Motherless Brooklyn

English

ISBN: 0385491832

EAN: 9780385491839

Category: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General

Publisher: Doubleday Religious Publishing Group, The

Release Date: 09/01/1999

Synopsis: Tell your story walking. St. Vincents Home for Boys, Brooklyn, early 1970s. For Lionel Essrog, a.k.a. The Human Freakshow, a victim of Tourettes syndrome (an uncontrollable urge to shout out nonsense, touch every surface in reach, rearrange objects), Frank Minna is a savior. A local tough guy and fixer, Minna shows up to take Lionel and three of his fellow orphans on mysterious errands: they empty a store of stereos as the owner watches; destroy a small amusement park; visit old Italian men. The four grow up to be the Minna Men, a fly-by-night detective agency-cum-limo service, and their days and nights revolve around Frank, the prince of Brooklyn, who glides through life on street smarts, attitude, and secret knowledge. Then one dreadful night, Frank is knifed and thrown into a Dumpster, and Lionel must become a real detective. As Lionel struggles to find Franks killer--without letting his Tourettes get in the way--hes forced to delve into the complex, shadowy web of relationships, threats, and favors that make up the Brooklyn world he thought he knew so well. No one--not Frank, not Franks bitter wife, Julia, not the other Minna Men--is who they seem. Not even The Human Freakshow. All of the Lethem touches that have thrilled critics are here--crackling dialogue, sly humor, dizzying plot twists--but theyre secondary to wonderfully full, tragic, funny characterizations, and a dazzling evocation of place. Indeed, Brooklyn--with its charming folkways and language, its unique style of bad-guy swagger and sentimentality--becomes itself a major character. Motherless Brooklynis a bravura performance: funny, tense, touching, extravagant. This novel signals the coming of age of a major American writer.

Awards: American Library Association Notable Books – null  Crime Writers Association Awards – null  National Book Critics Circle Awards – null 

Motherless Brooklyn

Illustrated: No

Format: Hardcover

Height: 1.18 inches

Width: 6.49 inches

Length: 9.58 inches

Weight: 20.14 oz

Pages: 320