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A review by documentno_is
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I love how much of an imperfect hero we are given in Dylan, if occasionally a bit on the nose-- like maybe he could've had some more adept conclusions on his relationship and knowledge of racial injustice in America, but I guess the book largely points out his own specific circumstances sought to keep him from that.
I loved the magical realism elements, breezing between comic reality and the gritty present in magical lyricism. I'm obsessed with how Lethem writes, his line level craft and sentences are intriguing and wonderful. That said, at times he can get a bit verbose, a tad repetitive, and maybe this book could've benefited from a more economical editor.
Honestly, I wish we had encountered more of Dylan at Camden, those were some of the most poignant chapters, a sort of fucked up redemption after his formative years of being a punching bag.
Regardless, this isn't a perfect novel of course, the subject matter has a tendency to veer of into gratuitous and aggrandized info dumping about music. In the same breath, there is a lot of heart and pain here and much of speaks to a beautiful window of human experience that only the specificity of growing up in a certain place can give you sometimes. There is so much America here, it is heartbreaking.
I loved the magical realism elements, breezing between comic reality and the gritty present in magical lyricism. I'm obsessed with how Lethem writes, his line level craft and sentences are intriguing and wonderful. That said, at times he can get a bit verbose, a tad repetitive, and maybe this book could've benefited from a more economical editor.
Honestly, I wish we had encountered more of Dylan at Camden, those were some of the most poignant chapters, a sort of fucked up redemption after his formative years of being a punching bag.
Regardless, this isn't a perfect novel of course, the subject matter has a tendency to veer of into gratuitous and aggrandized info dumping about music. In the same breath, there is a lot of heart and pain here and much of speaks to a beautiful window of human experience that only the specificity of growing up in a certain place can give you sometimes. There is so much America here, it is heartbreaking.