The novel titled, "Homer & Langley" (by E. L. Doctorow) is a fictionalized version of the lives of the Collyer brothers (the sons of an eccentric doctor) who (in real life) lived together in squalor in their New York City house, and were eventually found dead therein in 1947. In telling their story, Doctorow takes `poetic license' and extends the lives of the Collyer brothers into the 1980s.
The book is narrated by Homer, the younger of the two Collyer brothers. Homer relates how the brothers' personal lives started out favorably, and then gradually deteriorated over a period of decades. Homer (an accomplished classical pianist) suffers from blindness, and eventually deafness. Langley (who fights in World War I) becomes increasingly irrational (e.g., he hoards newspapers/documents, multiple pianos, and assorted junk; and he even builds and houses a Model-T in their dining room). As the brothers' lives deteriorate they become increasingly secluded, Homer becomes progressively dependent on Langley. Indicative of the extent of the brothers' seclusion/deterioration, Doctorow states, "Homer and Langley black-shuttered their windows, bolted their doors, and ran up thousands of dollars in unpaid bills even though they were worth millions." In telling this story, Doctorow relates various seminal events in the brothers' personal lives, against the backdrop of significant events happening in the outside world.
Typical seminal events affecting the Collyer brothers' personal lives include the following:
* Police Raid `Tea Dance' Hosted by the Collyer Brothers - In apparent revenge for being rebuffed in their attempt to shakedown the Collyer brothers, the police raided a `Tea Dance' being hosted by the Collyer brothers in their house in Harlem, New York during the Great Depression. Homer & Langley (and their black cook, Ms. Robileaus) were arrested and charged with operating a business in a residential area, serving alcoholic beverages without a license, and resisting arrest.
* Homer & Langley's Japanese-American Servants Arrested by FBI for Internment in Concentration Camp - Following the bombing of Perl Harbor, FBI agents come to Homer & Langley's house (unexpectedly) and arrest their Japanese-American servants, Mr. & Mrs. Hoshiyama to be interned in a concentration camp.
* Homer & Langley's Victimized by Home Invasion of Gangsters - The head of organized crime named Victor, his son Massimo, and another gangster invade Homer and Langley's house, and hold them hostage for several days at gunpoint.
* Homer & Langley's Electricity, Gas, Water, and Telephone Service are shut off because they failed to pay their bills
Some of the significant events occurring in the outside world (serving as a backdrop for Homer and Langley's story) include the following:
* Bombing Of Pearl Harbor (12/7/1941), and the Internment of Japanese Americans (1942)
* 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama resulting in the deaths of 4 little black girls (1963)
* Assassinations of JFK (1963), RFK (1968), and Martin Luther King (1968)
* American Astronauts land on the Moon (1969)
* Kent State Massacre (1970)
* Killing Four American nuns by National Guard death squad in El Salvador (1980)
Homer & Langley is an extremely interesting, well-written, and important fictionalized novel about the real-life Collyer brothers. It's one of the most enlightening and thought-provoking books that I've read in recent years!
