Day Thirty-Two

5/2

The Book: The Fortress of Solitude

ISBN: 0-375-72488-5

Suggested By: Dan Solomon

Where: Home

When: 10-10:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111 (55)

The Lead In: I’ve noticed that the reading of this book is much easier than the Dickens’ of two days ago. I guess that makes sense, but I wonder why that is. A couple of reasons come to mind. 1) word choices may be more current to my own period 2) plot might be more predictable 3) the culture has eroded the level of thinking needed to read

The 411 on the 55: Dylan makes a friend Mingus. One, awesome name. Two, he’s black and, in being such, he helps Dylan grow into his skin. Don’t get me wrong, Dylan is still a dork, but at least he has a friend, and a cool one at that. Mingus’ dad is a musician at the end of his line, in semi-retirement, doing a lot of drugs.

Dylan’s mom moves out. He starts getting typed postcards, all of them sort of cryptic. I assume they are from his mother, but I am not sure. His dad sells all his paintings of his mom, starts painting for book covers.

One day, Dylan sees a guy fall from the sky, wearing a cape. Dylan is shocked, but, like everyone else in this story, the guy mugs him for $1.50. He he. Awesome.

Line of the Day: “You regularly promised your enemies that what you did together had no name.” pg 83

The Fact on the Fiction: The History of Brooklyn goes way back: “The town of Gowanus was established in 1639 by the Dutch on a small tidal creek leading out into a small bay. In 1700, one of the first settlers, Nicholas Vechte, built a farmhouse of brick and stone on the site which later became Washington Park. Near this park the Battle of Brooklyn was fought in August 1776.” Simple Site on Brooklyn’s History