Books like Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow

E. L. Doctorow revisits the infamous siblings of the Collyer legacy, presenting them as reclusive hoarders of the city’s streets and relics, living in a once-grand Fifth Avenue home. One brother is blind, the other ravaged by mustard gas during the Great War, both living on the margins of society. Their days are marked by the compulsion to collect and study newspaper clippings, with Langley dreaming of a dateless, prophetic newspaper. As new wars, political movements, and technological changes reshape the world, the brothers’ isolated existence is continually disrupted by figures ranging from immigrants and prostitutes to journalists, government agents, gangsters, and jazz musicians. Doctorow weaves their personal odyssey into the larger narrative of twentieth‑century America, crafting a family saga that blends mythic resonance with the harsh realities of survival and meaning‑making.

First publish date: 2009