Vince F. reviewed on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"Homer & Langley" is the tale of two brothers. Homer, the story's narrator, is blind. Langley is his older brother who is mad due to an incident with mustard gas during his tour of duty in World War I. The book chronicles the lives of the brothers as they grow old in their mansion in New York and increasingly separated from society. Their home becomes a storage facility as Langley collects everything from typewriters to books to newspapers to a Model T.
Readers are made aware of recognizable historical events through Homer's retelling of his life. These events, however, pass quickly and vaguely. No one event or relationship holds much power in the novel, with the exception of the relationship between these two men. Our narrator is blind and mostly house-bound. Therefore it is not unusual that the his representation of history is so detached.
I'm am sure there is a case to be made about the brilliance of such a story being told by a blind man, but that's not a case I would make. It can also be argued that the book plays out much like an experiment Langley has to create one newspaper that can represent all of history, boiling down events to archetypes. That is definitely an interesting possibility, but "Homer & Langley" merely hightlights how such an endeavor would ultimately fail.
In the end, "Homer & Langley" left me wanting more. I wanted to be able to better understand these unique characters through their place in history. But all I ever got of that was the slightest shadow. As soon as the book started to address a certain topic (World War II, prohibition, Vietnam) or relationship outside of that between the brothers, it would quickly move on to something new.
It is a testament to the two central characters that I can say I wanted more. Homer and Langley are not your usual protagonist. I very much enjoyed peeking into their world. I just wish I'd gotten a better view.
Readers are made aware of recognizable historical events through Homer's retelling of his life. These events, however, pass quickly and vaguely. No one event or relationship holds much power in the novel, with the exception of the relationship between these two men. Our narrator is blind and mostly house-bound. Therefore it is not unusual that the his representation of history is so detached.
I'm am sure there is a case to be made about the brilliance of such a story being told by a blind man, but that's not a case I would make. It can also be argued that the book plays out much like an experiment Langley has to create one newspaper that can represent all of history, boiling down events to archetypes. That is definitely an interesting possibility, but "Homer & Langley" merely hightlights how such an endeavor would ultimately fail.
In the end, "Homer & Langley" left me wanting more. I wanted to be able to better understand these unique characters through their place in history. But all I ever got of that was the slightest shadow. As soon as the book started to address a certain topic (World War II, prohibition, Vietnam) or relationship outside of that between the brothers, it would quickly move on to something new.
It is a testament to the two central characters that I can say I wanted more. Homer and Langley are not your usual protagonist. I very much enjoyed peeking into their world. I just wish I'd gotten a better view.
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