Rating: 
Summary: Back again for my final review
Review: My partial review rated 5 stars as does my final review. Lionel Essrog has become one of my most favorite characters. A detective/driver with Tourette's made me love him til my heart ached and laugh so hard my stomach ached. I was glad my neighbors were away for Thanksgiving weekend... they might have called the comic police! Lionel has to crawl out of his little comfort zone of those who grew up with him in the orphanage. His mentor has been murdered, and Lionel wants to solve this case. Because of his Tourette's syndrome, his acquaintances look down on him. He must prove his worth. Enter a giant, Zendo, a brother, Julia, and the usual suspects. If you don't laugh hysterically during some of his echolalia, you might need to get a sense of humor. If you don't shed a tear about his pathetic love life, put yourself in his shoes...miscues...fish news. Yikes! I've become him. By the way, Edward Norton has procured the rights to this book and from what I hear will play Lionel in the movie. A great actor playing a great character!
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: 5 stars after only 100 pages
Review: I just want to put my arms around Lionel and hope that he taps my forehead and my shoulder while yelling "Yipke, yipke" in my ear. Probably one of the most interesting and endearing characters I have had occasion to meet in a book. Two other Lethem books have resided unread on my bookshelves. They will be my next 2 reads after this one. Will finish review when I am done... probably tomorrow.
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: Utterly engrossing!
Review: This book with keep you reading and reading all night long! His writing is flawless and he commands your attention. What a character he created in Lionel! Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding - A must read
Review: A truely outstanding novel. The writing is exceptionally sharp and very funny. You can't help but feel sorry for Lionel because of his sickness, even though Lionel himself shows no self pity. As a first time reader of his novels, I am very impressed and am looking forward to buying his previous works. Wonderful
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, haunting book
Review: Motherless Brooklyn is one of the most skillfully written and original books I have read in a long time. I found myself laughing hysterically one moment, and feeling my stomach twist into knots the next. Lethem is a masterful writer, and I am eager to read his other books after thoroughly enjoying his latest
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book Ever Written
Review: I have read almost every book or story printed by Lethem, and this is by far his best. This is the best book I've ever read, anywhere. It would be a mistake NOT to read it.
Rating:
Summary: An orphan detective with Tourette's and a wry sense of self.
Review: An amazing tour-de-force; Tourette's as a wildly successful literary and literal device. A wonderful tour of the seamy side of Brooklyn as well; sort of Paul Auster meets James Joyce. A great read. Read it slowly to savor the language play.
Rating:
Summary: bring on ed norton
Review: Wow...what a stunning piece of work. Lethem has surpassed himself once again, giving us his most compelling lead character yet in the Tourettes-afflicted yet brave and decent Lionel Essrog. And it looks like Lethem's star will finally explode in the way it was always destined to: Ed Norton has optioned the book and will be playing Lionel in the film version. One of today's most interesting authors coupled with one of our most dynamic young actors - sounds like a match made in heaven to me.
| 
