Brownstones with Stories to Tell: Houses in Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude
Brownstones with Stories to Tell: Houses in Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude

Summary/Abstract: This article constitutes an analysis of the depiction of houses in Jonathan Lethem’s 2003 novel The Fortress of Solitude, universally labeled a novel of gentrification. It is my contention that despite being criticized for its alleged celebration of the process the text nevertheless paints a more nuanced picture of gentrification. It does so through the depiction of houses—t he titular brownstones of this essay—that function both as a synecdoche for a larger neighborhood or community that they are situated in and as a reflection of the dynamics of the family units that occupy them.

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