So begins Paul Auster's remarkable new novel, The Brooklyn Follies. Se t against the backdrop of the contested US election of 2000, it tells the story of Nathan and Tom, an uncle and nephew double-act. One in re mission from lung cancer, divorced, and estranged from his only daught er, the other hiding away from his once promising academic career, and life in general.Having accidentally ended up in the same Brooklyn nei ghbourhood, they discover a community teeming with life and passion. W hen Lucy, the little girl who refuses to speak, comes into their lives there is suddenly a bridge from their pasts that offers them the poss ibility of redemption. Infused with character, mystery and humour, the se lives intertwine and become bound together as Auster brilliantly ex plores the wider terrain of contemporary America - a crucible of broke n dreams and of human folly.