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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > September > 12 > Entry
Crushed beneath his garbage…
“Homer and Langley” by E.L. Doctorow (Random House, 208 pages, $26).
Do you have a difficult time discarding things? Do you hold on to stuff that other people might simply toss? You could have pack rat syndrome. In rare cases, it is hazardous.
The Colyer brothers are legendary. In 1947, they were found dead in their New York City home. Homer, the blind brother, had starved to death. Brother Langley, the pack rat, had been crushed beneath an avalanche of old newspapers. They had collected more than 100 tons of junk.
A number of books have been written about the Colyer brothers. The most recent is “Homer and Langley” by E.L. Doctorow. He takes the bare bones of their story and fashions a novel. Doctorow’s fans probably expect that by now. In books like “Ragtime,” Doctorow has made an art of painting historical figures onto fictional canvases.
Told from the vantage point of Homer, the blind one, the basics of the actual truth form the skeleton of the story. They were born into an affluent family. They collect mountains of stuff. They become increasingly reclusive. They finally perish amidst clutter.
Doctorow takes numerous liberties to embellish his tale. There were alterations made: the brothers’ ages are reversed and Langley becomes the older one, a WWI veteran injured during a gas attack at the front. Homer goes blind more quickly. The brothers live decades longer in the novel.
These fictional devices yield opportunities to imagine various activities for our pair. They hold tea dances in their mansion, charging admission as Homer plays DJ, spinning 78’s on the Victrola. Langley brings home a car and reassembles it in the house. Homer observes everything through sightless eyes.
The brothers have infrequent love interests that never amount to much. They appear emotionally crippled.
They become increasingly isolated, more detached from reality. They could afford to pay their bills but Langley, who manages things for the household, refuses. Their electricity and water get shut off. The neighbors complain about this unsightly, decaying building where the Colyers live their hermit lives.
In an interview for The New York Times, Doctorow offered some thoughts on the Colyers’ motivations. He said “I almost think ‘hoarding’ isn’t a sufficient word to describe it once it reaches that level … it’s hard to explain. There’s something hopeful and optimistic about it — I think they are convinced they’ll find a use for these things in the future, and so they don’t want to throw anything away. They’re always looking ahead.”
Now isn’t it about time you threw away some of that stuff? Don’t put it off.
Vick Mickunas
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