Motherless Brooklyn

Discuss the title. Does it apply to more than Minna’s gang from the orphanage? How does it help understand Lionel’s coming of age narrative and his struggle for identity?

Research Buddhism as a religion and a philosophy. How does the novel juxtapose Buddhism against Western thought and its faith in understanding and its emphasis on solution? How does Buddhism illuminate Lionel’s growth as a character?

Julia Minna is a femme fatale, a familiar fixture in detective fiction. Define that character type. Then, discuss how Julia both defines and ultimately defies that stock character.

Analyze select passages in which Lionel expresses his speech tics. Investigate how the passages, extended riffs that appear to shred language to nonsense, actually use sounds to create subtle sonic effects and sustain their own internal design.

The title introduces questions of family. Discuss the concept of family as it applies to Lionel first as an orphan and later as a member of the Minna Men. How does family factor into Lionel’s loss of Frank, his surrogate father, as well as his infatuation with Julia? What role does family play in Lionel’s closing epiphany?

What does Kimmery offer to Lionel? Focus on their conversation at the Zendo and later at her apartment. Her reaction to his Tourette’s is singular in the novel. What kind of love do they share? What does Lionel lose in the end when he loses Kimmery?

Define a koan. Look up examples within Buddhist thought. How might understanding a koan help Lionel in his quest for peace and calm? Discuss the closing scene with Julia and Lionel at the lighthouse as a Buddhist koan. 

Research the genre of noir detective fiction. How does Lethem both use and reinvent the genre? How does Lethem use the vocabulary and stylistic devices of those novels for comic effect?