On the surface this would seem like a depressing book. Homer and Langley Collyer were actual people - brothers, scions of an old-money family - living in a Fifth Avenue manse, two men on their own, consumed by blindness (Homer) and madness (Langley), eventually cut off from the world and unable to move about in cold, dark pile that would literally become their tomb. Yet, E.L. Doctorow's writing is so engaging, his touch so light, that Homer and Langley actually feels snappy and light.
The novel is told entirely from the perspective of Homer, who, though blind, witnesses his brother's departure for the first world war, his return after being gassed, and his total descent into madness, reclusivity, hoarding, and paranoia. Through Homer the reader learns of the years of newspapers, the Model T, the bits and bobs of Army surplus, and the jazz musicians, gangsters, and hippies who all come to reside, some permanently and some as transients inside the stately mansion. The writing is poignant, yet humorous, pithy, but wise, and above all it is human. Doctorow has deftly captured their lives and experiences in ways that feel authentic and kind.
This is an original work, in every sense of the word, and one that should appeal to a wide array of readers.
Five stars.
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