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The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries)
The Fortress of Solitude - Vintage Contemporaries
Author: Jonathan Lethem
The Fortress of Solitude is the story of Dylan Ebdus growing up white and motherless in downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s. It’s a neighborhood where the entertainments include muggings along with games of stoopball. In that world, Dylan has one friend, a black teenager, also motherless, named Mingus Rude. As Lethem follows the knitting...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780375724886
ISBN-10: 0375724885
Publication Date: 8/24/2004
Pages: 528
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 48

3.5 stars, based on 48 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries) on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
An extraordinary journey into the world of a teenager as he attempts to navigate the conflicts between reality and fantasy, between gang life on the streets of Brooklyn and expectations and pressures from parents. I was hooked by the first chapter.
reviewed The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries) on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
An absorbing, never-really-coming-of-age novel which traces the intertwined lives of two young boys in pre-gentrified Brooklyn. Heartbreaking insights into just what exactly the "school of hard knocks" knocks into people.
radioreid6 avatar reviewed The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries) on
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of the most emotionally jarring books I have ever read. A true coming of age novel that ends beautifully. Each page is dripping with vivid description, Lethem really knows of which he rights, and this is most certainly his semi-autobiographical offering.

One critique, I had an especially hard time with it in the beginning. Don't expect a page-turning plot. He spends a lot of time describing the thoughts and mood of pre-gentrified 1970s Brooklyn. Don't get discouraged. If you let it, this book will absorb you and you will be left thinking about it for weeks.
bast3 avatar reviewed The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries) on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked the idea of the book from the description, but it was very slow to start, and never picked up the pace. I enjoyed what I read, but lost interest.
reviewed The Fortress of Solitude (Vintage Contemporaries) on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I picked this book up since I really loved his first book "Motherless Brooklyn" which was funny, well written, and vivid. What a dissappointment "Fortress of Solitude " was in comparison. Though Fortress accurately captures the Brooklyn vibe of growing up in a rough area during the 1970s, it was a tougher read and not as engaging.
Read All 5 Book Reviews of "The Fortress of Solitude Vintage Contemporaries"


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