Review of The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

Yes, I'm a little behind the curve. I just got around to reading this novel, which came out in 2003 or so.

The Fortress of Solitude tells the story of two boys-- one white, one black, both motherless-- growing up in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, in the 1970s. Having lived near this part of Brooklyn for many years, I found Jonathan Lethem's description of the area to be the most interesting part of the book. Boerum Hill, now a "hot" neighborhood, was a very different place in the '70s. Lethem's detail regarding the interaction between the kids on the street and surrounding neighborhoods was incredibly well done.

The friendship between the two boys, Mingus and Dylan, is the vein that runs throughout the book. Mingus, the black boy, serves as Dylan's protector. Dylan is a sensitive white boy, one of the few white kids in that area. Their relationship is both complicated and simple, and we follow them from boyhood to manhood.

The "supporting cast" in the book includes the fathers of both Mingus and Dylan, unhappy and lost men in their own right, as well as Mingus's grandfather, neighborhood kids and an occasional girlfriend.

I thought the book was overwritten-- poetic often, but overwritten. If there were one word I would use to describe this novel, it would be "dense."

Unlike most people who read it, I didn't love Fortress. I liked it, but didn't find it exceptional.

Just One Pink gives Fortress a 6.5

Review of Auto-Erotica, written by Stacia Saint Owens

No, it's not porn.

It's a book of short stories that takes place in Los Angeles. The characters in Auto-Erotica are screwed up, which is nothing new in fiction. But they are screwed up in southern California, a place that attracts wannabe actors, screenwriters and various other artistic types.

This is not regular literary fiction. There is an edge to this book. By turns creepy, scary and disturbing, the book delves into the lives of newbies to L.A., hungry agents, college students turned ladies of the night, aspiring actors, rich kids. But this is also very much a book of place, and Los Angeles is on full display here.

Stacia Saint Owens's writing is solid and accessible. At times, it sounds like the author is speaking to you rather than writing a story.

A few of my favorite lines from the story Viv Thraves Goes Missing: "Our very first time. We've rehearsed for weeks. We're wearing short, tight green dresses that make us look like whores, but we're young enough to pull it off as UCLA girls who watch too much TV and don't know any better."

On a scale of 1 to 10, Just One Pink gives it a 7.5.

Welcome

At the urging of several friends, I have decided to start this blog. It will consist, for the most part, of book reviews. And I hope to keep these short and sweet. Long book reviews bother me-- most people just want to know if the book is decent, what the writing is like, if they will enjoy it.

There will be, I'm assuming, an occasional aside or commentary on a non-book issue. I hope you find these asides entertaining.

If you have a book you would like to see reviewed, please let me know.

Again, welcome!

-Lesley