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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This is a fictional story about the famous Collyer brothers of NYC. The book is narrated by Homer, a blind man who puts up with his brother's hijinks and plans. The story begins with the two brothers as children and then follows them into their adult lives, also discussing their relationships with their parents and household staff. Explanations are provided for the brothers' accumulation of stuff with interesting insights. This is a relatively short novel, but compelling and very well written.
Well, this book is absolutely beautiful. I am still thinking about what I want to say about Homer & Langley, while simultaneously composing a letter to E.L. Doctorow in my head. I felt this novel deeply and I am marveling at Doctorow's ability with words and language which activate the senses while creating images that linger.
More of a review to come.
Okay, so after pondering for a couple of days, here is what I have come up with:
This novel was released in 2009, but just this past fall, the trade paperback edition became available. I am aware that Homer & Langley received very mixed reviews, with readers feeling either middling about it or loving it. Like any good historical novelist pushing the limits of his craft, Doctorow takes chances. The author’s treatment of the history was a negative for some critics, while others felt the narrator was less than engaging and the imagined historical details were unconvincing, while others still, including the New York Times, opined that Doctorow "never succeeds in making the brothers’ transition from mild eccentricity to out-and-out madness understandable to the reader." Yet even the detractors gave a nod to the author’s stylistic prose.
My reaction to this novel was very strong and I felt it deeply – with my senses and my emotions. Repeatedly I found myself imagining Homer’s ability to take in so much about the world after he lost his sight. The intuition he possessed coupled with other senses being heightened made for a very evolved character with insights that helped filled in the holes of his life. Langley made for an equally interesting, though not as fully fleshed character. Because we are receiving the story from Homer, and though their relationship was unusually strong, we are never fully privy to the action inside Langley’s brain. I do wonder, however, if Langley would be self-aware enough as to categorize his behaviours as well as he categorized his newspaper articles? To me, it is a beautifully imagined brotherhood Doctorow has created; a story inspired by how Homer and Langley lived, rather than sensationalizing how they died. Certainly, many liberties were taken by Doctorow in creating this story and it seems to be this aspect of the book that has the largest share of naysayers debating the label of historical fiction being applied to Doctorow’s book. The book spans nearly 70 years, from just before WWI to the years after the Vietnam War. In this regard, many eras are referenced through the brothers lives. But, it is not so much a recounting of the unusual story of the Collyer brothers as a journey inside that story. Call it a meditation, and a metaphor.
Doctorow’s novel is absolutely beautiful, to me, and I am amazed that he could accomplish so much in such a short (the edition I have is only 208 pages) book. "I’m Homer, the blind brother." is the very first line of Homer & Langley. We know immediately, then, this story will offer a very unique perspective, while signalling, also, that the pages within contain not just a usual story. I feel the eras covered – WWI, the Great Depression, prohibition, the Korean War, The assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr., the hippie movement and the Vietnam War – allowed the book to read, almost like a road trip novel with Homer and Langley benefiting from social interactions, without leaving their home. That Doctorow moved the setting of his novel from the actual home in Harlem, to an imagined Manhattan brownstone on Fifth Avenue, directly across from Central Park, likely allowed for more artistic license with the outside world coming into the brothers’ home so they could have first-hand experiences while being nearly complete shut-ins.
There is no doubt many found, and continue to find the real story of the Collyer brothers sad. If you look at photos taken from inside their home, you wonder how it is even possible they lived among all of the detritus. What Doctorow has done so well, then, is ask us to look at the tale through a different lens and dig within ourselves and extend compassion to two brothers who were likely never really understood and continue, in this world of media-provoked hoarders interest, to be viewed as bizarre and reprehensible. In Doctorow’s view, Homer & Langley are sensitive, highly-intelligent, lonely men, trying to find their purpose in the world. I think this is something we can all relate to and appreciate.
More of a review to come.
Okay, so after pondering for a couple of days, here is what I have come up with:
This novel was released in 2009, but just this past fall, the trade paperback edition became available. I am aware that Homer & Langley received very mixed reviews, with readers feeling either middling about it or loving it. Like any good historical novelist pushing the limits of his craft, Doctorow takes chances. The author’s treatment of the history was a negative for some critics, while others felt the narrator was less than engaging and the imagined historical details were unconvincing, while others still, including the New York Times, opined that Doctorow "never succeeds in making the brothers’ transition from mild eccentricity to out-and-out madness understandable to the reader." Yet even the detractors gave a nod to the author’s stylistic prose.
My reaction to this novel was very strong and I felt it deeply – with my senses and my emotions. Repeatedly I found myself imagining Homer’s ability to take in so much about the world after he lost his sight. The intuition he possessed coupled with other senses being heightened made for a very evolved character with insights that helped filled in the holes of his life. Langley made for an equally interesting, though not as fully fleshed character. Because we are receiving the story from Homer, and though their relationship was unusually strong, we are never fully privy to the action inside Langley’s brain. I do wonder, however, if Langley would be self-aware enough as to categorize his behaviours as well as he categorized his newspaper articles? To me, it is a beautifully imagined brotherhood Doctorow has created; a story inspired by how Homer and Langley lived, rather than sensationalizing how they died. Certainly, many liberties were taken by Doctorow in creating this story and it seems to be this aspect of the book that has the largest share of naysayers debating the label of historical fiction being applied to Doctorow’s book. The book spans nearly 70 years, from just before WWI to the years after the Vietnam War. In this regard, many eras are referenced through the brothers lives. But, it is not so much a recounting of the unusual story of the Collyer brothers as a journey inside that story. Call it a meditation, and a metaphor.
Doctorow’s novel is absolutely beautiful, to me, and I am amazed that he could accomplish so much in such a short (the edition I have is only 208 pages) book. "I’m Homer, the blind brother." is the very first line of Homer & Langley. We know immediately, then, this story will offer a very unique perspective, while signalling, also, that the pages within contain not just a usual story. I feel the eras covered – WWI, the Great Depression, prohibition, the Korean War, The assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr., the hippie movement and the Vietnam War – allowed the book to read, almost like a road trip novel with Homer and Langley benefiting from social interactions, without leaving their home. That Doctorow moved the setting of his novel from the actual home in Harlem, to an imagined Manhattan brownstone on Fifth Avenue, directly across from Central Park, likely allowed for more artistic license with the outside world coming into the brothers’ home so they could have first-hand experiences while being nearly complete shut-ins.
There is no doubt many found, and continue to find the real story of the Collyer brothers sad. If you look at photos taken from inside their home, you wonder how it is even possible they lived among all of the detritus. What Doctorow has done so well, then, is ask us to look at the tale through a different lens and dig within ourselves and extend compassion to two brothers who were likely never really understood and continue, in this world of media-provoked hoarders interest, to be viewed as bizarre and reprehensible. In Doctorow’s view, Homer & Langley are sensitive, highly-intelligent, lonely men, trying to find their purpose in the world. I think this is something we can all relate to and appreciate.
Yes. This was a book I knew I wanted to read when I picked it up. It did not disappoint. Poignant and real. I cherish this book. Yes yes yes.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Doctorow was one of the great 20th century American authors and I love his works. This, however, left me wanting. Even the greats sometimes swing and miss.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
5αρι καθαρό. Και να φανταστείς ότι το βρήκα στις προσφορές και λόγω ολοκληρωτικής άγνοιας μου για την ύπαρξη του συγγραφέα, δεν ήταν και προτεραιότητα μου να το διαβάσω σύντομα. Το βιβλίο βασίζεται σε δύο πραγματικές θρυλικές φιγούρες της Νέας Υόρκης, μόνο όμως ο σκελετός της ιστορίας είναι αληθινός. Ο Doctorow στήριξε στην ιστορία του Χόμερ και του Λάνγκλεϋ ένα μικρό αριστούργημα. Μέσα από το σπίτι τους περνάει η ιστορία της Αμερικής του 20ου αιώνα , αρκετοί αξιομνημονευτοι χαρακτήρες που μαζί με τα αδέρφια παρατείνουν τη διάρκεια ζωής τους και μετά το 1947 που στην πραγματικότητα τους βρήκαν νεκρούς, θαμμένους κυριολεκτικά κάτω από τα αμέτρητα αντικείμενα και εφημερίδες που είχαν στοιβαξει σε κάθε δωμάτιο.
Κλείνοντας το βιβλίο ένιωσα πραγματικά την ευτυχία της ανάγνωσης ενός σπουδαίου συγγραφέα.
Κλείνοντας το βιβλίο ένιωσα πραγματικά την ευτυχία της ανάγνωσης ενός σπουδαίου συγγραφέα.
Review originally posted at Dangerously Cold Tea
From E. L. Doctorow, you expect to see history in all its different forms and viewpoints, from the common man on the street to the richest man on Wall Street. You expect the main character to walk you through different events, seeing the world unfold from his unique point of view. You don't expect said character to be a practical reclusive, or a blind man.
I’m Homer, the blind brother, and this starts Doctorow's latest novel, Homer and Langley, the tale of two brothers who live together in an old house on Fifth Avenue for most of their lives, rarely leaving the abode but living startlingly vibrant lives all the same. Homer's brother, Langley, has returned home from World War One, a veteran with a mustard gas-addled brain that only makes him more eccentric than before. They live their lives as social recluses, gathering junk and oddities in their house as the years go by, and yet become very active participants in the ongoing crawl of history.
At one point, Langley actually builds a somewhat-working Model T in one of the main rooms, to the amusement of his brother (and the agitation of the long-suffering help). It is a rather symbolic point in the story; how they are able to bring in parts of the current world into their house which is still stuck in the past. But car parts and such things aren't the only things running through their house; during the course of the novel, the brothers host dance parties, host hippies, provide refuge to a Japanese married couple, and eventually battle the ever-persistent efforts of bureacracy and the media.
Do not start this novel expecting something like, say, Ragtime. It encompasses a great deal of events without moving POVs or even settings, and that's what sets it apart from much of the historical fiction released lately. Doctorow takes a true story --- the lives of the hermit-esque Collyer brothers --- and breathes life into their story. He himself says they are "two brothers who opted out of civilization and pulled the world in after them"; there is not a more apt description for this wonderful story.
From E. L. Doctorow, you expect to see history in all its different forms and viewpoints, from the common man on the street to the richest man on Wall Street. You expect the main character to walk you through different events, seeing the world unfold from his unique point of view. You don't expect said character to be a practical reclusive, or a blind man.
I’m Homer, the blind brother, and this starts Doctorow's latest novel, Homer and Langley, the tale of two brothers who live together in an old house on Fifth Avenue for most of their lives, rarely leaving the abode but living startlingly vibrant lives all the same. Homer's brother, Langley, has returned home from World War One, a veteran with a mustard gas-addled brain that only makes him more eccentric than before. They live their lives as social recluses, gathering junk and oddities in their house as the years go by, and yet become very active participants in the ongoing crawl of history.
At one point, Langley actually builds a somewhat-working Model T in one of the main rooms, to the amusement of his brother (and the agitation of the long-suffering help). It is a rather symbolic point in the story; how they are able to bring in parts of the current world into their house which is still stuck in the past. But car parts and such things aren't the only things running through their house; during the course of the novel, the brothers host dance parties, host hippies, provide refuge to a Japanese married couple, and eventually battle the ever-persistent efforts of bureacracy and the media.
Do not start this novel expecting something like, say, Ragtime. It encompasses a great deal of events without moving POVs or even settings, and that's what sets it apart from much of the historical fiction released lately. Doctorow takes a true story --- the lives of the hermit-esque Collyer brothers --- and breathes life into their story. He himself says they are "two brothers who opted out of civilization and pulled the world in after them"; there is not a more apt description for this wonderful story.