Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

This book is saturated with magical realism so realistic that one initially
wonders if the magical aspects are just drug-induced hallucinations. Lethem
describes with such vividness the intricacies of navigating one's way
through growing up in Brooklyn that the reader feels almost qualified to
handle a schoolyard encounter themselves. His portrayal of the metamorphosis
of a small boy playing stickball into an adult crack addict is so
matter-of-fact that it seems more like a natural progression than a
downfall. The perpetual confusion of childhood is accurately portrayed
without ever being overtly acknowledged from the omniscient adult narrator's
perspective. A brilliant work - read it not for the plot, but just to watch
the author practise his art.