Homer & Langley

Wow! The story of the Collyer Brothers has always been a fascinating one, and Doctorow has made their story into an interesting reflection about the refuse of our society, both physical and human.

Homer was the blind one, and Langley had various mental and physical probelms resulting from his exoeriences in the Great War. They lived together in the decaying upper Fifth Avenue mansion of their youth, gradually cutting all ties with the outside world. Langley was a collector - of just about anything. He also had a theory of a grand unification of news, trying for decades to create a Universal Newspaper that would explain everything. In doing his research, he read many newspapers every day, and saved them all. He also went on evening scavenging tours, filling up the remaining space in their home with a veritable museum of culttural ephemera and goods that "might prove useful some day."

By the time of their death, their home had become a series of small burrows between huge piles of papers, books, and general junk. It eventually collapsed, trapping and killing them. Their case is considered a classic one of obsessive behavior in the medical literature, and served for many years as both a punch line of comedians and a dire warning from mothers to children with messy rooms.

Doctorow has started with this, and added much detail about their lives and motivations. Since nobody really knew much about them, this is of course speculation on his part. He also extended their lives from the late forties well into the seventies, and intertwined their lives with various changes in society over the years. Doesn't bother me; I never let the facts get in the way of a good story! It makes for a fascinating story, and interesting commentary on our times.

It's such a pleasure to read Doctorow; he is a wonderful writer who also gets you to think. And the hardcover edition of the book is also a pleasure, very well designed and done on nice paper.