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Jonathan Lethem is the bestselling author of twelve novels, including The Arrest, The Feral Detective, The Fortress of Solitude, and Motherless Brooklyn, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. He will be celebrating the release of his latest book Brooklyn Crime Novel, in conversation with author Whitney Terrell at Cider Gallery on October 13. Questions about this event? Reach out to Polli at the library!

About the Book

On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children, Black, brown, and white, the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other players: parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories, and the laws; those who award this neighborhood its name.

The rules appear obvious at first. But in memory’s prism, criminals and victims may seem to trade places. The voices of the past may seem to rise and gather as if in harmony, then make war with one another. A street may seem to crack open and reveal what lies behind its glimmering facade. None who lived through it are ever permitted to forget.

Written with kaleidoscopic verve and delirious wit, Brooklyn Crime Novel is a breathtaking tour de force by a writer at the top of his powers. Jonathan Lethem, “one of America’s greatest storytellers,” (Washington Post) has crafted an epic interrogation of how we fashion stories to contain the uncontainable: our remorse at the world we’ve made.

About the Speakers

Jonathan Lethem is the bestselling author of twelve novels, including The Arrest, The Feral Detective, The Fortress of Solitude, and Motherless Brooklyn, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. He currently teaches creative writing at Pomona College in California.

Headshot by Ian Byers-Gamber

Whitney Terrell, a graduate of Princeton and the Iowa's Writer's Workshop, is the Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

About Booktoberfest

Community Read | Sep 19–Nov 8, 2023
Booktoberfest is Lawrence Public Library's biggest event of the year for adult readers. Brought together by a shared love of reading, we read a book together and explore its themes through a variety of thought-provoking, conversation-starting events. Find out more here.