Motherless Brooklyn (edition 1999)

by Jonathan Lethem

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4,916	110	2,244	(3.96)	188
Fiction. Literature. HTML: NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM WARNER BROS. STARRING BRUCE WILLIS, EDWARD NORTON, AND WILLEM DAFOE From America's most inventive novelist, Jonathan Lethem, comes this compelling and compulsive riff on the classic detective novel. Lionel Essrog is Brooklyn's very own Human Freakshow, an orphan whose Tourettic impulses drive him to bark, count, and rip apart language in startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St. Vincent's Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna's limo service cum detective agency. Life without Frank, the charismatic King of Brooklyn, would be unimaginable. When Frank is fatally stabbed, Lionel's world is suddenly turned upside-down, and this outcast who has trouble even conversing attempts to untangle the threads of the case, while trying to keep the words straight in his head. A compulsively involving a and totally captivating homage to the classic detective tale. .… (more)

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Member:	killthemosquito
Title:	Motherless Brooklyn
Authors:	Jonathan Lethem
Info:	New York : Doubleday, c1999.
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	None

Work Information

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

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Quizlitbooks, ErezMilgrom, JohnDorman, tumanyanlibrary, private library, JoeB1934, sircalidore, eba1999

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▾Member reviews

English (107) Spanish (2) Danish (1) All languages (110)

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Showing 1-5 of 107 (next | show all)

A very inventive and touching story with unforgettable characters. I really enjoyed reading it, although I wished I'd had a little more experience with traditional hard boiled detective stories, as I could pick up hints that there were interesting plays on the genre going on that probably work even better if you've read a bit more Raymond Chandler. Still, a great read all the way through. (

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rknickme | Mar 31, 2024 |

What I really enjoyed is reading a story narrated by someone who had Tourette’s syndrome. First time I’ve ever read a story with the narrator like that. But other than that I didn’t find the story itself to be anything but kind of blah. I was disappointed in the ending and overall felt let down. I do plan on checking out the movie though. (

)

jbrownleo | Mar 27, 2024 |

Sort of a cross between Sam spade , detective searching for partners killer, and The Godfather, family allegiances mired in crime. The mysterious femme fatale, the evil corporation , the worry about who can be trusted, all the usual noir type scenarios, with the interesting addition of the protagonist having to deal with his Tourettic impulses on top of everything else. (

)

cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |

A mystery with no mothers. (

)

ben_r47 | Feb 22, 2024 |

Noir with a case of Tourette’s is the shape of Motherless Brooklyn in this novel that blends elements of detective fiction with deep character exploration and social commentary. It’s clever and compelling. The Tourette’s isn’t a gimmick, rather the central aspect of Lionel’s character and the lens in which he views the world. Lethem portrays Lionel’s struggles, highlighting his intelligence, determination and wit while exploring themes of identity, belonging and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. Motherless Brooklyn will linger in your mind long after you turn the last page. (

)

Andrew.Lafleche | Feb 5, 2024 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Jonathan Lethem	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Buscemi, Steve	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Cantor, Geoffrey	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
King, Amy C.	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Mulligan, Brian	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Goldmann Manhattan (54187)

Vintage Contemporaries

İthaki Modern (8)

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Canonical title

Original title

Motherless Brooklyn

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA

Maine, USA

Important events

Related movies

Motherless Brooklyn (2019 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Dedication

For my Father

First words

Context is everything. Dress me up and see. I'm a carnival barker, an auctioneer, a downtown performance artist, a speaker in tongues, a senator drunk on fillbuster. I've got Tourette's. My mouth won't quit, though mostly I whisper or subvocalize like I'm reading aloud, my Adam's apple bobbing, jaw muscle beating like a miniature heart under my cheek, the noise suppressed, the words escaping silently, mere ghosts of themselves, husks empty of breath and tone.

Quotations

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Ik ben een schreeuwende carnavalsvierder, een veilingmeester, een straatartiest, een mystiek brabbelaar, een senator die brooddronken is van zijn eigen lange redevoeringen.

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Motherless Brooklyn

▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. HTML:

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM WARNER BROS. STARRING BRUCE WILLIS, EDWARD NORTON, AND WILLEM DAFOE

From America's most inventive novelist, Jonathan Lethem, comes this compelling and compulsive riff on the classic detective novel.

Lionel Essrog is Brooklyn's very own Human Freakshow, an orphan whose Tourettic impulses drive him to bark, count, and rip apart language in startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St. Vincent's Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna's limo service cum detective agency. Life without Frank, the charismatic King of Brooklyn, would be unimaginable. When Frank is fatally stabbed, Lionel's world is suddenly turned upside-down, and this outcast who has trouble even conversing attempts to untangle the threads of the case, while trying to keep the words straight in his head. A compulsively involving a and totally captivating homage to the classic detective tale.

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Book description

Motherless Brooklyn is a Jonathan Lethem novel published in 1999. It is a detective story set in Brooklyn. Lethem's protagonist has Tourette syndrome, a disorder marked by involuntary tics.

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