This is one of the best books I've read recently. This is because it combines a lot of genres that I love. It's a half-satirical cross between a literary novel and a hard-boiled crime story that is narrated by an amatuer detective named Lionel Essrog, who has Tourette's syndrome.
Plot:Lionel Essrog is an orphan who has Tourette's syndrome (the often uncontrollable urge to shout nonsense, touch every surface in reach, and rearrange objects). In the 1970s he and a small group of other boys were "borrowed" from St. Vincent's Home in Brooklyn by Frank Minna, a local small-time crime boss and fixer, for odd jobs.
Now, some years later, they're the "Minna Men," who work out of their mentor's "detective agency/limo service" but mostly receive stolen goods, smash up things when ordered to, and occasionally serve as weak guards. But one terrible night Frank Minna is fatally stabbed and thrown into a dumpster, and Lionel must become a real detective.
His search for Frank's killer leads through Frank's bitter wife Julia, who leaves town fast; the strange storefront Zen Buddhist temple that was Frank's last stop before he died; and ultimately to a small town on the coast of Maine where powerful Japanese business interests have revived the local fishing industry due to their willingness to pay big money for urchin eggs. And through it all, Lionel must try to control his Tourette's.Characters:Lionel Essrog
Frank Minna
The Minna Men (Tony, Gilbert, Danny)
Matricardi & Rockaforte
Roshi
Polish Giant
Kimmery
Julia (Frank's wife)
Locations:Brooklyn
Upper West Side
Maine
