Rating: 
Summary: Captivating Despite Controversy
Review: I was fascinated by Jonathan Lethem's "Fortress of Solitude." I couldn't help but be struck by the parallel writing style of Lethem to that of Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life" in describing friendship despite differences and controversy. Lethem perfectly dissects the growing pains of friendship in spite of differences (in this case black and white race differences in Brooklyn). I was both fascinated and captivated.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking and Subtle Novel
Review: Lethem's book is as close to a masterpiece as any American fiction of the last few years. His power to create a world -- the world of Dean Street in Gowanus-gentrifying-into-Boerum-Hill as seen through the eyes of Dylan and the others on the block -- gives the narrative of childhood and adolescence a resonance rare in contemporary novels. Lethem gets it all perfectly right: the rhythms, sights, sounds of Brooklyn and Manhattan in the 70s and later. Whether it's the birth of "tagging" (graffiti), hip-hop, or the punk scene at CBGB; the competing visions of gentrification; the slow-motions horrors of teenhood without mothers and with remote, self-absorbed fathers; the seemingly immutable bounds of social class and race -- the novel rarely falters. Lethem's take on various superhero comics, soul artists, and pop-culture references are always on target. But the larger picture -- the love of a world that contains innumerable contradictions and a lot of pain -- is what comes through. If you knew Brooklyn when Brooklyn was the whole world, this book will give you special pleasure, but I can't imagine any reader not being stirred by it, despite some of the book's more messy, sprawling moments. A terrific novel.
Rating:
Summary: Just Terrific -- don't miss it!
Review: This is the story of the long and difficult friendship between two boys: Dylan Ebdus, a white kid brought to the projects by a fierce Brooklyn mother determined to have her child grow up in the streets, as she did; and Mingus Rude, the black son of an almost-famous and mostly-forgotten soul singer, transplanted from the suburbs as part of an ugly divorce. Dylan, floundering for acceptance among the black and Puerto Rican neighborhood kids, swiftly finds an ally and protector in Mingus, though why Mingus accepts the burden isn't clear - for a burden is precisely what Dylan is, a helpless and vulnerable thing, a conspicuous pink blotch in a sea of brown. Nevertheless, their relationship continues through childhood to adolescence and adulthood, wobbling precariously from disco's death through the advent of hip-hop, the roots of tagging and "style wars," urban deterioration and the introduction of crack cocaine, and the inescapable truth of their differing color. Lethem has proved himself a gifted and inventive writer, with books under his belt like Gun, With Occasional Music (a futuristic sci-fi/noir featuring a hard-boiled detective in a world of human-animal hybrids) and Motherless Brooklyn (a darkly comic mystery with a Tourettic protagonist), but Solitude is breathtaking. Its rapid-fire prose, full of sharply rendered description, astonishes and delights, wheeling from limited omniscience to directly (and accusatorially) addressing the reader, vividly evoking the mental agility and glib tongue needed to survive on the streets. Lethem himself is a Brooklyn boy, and his familiarity with, and affection for, the streets shines through clearly in every sentence. Likewise, the characters are achingly realistic and intensely sympathetic, defined and hobbled by their setting. Both boys struggle to cope with absent mothers and distant fathers (one absorbed in an eternally unfinished art project, the other steadily diminishing from a cocaine addiction); both negotiate the volatile territory of their respective races and its inevitable implications on their friendship, their personalities, and their prospects for the future. Never condescending or judgmental, Lethem takes pains to show us his characters as people; if they find themselves in stereotypical situations, well, it's because these things really happen in the projects. Mingus and Dylan may not be completely likable all the time, but they are always realistic and astonishingly convincing. The only flaw lies in a rather puzzling device that appears intermittently through the book. In a terrifying and bewildering series of encounters, Dylan meets and receives a magic ring from a raving, homeless alcoholic who claims it allows him to fly; with the help of the ring, Dylan and Mingus (fueled by a love of comics) create a superhero who keeps watch over the mean streets of Brooklyn. At first, I understood this to be symbolic, a vaguely embarrassing return to make-believe by teens who aren't ready to accept the disappointing fact of reality, but the ring returns, and plays a fairly central role in the ending that only makes literal sense if it's actually magical. It's a confusing and unnecessary device, one of Lethem's few missteps, but isn't enough to substantially dampen enjoyment (though it does require some suspension of disbelief). A masterly and deeply moving tale of friends, families, and the evolution of hip-hop and street culture, The Fortress of Solitude is one of the year's few must-reads, and an impressive addition to Jonathan Lethem's ouevre. Check it out! Another book I strongly recommend is -------------------------------------------> WILL@EPICQWEST.COM by Tom Grimes, an excellent Amazon quick pick, easily the best purchase I've made this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Most Rewarding
Review: Expecting a coming of age type story, I must say that I really enjoyed this in-depth and, at times poignant story featuring a Brooklyn neighbourhood, the people who lived there and life during the 70s and 80s. It's a powerful book that reads much like a documentary about growing up in Brooklyn at that time, the difficulties faced by single parent families and, not only racial divisions, but the class distinctions and their effects. It's as much about survival as it is about living. What I found a little disappointing was the feeling that very little was achieved by the time I reached the end of the book. There were no life-altering realisations or achievements of any note, in particular, the characters didn't seem to grow or change much. Set in two distinctive halves, the book first chronicles the lives of 2 boys, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude growing through their formative years, and then there is a fast-forward to today and a look at what they have made of themselves. Along the way, we are treated to a myriad of unusual pursuits. We get a peek at graffiti artist mentality, comic book collecting, pop-art and the life and dedication of an experimental film-maker. We are even treated to an unexpected touch of the fantastic. Although the odd crime is committed in the book, it's not a crime book, not a mystery. What it is is a terrific story of life in the 1970s that came across as very much real-life. I also thought the main characters were very sympathetic and believable making reading it a most rewarding experience.
Rating:
Summary: An embarrassment of riches.
Review: In one of the most ambitious novels in recent memory, Jonathan Lethem recreates the sights, sounds, textures, and tensions of one block of Dean Street in Brooklyn from the 1970's to the present. Dylan Ebdus, the white child of artistic, hippie parents, and his best friend, Mingus Rude, the son of a cocaine-addicted black singer, face school and neighborhood dangers together. Their world of spaldeens, skully, stickball, wallball, and stoopball exists side by side with the bullying, shakedowns, and outright theft which Dylan must face every day on walks to his school, "a cage for growing, nothing else." Together they collect comic books about superheroes, who, unlike them, have the power to conquer injustice and escape from all threats. Though they admire Spiderman, they do not like Superman, whom they consider a "flattened reality," an ineffective presence living in his "Fortress of Solitude," much like Dylan's artist father living in his studio. When a homeless man in the neighborhood, jumps from a three-story building and injures himself in an attempt to fly like Superman, Dylan begins to think about Superman as a real, not comic book character, actually emulating him in real life. Descriptions of the neighborhood, the attempts at gentrification, the inadequate public school system, the drug scene, the racial conflicts, and eventually even the prison system all add depth and color to the novel, and Lethem expands this scope even further by presenting a detailed view of pop culture. His unique images are a constant source of surprise and delight. The novel is a huge and imaginative recreation of growing up in the city in the '70's, but it is not seamless. Dylan's early life is traumatic and is drawn very realistically, so the reader is startled when, at the relatively mature age of thirteen, Dylan becomes obsessed with Superman and wants to emulate him, and when the author segues into the magic realism of flight shortly thereafter, the reader is unprepared for the contrast with the earlier naturalism of the novel. Dylan's lack of curiosity about what happens to Mingus after a horrifying incident at age fourteen leaves the reader wondering about the depth of his feelings, and occasionally the mini-essays, which give color and life to the neighborhood, act as a brake on the action. Dylan as an adult is not very interesting, and Mingus becomes almost a footnote. Still the novel adds a new dimension to Lethem's rapidly growing portfolio of outstanding novels and enhances his reputation as one of America's most exciting young novelists. Mary Whipple
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: With its themes of race, family dysfunction, coming of age, and everything in between, Jonathan Lethem's novel, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE is a stellar achievement, reminiscent of McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD (though that book is set in an entirely different locale and viewed from, well, the "other side of things.") Still, the two have something in common. But Lethem has hit some notes in this provocative and riveting work that even the most current authors miss. My first reaction to the descriptions I read of this book were, "Oh no, here we go again," with regard to the race issue. But Lethem's handling of this material is superb and actually takes the reader to places never before seen or experienced in literature. This is a wonderful work of fiction, full of color, humor, sadness, and insight into the human condition. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: More realistic than magic!
Review: Although the title is taken from a Superman comic, FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE is definitely not about super heroes (although the lead character is given a magic ring by a homeless man who appears to have the ability to fly).
This is a book about race relations. It begins in the seventies, just as the gentrification of the Gowanus area of Brooklyn begins. Dylan Ebdus is only six years old. His father is an experimental film maker, his mother an idealist who believes in the importance of Dylan associating with children of color. As a result, she sends him out into the streets to confront the blacks and Puerto Ricans who frequent Dean Street. He is repeatedly "yoked" (put in a headlock and robbed) by blacks wandering through from the Projects. Although he's not very good, he plays stoopball with the kids on his block, when they'll let him. When he's given the ring, Dylan suddenly becomes a gold-glove center fielder.
Dylan's life changes when a new boy moves into the neighborhood, Mingus Rude, the son of a rhythm and blues singer at the nadir of his career. Having been raised in an affluent area of Philadelphia, Mingus is as much of a neophyte as Dylan, but he quickly learns the argot of the streets and becomes Dylan's protector. Dylan shows him the ring and Mingus quickly appropriates it. The ring will remind you a lot of the one in Lord of the Rings.
The story moves in slow increments until, at the end, Dylan is a somewhat shiftless adult, working as an early morning disk jockey and free-lance writer. Mingus is in jail, having been convicted of manslaughter.
There is a minor theme dealing with art. Dylan's father spends interminable hours working on an abstract film that apparently drives his wife away. Mingus uses the ring to paint graffiti (tag) on the side of a prison in the neighborhood. Expert taggers cover "toys" wannabes without the skill to compete. Much of the book also deals with music. Dylan loves rhythm and blues and soul music; he pretty much disdains rap, although he occasionally refers to it and quotes some lyrics.
The black youths from the Projects are portrayed as thugs with few redeeming qualities, but Lethem does present them as strangely polite. "Could you loan me a dollar?" they say, just before they yoke Dylan. One of Dylan more persistent tormentors calls him by his first name.
Lethem leaves the reader hanging in respect to some of the plot threads, but this book will definitely make you think and is more realistic than magic.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Excellent
Review: The Fortress of Solitude is quite simply an excellent novel. Jonathan Lethem's prose is wonderful--he really is the poet of Brooklyn. The Fortress of Solitude is a coming of age novel and love song to Brooklyn rolled into one. The story concerns the unlikely friendship of Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude, two young Brooklyn men, one white, one black, as they grow up in the seventies, obsessed at times with comic books, music, girls and the various other things young men obsessed over during those times. Both are motherless boys with caring fathers who just cannot quite get it together. They live independently, on the edge. The first half of the novel takes place during the seventies, after Dylan moves to Boerum Hill, his family one of the few white families there at the time. He befriends Mingus, and other boys, having run-ins and problems, some typical of his age, others unique to the Brooklyn experience. The second half of the novel takes place in 1999. Dylan and Mingus are in their late 30s, but the novel briefly flashes back to the times in between, explaining how they got to where they are. The writing here is always excellent and sometimes purely wonderful. This is an enjoyable, big, wonderful and ambitious novel that succeeds on every level. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: authentic feeling novel
Review: "The Fortress of Solitude" is a difficult book for me to review. The story being told by Lethem is so broad, and at the same time so simple that capturing it in a couple of short paragraphs seems like folly to attempt. Yet, this novel is so good that an attempt is warranted. "The Fortress of Solitude" is one of the few novels that I would honestly compare to Don DeLillo's "Underworld", and Lethem pulls this off in theme, setting, and in the simple power that is conveyed by the story. Most of the novel takes place in 1970's Brooklyn and the story centers on Dylan Ebdus, a young white boy living in a neighborhood of Brooklyn that is predominately black. Later, when he is in high school it is said that he is one of only three white boys in the entire school. Yes, race plays a factor in this book. Dylan is a smaller kid, weak, but he makes a friend in Mingus Rude, a black kid who is new to the neighborhood. Unlike Dylan, Mingus immediately fits in and finds a place in the neighborhood. Nobody messes with him. Mingus belongs. Dylan and Mingus have one friendship when they are alone and at each other's homes, and another type when they are on the street. This works for Dylan. He takes what he can get and he knows that his friendship is the true friendship. Lethem gives us the rhythm of the street and the race relations in that Brooklyn neighborhood. It is painful for Dylan, but he is able to get by. What comes next almost seems like a gimmick, but Lethem did not push it down our throat so it felt believable. Mingus and Dylan are big into comic books and think and talk about superheroes and the powers they have. Dylan meets a man who was trying unsuccessfully to fly. At first this seems like an event unconnected to anything else, but it turns out to have a deeper connection to the story. Sometime later Dylan and Mingus are part of their own two person tagging crew (graffiti) and they tag a homless man who they think is already dead. At some point later he turns out to be alive and Dylan acquires a ring from the man. This ring has "super" powers. Dylan and Mingus attempt to be superheroes, but nothing goes quite according to plan and the ring is put to the side for months and years at a time. As much as the title alludes to Superman comics and that there is a strong comic book theme running through the novel, not to mention the ring, this is a very down to earth novel that just feels real. Lethem has fashioned the world of the Brooklyn neighborhood and of Dylan's childhood absolutely perfectly. Lethem is a talented author who just keeps getting better and better.
Rating:
Summary: A strange book, but a fun read
Review: This is a strange book. Lethem plays with several writing styles, as well as different types of speech, and the book can be disconcerting at first. But Lethem is a stylist, and you can tell that he's paid a great deal of attention to the rhythms and music in his prose. Read the summary and other reviews for plot info. Beware that this is not an easy book to read, but it's one that can be rewarding.
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