The Fortress of Solitude

Lethem's masterpiece The Fortress of Solitude is a semi-autobiographical novel of epic scope which follows the emotionally charged relationship of two friends, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude, over the course of three decades. This is the story of two boys, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude. They are friends and neighbors, but because Dylan is white and Mingus is black, their friendship is not simple. This is the story of their Brooklyn neighborhood, which is almost exclusively black despite the first whispers of something that will become known as "gentrification."