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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This is a story about two brother. The younger, Homer, went blind as a teenager while his older brother was off fighting in World War I. After their parents were killed in an accident the two live on in the family mansion across from Central Park, living an increasingly reclusive life.
Due to Homer's blindness, Langley tends to make most of the decisions, and begins hoarding a variety of items, especially newspapers. As they become more and more cut off from their neighbours, they also lose access to more and more services. Homer is a bit of a victim of his brother's paranoia and persecution complex and, as the story is told from his point of view, he is the more sympathetic character.
A very interesting novel.
Due to Homer's blindness, Langley tends to make most of the decisions, and begins hoarding a variety of items, especially newspapers. As they become more and more cut off from their neighbours, they also lose access to more and more services. Homer is a bit of a victim of his brother's paranoia and persecution complex and, as the story is told from his point of view, he is the more sympathetic character.
A very interesting novel.
Doctorow has told the actual story of two brothers, Homer and Langley Collyer, (with lots of creative license) who resided in their family mansion in New York City and, over the years, retreated into rooms filled with hoardings and minds filled with mistrust and fear of the outer world.
As the brothers age - Homer losing his sight then his hearing and Langley losing his grip on reality but trying to care for his disabled brother-- Doctorow introduces personalities from the outer world to give a taste of the time periods involved. Homer plays piano for the silent pictures and takes in a young girl pupil. For a short time, they try to hold "tea dances" during the depression in their spacious rooms. Homer also is befriended by a mafia don at clubs and the gangsters take over the brother's house for a short time. All the while, Langley is dragging home assorted items, from a Model T to army surplus and lots of bric-a-brac to add to the daily accumulation of newspapers. Across the street in Central Park they encounter a group of 60s hippies who take up residence with them until the winter arrives.
Going-blind Homer is our narrator through the course of their lives and has to trust in his war-damaged brother's assorted theories and schemes. In the end, the two of them completely withdraw from all contact into their overcrowded rooms, now with only makeshift lights, heat and cooking appliances.
The book reads quickly (200 pages) but is able to touch the heart of loneliness and madness, even as the pair cling to and strive to communicate even with each other. The search for meaning and relationship seems to elude them as they retreat behind barriers and drawn shutters.
The fact that this book is a retelling of the real odd couple Collyer Brothers, makes it a tragedy of personal emptiness amidst tons of debris, set inside a teeming metropolis. A very special book.
As the brothers age - Homer losing his sight then his hearing and Langley losing his grip on reality but trying to care for his disabled brother-- Doctorow introduces personalities from the outer world to give a taste of the time periods involved. Homer plays piano for the silent pictures and takes in a young girl pupil. For a short time, they try to hold "tea dances" during the depression in their spacious rooms. Homer also is befriended by a mafia don at clubs and the gangsters take over the brother's house for a short time. All the while, Langley is dragging home assorted items, from a Model T to army surplus and lots of bric-a-brac to add to the daily accumulation of newspapers. Across the street in Central Park they encounter a group of 60s hippies who take up residence with them until the winter arrives.
Going-blind Homer is our narrator through the course of their lives and has to trust in his war-damaged brother's assorted theories and schemes. In the end, the two of them completely withdraw from all contact into their overcrowded rooms, now with only makeshift lights, heat and cooking appliances.
The book reads quickly (200 pages) but is able to touch the heart of loneliness and madness, even as the pair cling to and strive to communicate even with each other. The search for meaning and relationship seems to elude them as they retreat behind barriers and drawn shutters.
The fact that this book is a retelling of the real odd couple Collyer Brothers, makes it a tragedy of personal emptiness amidst tons of debris, set inside a teeming metropolis. A very special book.
A strange atmospheric novel about a blind man and his brother, a hoarder and curmudgeon, as the world closes in around them in their crumbling house on Fifth Avenue in NYC and occasionally history brushes their existence. I think Doctorow stretches things a little to get in the pieces of history that he selected to appear in the story.
An interesting character study with real historical events tied into the Collyer brothers gradual fall into isolation and dementia. I would recommend E. L. Doctorow's book Ragtime over this hands down.
A tragic story of two brothers - Homer and Langley Collery? The former lost his sight at an early age and the latter lost some of his mental falculties after being gassed in WWI. Their parents died in the flu pandemic of 1918 and from then until 1947 they lived in a mansion on Fifth Ave and 128th St. The elder brother, Langley, was a compulsive hoarder and died under the weight of the hoarded junk. Homer died of malnutrition.
Doctorow tells the story from Homer's perspective as he becomes physically trapped in his blindness as well as in the growing amounts of debris in the house. There are some liberties - in the book their lives extend into the 1970s; however the feeling of impending madness permeates the book and it is a chronicle of the 20th century (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the moon landing) through the sensations of a blind man. Excellent book!
Doctorow tells the story from Homer's perspective as he becomes physically trapped in his blindness as well as in the growing amounts of debris in the house. There are some liberties - in the book their lives extend into the 1970s; however the feeling of impending madness permeates the book and it is a chronicle of the 20th century (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the moon landing) through the sensations of a blind man. Excellent book!
In spite of the fact that Doctorow took many historical liberties with the lives of the Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, he presents the reader with two quite sympathetic characters who also happened to be compulsive hoarders. I wasn't overwhelmed by Doctorow's writing, and have enjoyed other books by him more, but I found the real story of these men fascinating.
I loved the last lines: Jacqueline, for how many days have I been without food. There was a crash, the whole house shook. Where is Langley? Where is my brother? (It has been surmised that Langley set off one of his own booby traps while bringing food to Homer. His decomposing body was found under a bunch of newspapers and other junk. Homer, who was blind and mostly paralyzed, then starved to death.)
I loved the last lines: Jacqueline, for how many days have I been without food. There was a crash, the whole house shook. Where is Langley? Where is my brother? (It has been surmised that Langley set off one of his own booby traps while bringing food to Homer. His decomposing body was found under a bunch of newspapers and other junk. Homer, who was blind and mostly paralyzed, then starved to death.)
This whole book honestly went right through my head so wish me luck on my final.
I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this superb little book.
Lo avrei apprezzato di più se fosse stato solo "Langley". Il suo personaggio mi è piaciuto molto e trovo che letteralmente salvi la baracca poiché il resto l'ho trovato davvero scialbo. Diciamo un 2,5 complessivo, guadagnato interamente ed esclusivamente dal secondo dei fratelli nominati nel titolo il quale in solitaria meriterebbe un 3,5/4.