3B
LIFE/ tE|e (Efiatlotte
Wednesday, December 31,2003
realism mix in novel of 1970s Brooklyn
'^y Jake O’Connell
'J'HEASSOCIATED PRESS
V “The Fortress of Solitude.”
Jonathan Lethem.
;l6oubleday. 511 Pages. $26.
In his novel "The Fortress
Solitude,” Jonathan
Lethem teUs the story of two
^oys, one white, one black,
both raised by single fathers
in 1970s Brooklyn, N.Y., and
both of whom become
endowed with super powers.
'' Dylan, the white one, is the
'son of freethinking parents
ji^ho named him after Bob
^Dylan. His father is an
avant-garde artist who
earns a living designing cov-
' ers of science-fiction books.
Dylan’s enigmatic mother
, reminds him: "If someone
’asks you say you live in
' Gowanus. ... Boerum Hill is
pretentious bull .” She
leaves early in Dylan’s life,
and he hears from her only
occasionally through post
cards she writes in code.
Mingus, named for jazz
giant Charles Mingus, is the
son of a black father and a
white mother. Junior, as the
father is known, enjoys nuld
success as an R&B singer
before growing weary of
shady record companies and
succumbing to cocaine addic
tion.
Lake Dylan’s family, Junior
and Mingus moved to
Gowanus before it became
gentrified into Boerum Hill.
DylaHv, adopts the charis
matic Mingus as his idol and
protector, and their fhend-
ship gives him a measure of
street credibility in the
neighborhood. By mimicking
Mingus, Dylan quickly
learns that “the key to most
ly ginything is pretending
your first time isn’t.”
A friendship develops
based on their mutual pas
sion for comic hooks and
music. The recurring theme
of superhuman powers is
introduced through the
comics, climaxing later as
Dylan accepts a ring bestow
ing powers that change over
time.
Lethem’s unearthing of
popiolar culture through the
eyes of Dylan is staggering.
He takes the reader through
the multiple facets of the art
world, the music business,
graffiti subculture, comic
book collecting, the birth of
hip hop, the rumblings of
punk rock, the emergence of
the crack epidemic, music
Fitness, safety on pediatrieians’ list
of resolution for American kids
By Lindsey Tanner
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO - With New
Year’s resolutions on people’s
minds, the American
Academy of Pediatrics is
offering a special list of
health-related promises for
the nation’s youngsters.
But even the academy
president acknowledges that
kids, like adults, might have
trouble following through.
For tiny tots, the academy
recommends they promise to
clean up their toys, brush
their teeth twice a day, and
wash their hands before eat
ing and after using the bath
room. They also should
remember not to tease dogs.
School-age children should
resolve to drink lots of milk,
limit soft drinks and engage
in sports or some other ener
getic activity at least three
times weekly, the academy
says.
The nine resolutions for
teens include eating at least
pne fruit and vegetable daily
tod limiting video games
and television to two hours a
day.
The list got mixed reviews
from a sampling of Chicago
youngsters.
Putting away toys "is a
good idea because you don’t
want to step on something
sharp” and hand-washing is
important “because you don’t
want to spread germs,”
agreed 4-year-old Cole
Robbins.
But when asked if he
would commit to the resolu
tions himself. Cole changed
the subject.
Eight-year-old Abigail
Abolt said the resolutions
didn’t sound too drastic -
provided they allow her to
watch the popular animated
TV show “Arthur” every day.
She also added one resolu
tion: "to get Liam, a boy in
my class, to stop kissing me.”
It’s the second year the
academy, based in suburban
Elk Grove Village, has rec
ommended resolutions
aimed at giving kids some
responsibility for improving
their health, fitness and
safety, including having
teens resolve to avoid peer
pressure to use drugs and
alcohol.
Many of the resolutions
focus on avoiding junk food
and a sedentary lifestyle
that could lead to obesity,
which has reached epidemic
proportions nationwide and
affects an estimated 15 per
cent of youngsters aged 6 to
19.
■ If the resolutions get chil
dren to adopt behaviors that
will help them maintain a
healthy weight, "then we’ve
done quite a good thing,” said
academy president Dr.
Carden Johnston.
He acknowledged that
some kids might roll their
eyes at the list and some
“will make a lot of resolu
tions that don’t last very
long.”
Eighth-grader Chris
Kellas, 13, said he has reso
lutions of his own: “trying
Palm
Reading
h
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Boulevard area, ' , ,
January 2004
6:30 pm -r 8:00 pm
West Bouievard Public Library
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critique, prison life, and the
era’s reactions to historical
events.
Later, the magic ring that
enables Dylan to become
invisible has a similar effect
on the reader, who feels like
a transparent figure wit
nessing these salient events.
The story is fraught with
vivacious characters: Robert
Woolfolk, the bully from the
housing projects who flashes
“a smile hke a tom photo
graph” and is beaten up by
Dylan’s mom for stealing his
bike; the alcohoHc superhero
Aaron Doily, who gives up on
the ring’s power; Junior’s
1 pious but seedy father, who
comes to hve with him and
Mingus after serving time in
prison; and Dylan’s black
girlfriend, who gives a
scathing and hilarious
assessment of Dylan’s psy
che through his CD collec
tion.
The writing is crisp,
insightful and effortlessly
readable, and the language
complex but direct. Lethem,
himself a Brooklynite, is also
a maestro of metaphor:
“school paint that dried like
scabs;” the Puerto Ricans on
the corner “watching the
children like television;” and
T-shirts in a messy room
“balled like used tissues.”
The book is as much about
identity — racial, territorial
and of self - as it is about the
suffering that chases
progress.
Dylan’s whiteness and past
affect him constantly and to
'the point where he can’t lis
ten to “Play That Funky
Music (White Boy)” on an
oldies radio station without
recalling the inherent impli
cations of his childhood in a
mostly black neighborhood.
No matter where Dylan
goes, Dean Street is always
watching, always with him.
The powers of a magic ring
are no match for a battered
youth, or even for adulthood.
“The Fortress of Sohtude”
is about the scars of aban
donment, the horrors of
addiction, the yearning “to
matter,” the remedial powers
of music, and the guilt of not
maintaining relationships —
or worse, the way we grow
apart.
Most of all, though, it’s
about fortresses we build to
shield ourselves from the
passage of time and the
things we need to remember
to forget.
not to fight with my sister
and tiying to keep up my
grades.”
But he said he won’t follow
the academy’s advice to
swear off violent video
games.
“I don’t think I could do it,”
he said.
On the Net:
American Academy of
Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org
Kids advocate for other children
and themselves
E very child wants a
home,” says 12
year-old Cronetta. “So
help the children in the
world because everybody
needs a parent,”
Cronetta and her broth
er Robert, age 10 are
spokespeople for chil
dren in foster care who
are waiting for adoptive
families in Mecklenburg
neighborhoods. They
know what it feels like to
be waiting - they are
waiting for parents to
adopt them.
“Cronetta is insightful,
engaging, and outgoing
- she has a strong sense
Cronetta and Robert are two of many children waiting
to be adopted in Mecklenburg County.
of responsibility, appre
ciates guidance, and has
a positive outlook on
life,” says long-time
friend Evelyn Dillard.
“Robert has an engaging
smile, pleasant personal
ity and has a special
interest in
music.” Both
Cronetta and
Robert sing
in the church choir
together.
“I love my brother, he’s
always been part of my
life," states Cronetta. “1
want to be adopted into
the same family with
Robert.”
If you are interested in
finding out more about
Cronetta and Robert or
other children awaiting
adoption, call Mecklenburg
County Department of
Social Services at 704-
336-KIDS (5437).
Communities for Families & Kids
MECKLENBURG COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES DIVISION
MISSING YOur Favorite show is Haro.
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