Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Motherless Brooklyn

by Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem 's detective novel , Motherless Brooklyn , uses the noir genre as a springboard to pull the reader into a world that is completely different from what one would expect . While the skeleton typical for this genre is apparent as the four misfit -pseudo-sleuths uncover the mystery bit by bit , Lethem reveals the story in a new light one that is original and edgy , dark and comical . What emerges is a story of betrayal and loss of innocence but with a twist on conventions that leads

the reader into unexpected territory . The terrain is dark and lonely , but never in the way one would expect . Lionel Essrog , an insecure loner with Tourette 's , heads up a group of detectives who are trying to track down their bosses killer . Raised in an orphanage in Brooklyn , Lionel and his motley crew of misfits and outcasts , are raised by Frank Minna , their mentor and father figure who trains them how to become detectives . The men are hardly raised to be angels . Instead the reader finds a paradox existing between the ferociously loyal moral code between blood brothers in this hodgepodge family and outright crime . This is more than evident when Minna supervises them on emptying a store while the owner watches . As his crime apprentices , Frank Minna not only is drawn to the boys for emotional reasons but also for practical ones . In fact , Lionel 's mental illness is not a roadblock but an asset to petty crime...