I've been reading a great, spanning, geographically defying book called "Fortress of Solitude" - which is saying a lot when it stays relatively stuck in New York... Brooklyn, particularly. It's my first Jonathan Lethem, one that I picked up from Deptford Market for 50p because I liked the back of it, but I'm really glad I did. It focuses on best friends, Dylan (who is white) and Mingus (who is black), and their friendship as they grow up, change and face tensions - socially, racially, politically.



I haven't finished it yet. I'm about halfway. Did I mention it's quite a long novel? Except it is worth it. In a lot of ways - mostly heartbreakingly and sometimes longingly - it reminds me of Deptford. That sounds more lyrical than it really is: 1970s Brooklyn and Deptford. Not twinned so much as... there's a lot of experiences that Dylan goes through or feels that I know I've been through. Only, it's not as severe or adventurous. To be honest, I don't think teenagers in Deptford today are too worried about race - I don't think South London is in general. It's far more about class, which is alright because everyone in Deptford tends to be more working class. Uniting us like Northern Ireland and the Republic never did. So maybe I have no idea what sort of things Dylan goes through. Maybe it's some weird romantic attachment, stranger still since the novel paints a rather vulgar picture of Brooklyn.

Labels: book, Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem, photos, places, South East London

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