A review by mizclaff
Ghosty Men: The Strange but True Story of the Collyer Brothers, New York's Greatest Hoarders: An Urban Historical by Franz Lidz
2.0
I'm so disappointed. Lidz's subject matter is a potential goldmine: two real-life Brooklyn recluses who lived (and died) in a Harlem brownstone packed from floor to ceiling with over 100 TONS of junk that they both systematically hoarded for several decades.
The book itself, though, like the Collyer brothers' mansion, is a jumbled heap studded with fascinating little nuggets that you kind of happen upon while stumbling around in the fug.
It's a shame how poorly-written this is, and how completely disorganized. The rambling, recursive timeline was distracting, and Lidz's tangents about his own compulsive collector uncle didn't help matters (although I guess I appreciate his experimental blending of memoir and historical account. I guess).
The information's out there. Please, someone write a better book about these guys.
The book itself, though, like the Collyer brothers' mansion, is a jumbled heap studded with fascinating little nuggets that you kind of happen upon while stumbling around in the fug.
It's a shame how poorly-written this is, and how completely disorganized. The rambling, recursive timeline was distracting, and Lidz's tangents about his own compulsive collector uncle didn't help matters (although I guess I appreciate his experimental blending of memoir and historical account. I guess).
The information's out there. Please, someone write a better book about these guys.