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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I understand Doctorow is writing fiction; hell, I love his blending of reality and fictional fantasy in Ragtime. However, the real life of the Collyer brothers is so interesting and heartbreaking it doesn't need thirty extra years, various young women and other devices out of the writer's toolbox. This book has a hollow feeling at its core, completely unlike the stuffed-to-the-cornices Collyer mansion on New York City's Fifth Avenue. Homer and Langley (for whatever unnecessary reason, at least to this reader, E.L. turns their ages around) do not need sex, the moon landing and Jonestown to make them more accessible. If you are interested in these two characters--characters in the best sense of the word--pick up Franz Lidz's Ghosty Men instead.
Based on the true story of two brothers in NYC who were reclusive hoarders - this book seems to exist to answer the question 'how could this have happened' - and Doctorow plausibly spins out the story of their lives explaining all the weird little details covered in the press - like the car in the living room, the many pianos, the bales of newspapers, the relationship of the brothers. It was interesting if you are intrigued by the events, but not really a riveting novel in and of itself.
Another interesting thing about this book is the passing of time - almost Forrest Gump-ian - where the characters observe or take part in the trends of American history including wars, hippies, music, drink, drugs, etc.
Another interesting thing about this book is the passing of time - almost Forrest Gump-ian - where the characters observe or take part in the trends of American history including wars, hippies, music, drink, drugs, etc.
I had a hard time deciding what rating to give this book. It wasn't really the same as my other three star books, but a two star rating didn't seem right either. So, it is what it is... This book is based on two real brothers who were from a wealthy family but ended up dying in their home surrounded by piles and piles and piles of stuff they had hoarded over the years. The book is narrated by Homer, who, as he says in the opening sentence, is "the blind brother". Doctorow does a good job showing the slippery slope from being a collector to a compulsive hoarder. It is actually pretty depressing. The two brothers spiral downward so gradually, by the time they realize what is happening (if they ever do), things are pretty much hopeless. The book made me want to learn more about the real-life brothers it was based on. I'm not sure what I think about Doctorow's writing style. It seems like nothing happens for a long time, then all the sudden it gets really interesting, then nothing happens again. I seem to remember having the same thought when I read his book Ragtime in college.
I've enjoyed what I've read of Doctorow's works, so I was excited to win a copy of his newest in a First Reads giveaway. Home and Langley is, from what I can tell, quintessential Doctorow style -- there's just something I can't articulate, but can immediately pin down as his writing. This new novel is told by Homer Collyer, an infamous, true-life resident of New York City.
Homer's quiet desperation becomes clear early on. He seems composed and put together, but underneath there is something struggling. There's turmoil. He's blind, he is orphaned in his teens, and his brother is half-mad due to WWI; through this all, he attempts to succinctly narrate the events that lead up to his and Langley's downward spiral. I didn't particularly like his narrative until Langley brings the Model T into the house. Before this point, the book seemed to be one long string of events. It was at the point of the Model T that I felt something akin to empathy and I began to feel a vested interest in these brothers' unified story. I think this is when I realized just how affected Langley was.
At one point in the story, Langley and Homer are intruded upon by FBI agents who have come for the brothers' Japanese housekeepers. After failing to secure safety for their employees, an enraged Langley asks Homer something along the lines of, "How can we be free if only at their sufferance?" And that to me is the essence of this entire novel. Be it the FBI, the press, the kids who throw rocks at the house, or the hippies who settle in for a while, Homer and Langley are never truly free to do their own thing. They are always at the mercy of others.
The final pages are heartbreaking and abrupt, as Homer becomes more and more isolated, not just from the outside world, but from everything he knows. The final passages resonate with that quiet desperation and longing for what he considers normal.
I'd recommend this to fans of literary/historical fiction. I wouldn't be surprised if others who read it are as curious about the real-life brothers as I am now.
Homer's quiet desperation becomes clear early on. He seems composed and put together, but underneath there is something struggling. There's turmoil. He's blind, he is orphaned in his teens, and his brother is half-mad due to WWI; through this all, he attempts to succinctly narrate the events that lead up to his and Langley's downward spiral. I didn't particularly like his narrative until Langley brings the Model T into the house. Before this point, the book seemed to be one long string of events. It was at the point of the Model T that I felt something akin to empathy and I began to feel a vested interest in these brothers' unified story. I think this is when I realized just how affected Langley was.
At one point in the story, Langley and Homer are intruded upon by FBI agents who have come for the brothers' Japanese housekeepers. After failing to secure safety for their employees, an enraged Langley asks Homer something along the lines of, "How can we be free if only at their sufferance?" And that to me is the essence of this entire novel. Be it the FBI, the press, the kids who throw rocks at the house, or the hippies who settle in for a while, Homer and Langley are never truly free to do their own thing. They are always at the mercy of others.
The final pages are heartbreaking and abrupt, as Homer becomes more and more isolated, not just from the outside world, but from everything he knows. The final passages resonate with that quiet desperation and longing for what he considers normal.
I'd recommend this to fans of literary/historical fiction. I wouldn't be surprised if others who read it are as curious about the real-life brothers as I am now.
this was an interesting little book about a pair of hoarding brothers. it's written from the perspective of homer and i liked how personable he was, even as the book was about their growing isolation from the rest of the world. the style of it--giving glimpses into their lives rather than full-on portraits--reminded me a bit of Shopgirl, which i read recently. i liked having to fill in some details and creating those worlds in my head.
if not for bookclub, i don't think i would have picked this one up. which is the beauty of being in a bookclub.
if not for bookclub, i don't think i would have picked this one up. which is the beauty of being in a bookclub.
To begin in the sprit of full disclosure, I am big fan of EL Doctorow. I enjoy the whole premise of taking historical figures and situations and melding them with the mind of a novelist. This latest tale of the infamous Collyer brothers does not disapoint. The novel traces the interior life of the blind, younger brother Homer who also transcribes he and his brother's evolution from socially connected children of wealth to eccentric and ultimately insane prisoners in their own decaying home. Langley returns from World War I irrevocabely changed and intially begins embarking on projects. The projects range from a single newspaper that can capture all the news that will every be relevant...and so he collects multiple newspapers daily..to rebuilding a Model T in the former dining room. He finds and collects and shares with Homer projects, items, means to protect them from the outside world and themselves. Choosing to extend the length of time the real life Collyers lived, Doctorow uses the changes in American Society from the 1920's through the present as a backdrop upon which the brothers' increasing social isolation plays out. This is a slim volume and one which imposes a very specific atmosphere and mood. I highly recommend it.
The real story of Homer and Langley Collyer is much more interting than this fictionalized version that bares very little resemblance to it, other than the names and the mansion. It doesn't even take place in the same time period as the real Collyer brothers lives, and the treatment of Langley's hoarding is disappointingly minimal.
Doctorow's attempt to get inside the minds of the Collyer brothers, whose hoarding case made headlines half a century before TLC started sifting through junky suburban homes, is extremely readable but not quite successful. In this fictionalized account, WWI vet Langley is obsessed with creating a "newspaper for all time," with platonic ideals of the stories that regularly cycle through front pages. He stashes the house with every paper he can get his hands on, not to mention "replacements" for other items: typewriters, pianos, even a Model T that takes up residence in the dining room. His blind brother Homer narrates--trusting, romantic, tragically passive.
The result at times is a kind of twisted Forrest Gump, in which the brothers barricade themselves from a harsh world only to have history bust through the doors in the form of Prohibition-era gangsters and Vietnam-era hippies. But whatever connections Doctorow is trying to make about the cycles of history don't quite take hold for me. Meanwhile, the impact of the hoarding is downplayed. If you Google pictures of the Collyer brothers' home, you will see that in such an environment, precarious walls of rat-infested STUFF would quickly become the only thing about you. Yet the brothers' physical surroundings remain a supporting character, not completely functional on a symbolic or literal level.
The result at times is a kind of twisted Forrest Gump, in which the brothers barricade themselves from a harsh world only to have history bust through the doors in the form of Prohibition-era gangsters and Vietnam-era hippies. But whatever connections Doctorow is trying to make about the cycles of history don't quite take hold for me. Meanwhile, the impact of the hoarding is downplayed. If you Google pictures of the Collyer brothers' home, you will see that in such an environment, precarious walls of rat-infested STUFF would quickly become the only thing about you. Yet the brothers' physical surroundings remain a supporting character, not completely functional on a symbolic or literal level.