn't like them, though. He seems to be gimmick-driven and a genre-exploiter.

That's my main problem with Motherless Brooklyn.

First, the gimmick. Lionel Essrog is a wannabe private detective. Specifically, he wants to be Phillip Marlowe, from The Big Sleep. But he has Tourette's syndrome, so he's apt to burst out in profanity and have compulsive, debilitating tics. That's the gimmick, and it wears thin after a while.

I've only known one person with Tourette's, but Lethem's character appears to me to indicate that the author just read one book on the subject and decided he knew enough.

Worse is the genre-exploiting. Lethem tries to occupy some post-modern space in which early 90's Brooklyn stands in for the great detective era from over 50 years ago. He never fully commits to the inconsistencies and anachronisms, though, so we get entirely incompatible references and characters.

And it's sloppy. It's not enough to evoke Marlowe, he needs to quote him several times, as well as mention other, better detectives he's stealing (badly) from. And he can't even get the modern era right. Boyz II Men is mentioned as Boyz 2 Men. It's a little error, but points to Lethem's cultural superficiality and ignorance.

There's a Newsweek blurb on the jacket that says "Marlowe would tip his fedora." I think Marlowe would sue for defamation. Speaking of blurbs, there are pages and pages of accolades before the story begins. I always hate this. A few blurbs are great to see. I can be encouraged to read a book if sources I like endorse it. But Lethem's publisher lays it on far too thick. It's like they're saying, "You need to like this book -- look, everyone does. If you don't, you're dumb."

But I promised the good things.

The book is a page-turner. That being said, despite all of the story taking place in NYC, the final act takes us abruptly to Maine. I hate when stories are defined by a location they then abandon at the climax.

Ok, I'm apparently not in the mood to highlight the good things.