The Brooklyn Follies

So begins Paul Auster's The Brooklyn Follies, set against the backdrop of the contested US presidential election of 2000. Nathan and Tom are an uncle and nephew double-act - one in remission from lung cancer, divorced, and estranged from his only daughter, the other hiding away from what was a once-promising academic career. By accident the pair wind up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, and then matters change for them further when Lucy - a little girl who refuses to speak - comes into their lives, offering a bridge from the pasts of both men and, perhaps, a shot at redemption.