Rating: 
Summary: Lethem's Finest Work To Date
Review: I am truly amazed with Jonathan Lethem's growth and exceptional range as a writer; his broad literary canvas covers genetically engineered futures, colonizing other worlds, and Brooklyn, as seen through the eyes of a Tourette's Syndrome sufferer. Along with Rick Moody, Lethem has to be regarded as my generation's finest, most lyrical, writer of fiction. Here in "Motherless Brooklyn", Lethem shows his love, and mastery of the English language. In his protagonist Lionel Essrog, we have a flawed, yet sympathetic figure whose Tourette's Syndrome affliction ultimately becomes one of Essrog's most endearing virtues. Lethem has written a stylishly hip murder mystery as compelling as his literary debut "Gun, With Occasional Music", yet one which digs deeper and goes further into examing the human condition. Seen through Lionel Essrog's eyes, Brooklyn becomes a vividly fresh landscape as he joins his fellow Minna Men in solving a crime; a place where time-worn crime novel motifs are turned upside down for the sake of strong, lyrical prose. Truly this is one magnificient novel that transcends its crime novel origins.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel That Really Deserves a Sequel
Review: I have read some of Lethem's other works and found them to be unsatisfying, but Motherless Brooklyn is a one-of-a-kind novel, with a main character that turned out to be even more sympathetic that I expected. The whodunit detective story that is the background of this work is only OK, but Lethem's writing and his protagonist Lionel Essrog leave a major impression. Touching without being sentimental, this is the story of a physically flawed yet three-dimensional human being, and I only wish that the author would write a sequel so I could be assured that Lionel gets the happy ending he deserves. An unusual literary treat that had a remarkable effect on this reader!
Rating:
Summary: READ ME, BAILEY!!!!
Review: This book screams READ ME! Why? Because Lethem is a god! Really! Seriously! No kidding! He creates a world that is dark and moody like a good crime noir. Then he tosses in Lionel, a man prone to ripping apart words, meshing them together, and creating a whole new language. Then he populates it with distinctive characters like Mina and Kimmery. Toss in a little Zen, White Castle hamburgers, and Maine and you have the makings of a fantastic novel. What I loved the most (other than Lionel's narrative) was that it was a detective novel elevated to a contemperary fiction level. When handled deftly by such an artist, it can be magnificant. NOW DO WHAT IT SAYS AND READ IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Lethem's best yet.
Review: Jonathan Lethem's previous novels have always incorporated very strange elements. Whether it's a genetically-enhanced kangaroo as a villain, or a singularity as one corner of a love triangle, Lethem doesn't shirk at incorporating the weird into his stories. In Motherless Brooklyn, however, the only unusual aspect to the story is that the protagonist has Tourette's Syndrome. Lethem infuses the narrative with Lionel's tics and verbal outbursts, but the story's premise - a murder mystery - is somewhat more mundane than his previous novels. I'm not a big fan of murder mysteries, but I was captivated by this novel. What held my interest was Lethem's writing. His use of language, his sense of pacing, and the voice of his protagonist made this book a pleasure to read. And Lethem's portrayal of Lionel was masterful. As the story unfolds, we come to understand how Tourette's works, a little - at least, how it seems to work for Lionel. But while Lionel's Tourette's was a large part of the story, Lethem didn't let it become the story. There are questions, and Lionel looks for answers. There is danger, and Lionel tries to face it or avoid it. There is humour, too - and rarely at Lionel's expense. If you've enjoyed Lethem's previous novels, I'd recommend this one without reservation. I think it's his best so far. If you haven't read a Lethem novel, try this one - even if you're not a mystery fan. I'm not, and I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Literary Jazz
Review: Like Paul Auster and very few others, Jonathan Lethem is a writer of literary fiction who dramatically alters his chops between novels and, with seemingly little effort, creates, again and again, works that ensnare readers delighting in oddly angled worlds, where a tilted plausibility replaces the stable statistics of everyday expectation. Motherless Brooklyn is delirious, overabundant, delightful creativity, with a strong, supple spine of research on Tourette's Syndrome to render palpably the faux detective Lionel Essrog, an unforgettable creation. This is literary jazz of the highest caliber: Lethem blows twelve bars of melody and takes off on soaring feats of improvisation, but always--whether carefully, or harrowingly, or softly, or howlingly humorously--bringing his daring rhetorical flights back home with great (and intuitively "fitting") imagination. Some reviewers have invoked the name "Nabokov" with reference to Motherless Brooklyn, praise that is not misplaced. Yes, this novel is squarely in the crime noir genre. Yes, Lethem might have situated his protogonist in any of half a dozen other genres. And, yes, locating a germ of "difference" and building standard materials around it is precisely what makes a "genre." But Lethem's language--and his principal deployer of language, the Tourettic Lionel--is, like Nabokov's in Lolita and Pale Fire, literally miraculous. And the Tourette's difference is, as it must be, integral to the story (which, considered as crime fiction, by the way, is good: populated with believable characters and dialogue, a suitably tangled plot, and honest, satisfying resolutions). Read this novel. Tell your friends. Make Jonathan Lethem's name familiar in their mouths as household words. His is a gifted new voice that should be widely supported.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most creative novels ever
Review: This book has so many twists and takes the reader into so many interesting worlds. Lionel Essrog is the type of character that most writers would portray as a one dimensional afterthought. This story is written from the perspective of the character who's usually the comic relief. Lionel is endearing, believable and so well developed. To think of this "freakshow" of a human being thrown into a film-noirish world of gangsters, crooks and zen buddhists leaves so many possibilities and Lethem puts it all together in a wonderful package. This is the first book I've read in a long time where I was so involved that I would literally yell at the book when Lionel would get in trouble. That is a true feat of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Lionel Essrog: best protagonist ever
Review: It's a mystery, full of dubious toughs and headed by a tourettic detective named Lionel Essrog. Sound different? It is. Lionel Essrog is just the very best protagonist ever. It's fun to watch him - fun not knowing what he'll say. And it's fun to read a story which can hold him without turning into a literary freak show. In fact, that's one of Lionel's many nicknames: freakshow. Yet the novel is not about mockery; it's about strength and loyalty and self discovery, just like so many really great novels. So many contemporary novels are about beating up the protagonist and showing us just how ugly our world is. And that's fine. I love some of those novels. But sometimes - sometimes someone like Lethem writes a book that's about people who have beating hearts and ambitions which we can laugh at and cherish at the same time. And when that happens, you see that the real skill is showing us just how complex and beautiful our silly little worlds are.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful main character...pretty good story
Review: A great character can carry nearly any book and this is not just any book. Lionel Essrog, the main character/detective who has Tourette's Syndrome, is a fantastic character out of dream. What can you say about a book that puts a character like this -- one who is apt utter a string of vile curses mixed with tough guy Brooklynese -- inside a Zendo!!! Brilliant and that's what this book is. Loved it. My only quibble would be that it loses some steam as it goes along but, since it started out so powerfully, that is a small quibble indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Breathing New Life Into the Genre
Review: The detective novel has been done to death. There, I said it. There is nothing new under the sun, the bloom is off the rose, the check is in the mail. There have been some fine examples of the genre in recent times, true. Walter Mosley's 'Easy Rawlins' mysteries rank right up there with the best. But for the most part, authors bring nothing new to the table. They rehash Hammett, and Chandler, but never find their own true voice. Or so I thought. MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN has given me cause to celebrate. Not that the mystery itself is such an amazing feat of twists and turns. But the manner in which the mystery is told, the style and wit of the author, puts the literature back into the genre. This is a detective novel with class. I haven't been this startled by such originality and invention in a detective novel since Andrew Vachss introduced his 'Burke' character in FLOOD. Lionel Essrog is a New York detective, of sorts, one of four right-hand men serving under detective Frank Minna. Minna isn't really a detective, he's more of a criminal in disguise, but Lionel and the others are too enraptured to care. Minna recruited Lionel and the others from an orphanage (all four men comprise 'Motherless Brooklyn') to work as his henchmen, his drivers, his servants. When Minna is killed, Lionel must track the killer down. It sounds fairly standard for a detective novel, but author Jonathan Letham's ace-in-the-hole is Lionel's unusual dilemma: Lionel has Tourette's syndrome, a disorder that manifests itself through uncontrollable verbal and physical tics and spasms. As Lionel narrates his tale, relating his past life at the orphanage up to the present, he presents a viewpoint of the universe not many people could claim to understand, the frantic need for order and discipline in a world undesigned for this sort of comfort. This is treading a fine line. Lionel's disability could easily have become a gimmick, or even worse, a joke (although his asides and mutterings can be funny; he finds it almost impossible to say his name correctly). Letham navigates these perils with aplomb, and it is a tribute to his skill that Lionel's constant outbursts never become tiresome. We are fully immersed in the mind of a man with Tourette's, and it is often a startling experience. There is a touching aspect to Lionel's tale that only reveals itself fully in hindsight. Minna is obviously a father figure to Lionel and the others, but it is only when Lionel finally functions completely on his own does he mature into a man. Until that time, he was a boy in a man's frame, completely intoxicated with the world Minna provided, rarely stopping to ponder the seething darkness that Minna kept at bay. Minna was a father, but he was not a good father, and Lionel only comes to realize this when he faces the world completely and utterly alone. The mystery itself, like most good mysteries, is secondary. It is not the mystery that holds our attention. It is the language, the characters. THE MALTESE FALCON is a fine mystery, but it wouldn't hold our interest without Sam Spade's hard-boiled detective. A mystery is only as good as the frame which supports it. MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN has a very good frame indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: LOVED THE TITLE....
Review: ....hated the book. I guess it's a genre thing. I don't care for detective stories, but decided to give it a try after I read a few of positive customer reviews. The author did raise the stakes by the "added touch" of having the protagonist have Tourette's Syndrome. I found this very interesting and was drawn to these scenes but the detective stuff bored me mostly and really couldn't wait for it to end.
| 
