Rating: 
Summary: Interesting language, but the novel doesn't add up to much.
Review: There is no doubt in my mind that Jonathan Lethem is a gifted writer. His prose is crisp, a little crazy, and often a lot of fun to read. I was intrigued by his idea of a detective with Tourette's syndrom, which makes him compulsive (actually, a fairly useful trait for a detective) and also given to quirky flights of language. The reviews of the book led me to expect something with the page-turning qualities of a good murder mystery combined with an unusual, and more poetic, use of language than you generally find in genre fiction.The book seemed to live up to that description for the first fifty pages or so, but I seriously question whether many reviewers read the entire novel, because by the middle the plot bogs down, it becomes clear that the characters are never going to develop into anything more complicated than you'd find in a B movie, and the language, at first intriguing, becomes just plain eccentric. Lethem has talent, but he wasted it on this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Eh. Just eh.
Review: I don't know -- this just isn't that great a book, so why is everyone going gaga for it? It's not all that well written (some sections are painfully awkward), it's not that great a mystery (although the main revelation about the villain's identity is well delivered), the business of viewing everything through a Tourette's lens is handled in a ham-handed and tiresome fashion (i.e., take an element of ordinary life, describe it briefly, then have narrator comment "That's just like Tourette's if you think about it"), and you exit the book disappointed, especially if you entered expecting something great. Not horrible, but not very good, either, and definitely not outstanding.
Rating: 
Summary: Study in alienation
Review: A considerable strength of this book is its willingness to take risks. Another is its use of a narrator with Tourettes syndrome; it eloquently communicates the alienation of being different without even having to talk about it very much. Simply through his lonely existence, the narrator speaks to that part of all of us that doesn't feel it quite fits in. The author's ability to use language and turn wonderful phrases is also notable. Unfortunately, there are some glaring weaknesses too. The dialogue is bad, unnatural and even embarrasing to read in places. The plot is half-hearted, difficult to follow and pointless. The use of Tourettes is interesting at times, heart wrenching at others and cute at still others, but despite how realistic this portrait of the condition might be, I got tired of looking at the world through a mishmosh of odd phrases and found myself slogging through the second half hoping it would get better. Worth reading because it's different.
Rating:
Summary: Not that Wonderful
Review: I am not sure why this book has received so much hype. The plot was confusing and convoluted. It was difficult to understand what compelled the characters to take the actions that they did. The main character's struggle to keep his Touretts under control was entertaining, but was difficult to relate to. All in all, this book resembles more a work of detective fiction than it does a great literary work.
Rating: 
Summary: I've got Tourette's
Review: In my opinion, good mysteries offer vivid prose, memorable characters, and intriguing plots, which together hold the reader to the last pages. By these standards, "Motherless Brooklyn" is an outstanding mystery, since it features exceptional writing by Jonathon Lethem, a weird but memorable Tourettic detective who solves the crime, and an interesting plot that carries the reader to the end of the book.
Among these genre elements, Lethem's writing is my favorite. Here's his paean to "Mad" magazine's Don Martin: "I used to pore over his drawings, trying to find what it was about his characters, drawn with riotously bulging eyes, noses, chins, Adam's apples and knees, elongated tongues and fingers and feet that flapped like banners ...that stirred such a deep chord in me. His image of life was garish and explosive, heads being stretched and shrunk, surgeons lopping off noses and dropping brains and sewing hands on backward, falling safes and metal presses squashing men flat or into boxlike packages, children swallowing coat hangers and pogo sticks and taking their shapes. His agonized characters moved through their panels with geeky physicality..." First rate work!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is a work of pure genius, one of my all-time favorites.
Rarely have I come across such originality, in both character development and story. I'm inspired to read more of Lethem's work; his voice is powerful.
Read this for a lead character who is brilliantly crafted and uniquely sympathetic, and for a mystery whose pace keeps you involved but not aching for the end. Familiarity with the Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill area vibe is helpful.
Rating:
Summary: A Tourettic Brooklyn Cocktail
Review: This was the first thing I've read by Jonathan Lethem. I have heard that some of his other novels are "hard to get into," but that is definitely NOT the case with Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem's portrait of his protagonist -- a 30-something year old orphan with Tourette's Syndrome, is in-depth, peppered with nuances, and a joy to imagine.
Lethem is an adroit writer. Almost every sentence is a gem. I rarely feel this way about authors -- probably the last time I did was when I read Michael Cunningham's The Hours -- but I savored Lethem's paragraphs. This is not a book to skim.
Of course, the book held other fascination for me as well: I grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn that Lethem did (his sister and I went to the same grammar school) and seeing the neighborhood through his eyes is a treat. But you needn't be from South Brooklyn (or New York at all) to enjoy this novel. The mystery itself -- and the antagonists in the plot -- are reminiscent of Raymond Chandler or Daschiell Hammett: drawn in bold, black strokes with a surrounding aura of cigarette smoke and the smell of whiskey.
Rating:
Summary: i really dont like this kind ofbook
Review: i dont really like it because i dont ccare for crime type mystrey books. however i was intrsted for the tourettes part. i have ts myself and found the protraly accurate. i felt the book was aliitle to long.
Rating: 
Summary: A Psychiatrist Looks at 'Motherless Brooklyn'
Review: As a psychiatrist I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Motherless Brooklyn'. The plot was somewhat mundane but the portrayal of Lionel's Tourette syndrome was more than just a case study. Lionel was a well drawn and loveable character. His Tourette symptoms became alive. Having friends who live in Brooklyn Heights also added to the familiarity of this novel. I have to pick a selection for my book club next month. Having read a number of excellent books over the summer (I'm mostly retired), it was a tough choice, but Lethem's crisp and easily read writing won out. I think most readers would really enjoy the humor and the unusual state of the protagonist.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read.
Review: Seriously, you'll never read another book that contains more wit and charm. If I were a writer, I would want to be Jonathan Lethem. The world could use more writers like him.
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