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A man, Frank Minna is killed in an obvious set up. Frank owns a detective agency with a car service as a front and two of his employees witnessed some part of the events leading to Frank’s death. One of the two men, Lionel, assumes the task of finding Franks killer and uncovers many truths about Frank’s dealings, his associates, and his wife. Lionel has tourettes syndrome, and as the narrator, the reader is experiences the story through a tourette afflicted mind. The story ends, as it begins with just another day at L&L, the detective agency/car service. A key concept in this story is understanding and perhaps empathizing with the experiences of a tourettic individual. Letham employs language as an additional character in the story because Lionel’s disease takes on a life of its own and colors the story uniquely. A main point in the story is that things are not as they seem to appear; this point is reiterated numerous times as Lionel uncovers more layers in his investigation. Frank Minna was not the man he believed him to be and neither was Tony. A key term in the story was “eatshitBailey”. This phrase is one of Lionel’s most frequently repeated tourettic outbursts.Read full review
Jonathan Lethem describes the desperate life of Brooklyn street kids. The main character, Lionel, tells his story from his early days as a reject in a boys home, struggling with his Tourettes symptoms, to an important part of a thuggish gang of private eyes. Initial reviews were very good and IMDB indicates Ed Norton will be directing (and starring in?) a movie based on the novel. From the opening scene I was plunged into the world of these young men. As a former Brooklynite myself, I think he captures the essence of area below Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO and the cadence of the characters who inhabit it.
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