Only the Dead Know Brooklyn

by Thomas Wolfe

Short Stories.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, New York

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

People best know American writer Thomas Clayton Wolfe for his autobiographical novels, including Look Homeward, Angel (1929) and the posthumously published You Can't Go Home Again (1940).

Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels and many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He mixed highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing. Wolfe wrote and published books that vividly reflect on American culture and the mores, filtered through his sensitive, sophisticated and hyper-analytical perspective. People widely knew him during his own lifetime.

Wolfe inspired the works of many other authors, including Betty Smith with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Robert Morgan with Gap Creek; Pat Conroy, author of Prince of Tides, said, "My writing career began the instant I finished Look Homeward, Angel." Jack Kerouac idolized Wolfe. Wolfe influenced Ray Bradbury, who included Wolfe as a character in his books.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Tim Null]

If this [air quotes] review has any sense, it's nonsense:

I'm from Kalamazoo, and it's the only place in the universe that doesn't have a local dialect. If you doubt me, just ask anyone who's been born and raised in Kalamazoo, and they'll set you straight. In fact, they'll set you straighter than a tape measure. I only mention this because I just read Thomas Wolfe's short story titled Only The Dead Know Brooklyn, and that story is supposedly written with a Brooklyn accent. Personally I wouldn't know if that's true, but I'm willing to trust Wolfe on this. That's because I hear Thomas Wolfe is from North Carolina and North Carolina got more local accents than Carter's got pills, or Jimmy had peanuts. I know that on account I lived in North Carolina once for longer than I can remember. Although I do remember it was long enough to get hooked on North Carolina barbecue. Thinking about that makes me hungry, so if you're buying, I'll take you to lunch.

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" is a short story written in dialect. It's humorous that a writer from North Carolina would be writing with a Brooklyn accent, but Thomas Wolfe does it well. The story features two opinionated men who have trouble communicating since they see things from such different perspectives.

The narrator has been asked by the big guy how to get to Bensonhurst. The big guy likes to see new places he locates on his map of Brooklyn. The narrator tells him that some places in Brooklyn are unsafe, using the dock area of Red Hook as an example.

The narrator has the view that no one can know all of Brooklyn, and you should think about safety in the tough areas. The big guy is adventurous, trying to expand his horizons, but people who take too many risks may end up dead. The narrator's opinion is, "It'd take a guy a lifetime to know Brooklyn t'roo an' t'roo. An' even den, yuh wouldn't know it all." 3.5 stars

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment.

[Дмитрий · Rating 3 out of 5]

ГГ с сильным нью-йоркским акцентом (опять графон...) рассказывает о том, как пытался разубедить человека познавать новое. Ретроградство против прогресса. Или я слишком глубоко копнул и это просто история о человеке, который хотел побывать в Бенсонхерсте.

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean it's an entertaining read sure, more of a writing exercise / proof of concept than an actual story of any significance.
In few words: All flavour no substance

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the most interesting story to read was 'Death Proud Brother', but The Story of a Novel was also very interesting. Never read any Thomas Wolfe before, but after this taster, I think I will. Loved the rhythm of his writing, and the philosophical extrapolations.

[Leena Arul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like the big guy with the map. The dialect, the place, all alien, trying to connect. Made me wonder about belonging....other than that, I am left wondering about the story...perhaps the New Yorkers will relate to it better! Or even try explaining if there was anything more than what was apparent!

[Joshua Emmanuel Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The slang was hard to read at first but it brings back memories when I lived in New York and I definitely wasn’t expecting a story like that mixed in with classics. Yet it was funny from the start because I pictured this whole thing while reading haha

[Emma M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole book but some stories are too "Flauberty" and descriptive to my taste.
I highly suggest the stories "Only the dead know brooklyn" (or you can find the audio version on youtube, so you have a gist of Brooklyn accent) and "Old Catawba", and if you really don't have anything else to read, "The story of a novel".
Overall I just read this book because I found it in an hostel I wasn't even staying at.

[Ricky Mikeabono · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was referenced in another book I read, and it was much harder to find than I would have imagined. I can't tell if it's a straightforward story focusing on a dialect rather than story, or is there something deeper to the conversation - particularly the whole swimming thing. Either way, short and enjoyable.

[Carla · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5
This was a short story idk why it’s labeled as a book but I did not get the point sorry

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this short story - Had to read it twice to understand the "Brooklynese!"

[Kade Sorenson]

“What happens when a man Drowns out here?”
- That guy is a nut
- I’ve lived here all my life and still won’t be able to navigate all of Brooklyn.

[Indira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read a story written entirely in dialect. Unamused by the plot, amused by the show of literary exercise. So this is how New Yorkers sound like, eh?

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is succinct yet highly indicative of its time. Loved the context that the narrator put the reader in.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

The men of Old Catawba
The four lost men
Circus at dawn
The bums at sunset
Only the dead know Brooklyn --2
*Death the proud brother
Gulliver
***
Boom town
Chickamauga
The child by tiger
The far and the near--2
The lost boy
No door
A portrait of Bascom Hawke
The sun and the rain

[Brandy Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Maxine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it hard to read, I did not like it.

[Josh Pendergrass]

You can read this story here –

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/19...

A little masterpiece of a short story! Thomas Wolfe (not to be confused with the other brilliant writer, Tom Wolfe) is a true craftsman with language. It is the story of a man wandering around Brooklyn with a map, but it is amazing for its ability to bridge the chasm between the written and spoken word. Try reading it out loud, you will find yourself transported back to 1930’s Brooklyn. The story is an examination of the interconnectedness of language and place and meaning. It explores our attempts to make meaning and keep ourselves from drowning in a world that is far too complex for any map or words to convey.