Motherless Brooklyn

Motherless Brooklyn is another great novel. though it's not too violent, the way i wud have liked, it is a great read.

it is a first person narrative by the central character, Lionel Essrog, who's got Tourette's syndrome, a disorder that causes him to tic and scream out weird exclamations like "Eat Me, Bailey!" at irregular intervals. it also creates wild word associations in his mind. for example, if somebody says, " a place of peace, " his mind goes, 'prays of peach, plays of peas, press-e-piece...'

Lionel and his three friends, Gilbert Coney, Danny Fantl and Tony Vermonte are orphans from the same orphanage, and work for a car service, which is actually a detective agency. their boss is Frank Minna, the uncrowned king of Brooklyn: streetsmart, witty, smooth-talking and charismatic.

then, one fine day, Minna is murdered, Gilbert lands in jail, and Danny and Tony begin vying for Minna's position as the boss. it is left to Freakshow, as Minna affectionately calls Lionel to find out who killed the man who was much more than an employer to him. the rest of the story is about how Lionel uncovers the shocking truths behind the murder, all the time battling the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome, besides other, more tangible foes.

the title is symbolic, and its significance becomes clear as one reads on.

Lethem manages to dish out an impressive piece of literature, making the novel engrossing, dark yet hilarious at points when Lionel's Tourettic symptoms make him say and do the most unexpected things at the most unexpected times.

my humble advice: read it, please.

well, i won't spoil it by talking about me now. better i end here.

till next time,

Bearded Evil.