Literary Brooklyn: A Real Life Tour of 10 Fictional Brooklyn Places
The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem
The world of Dylan Ebdus is bound by Nevins Street to the west and Bond Street to the east, and it exists on Dean Street. This is pre-gentrification Boerum Hill. This is the Brooklyn Lethem grew up in; the Brooklyn that doesn’t exist so much anymore; the Brooklyn Lethem has now disowned. And while it’s true that a great deal of the block’s character has changed (there isn’t so much peeling paint anymore, just carefully restored brick facades), there is still a feeling of neighborhood integrity, with people on their stoops and conversations starting as two acquaintances happen to run into each other. It’s a changed world, but it’s hard to qualify it as better or worse. It’s just different. Definitely different.