Fortress of Solitude

1970's Brooklyn comes vividly to life in Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude. Dylan and his parents, hippie Rachel, who soon leaves them, and artist Abraham, move into the mostly black Boerum Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn. Dylan has a rough time adjusting until he befriends his neighbor, Mingus Rude, the son of a jazz musician. Dylan's childhood in Brooklyn with Mingus grows from games of scully to graffiti tagging to discovering a ring that gives them magical abilities. As they grow older, they grow apart, until one final meeting between the friends where the ring comes into play once again. A few posts back, Shuttsie talked about a book that killed her book club. I was the only one of my group to finish this book, but I absolutely loved it. I saw some of the flaws they did, but I also saw a book that was more evocative of time and place that just about any I had ever read. The book also explores gentrification, art through Abraham's work, pop music and much more. It may be a little slow going at times, but stick with it and you will be rewarded.

Awhile back, Shuttsie posted a link to book sale finder, which lists libray book sales across the country. My local library semi-annual book sale ended last week and, as usual, I came home with lots of loot, which I finally entered into LibraryThing. Regular dailybookbuddy readers might detect a few familiar titles. I have fond memories of going to this sale with Shuttsie and then coming back to our dorm, uh residence hall, rooms and showing each other our finds.