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Kimmery
The giant, also referred to at times as the “pierogi monster” (due to his Polish roots) or the “kumquat eater,” is an impossibly large man whom Lionel estimates to be well over 300 pounds. The giant is responsible for Frank Minna’s murder, and it seems clear from the outset of the novel that he was hired by someone else to do the job—yet the resentment and hatred Lionel feels for the giant due to his murder of Frank fuels Lionel’s desire to bring the giant to justice. The giant says little throughout the novel, yet his ominous and looming presence serves as a dark reminder of the real and violent consequences of making a life within New York City’s vast, sprawling criminal underworld. Gerard Minna is ultimately revealed to have been responsible for hiring the giant to murder Frank—a necessary “sacrifice” in proving Gerard’s loyalty to the Fujisaki Corporation following the revelation that together, he and Frank were fleecing (or stealing from) the Japanese.
The Giant Quotes in Motherless Brooklyn
The Motherless Brooklyn quotes below are all either spoken by The Giant or refer to The Giant. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Walks Into Quotes
I gritted my teeth while my brain went Guy walks into the ambulance ramp stabs you in the goddamn emergency gut says I need an immediate stab in the garbage in the goddamn walk-in ambulance says just a minute looks in the back says I think I’ve got a stab in the goddamn walk-in immediate ambuloaf ambulamp octoloaf oafulope.
“Oafyoulope!” I screamed, tears in my eyes.
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One Mind Quotes
"I've got Tourette's," I said.
"Yeah, well, threats don't work with me.”
"Tourette's," I said.
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Auto Body Quotes
"Roshi says this thing about guilt," she said after a minute. “That it's selfish, just a way to avoid taking care of yourself. Or thinking about yourself. I guess that's sort of two different things. I can't remember."
"Please don't quote Gerard Minna to me on the subject of guilt," I said. "That's a little hard to swallow under the present circumstances.”
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The Giant Character Timeline in Motherless Brooklyn
The timeline below shows where the character The Giant appears in Motherless Brooklyn. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Walks Into
...Lionel resists the urge to tic as his anxiety worsens. Soon, Minna and another man—a “giant” in a black coat who stands about seven feet tall—emerge from the Zendo. Minna and...
(full context)
Interrogation Eyes
...out and start looking for Ullman, whoever he is, and determine whether Ullman is the “giant” who killed Frank. Tony says that he’s going to the Upper East Side to poke...
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Bad Cookies
...if he’s seen anything or anyone strange coming or going from the Zendo lately—specifically a giant. Walter doesn’t seem to know anything. Lionel gives Walter his business card and, through his...
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...him, they say, if he didn’t scare them. Lionel admits that he’s scared of the giant, too.
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One Mind
...few minutes, a sound at the door startles him. He turns around to see the giant standing by the entrance, eating a Ziploc bag of kumquats. Before Lionel can figure out...
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Another monk with a paddle approaches Lionel. The giant stands. Gerard looks directly at Lionel but does not seem to recognize him. The monk...
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...the door when they came in; Kimmery observes that Lionel is really frightened of the giant. Lionel asks if Kimmery saw the man take him outside—she says that she didn’t.
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Auto Body
...enters the nearby townhouse to confront the night doorman, Dirk, and ask him about the giant. The doorman confirms that the giant coerced him into getting Lionel’s attention—but that he had...
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Lionel says he knows about 1030 Park, Fujisaki, and the giant. Gerard, however, is nonplussed. Gerard tells Lionel that Lionel is just as ignorant as Frank...
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...in exchange for payment on the mortgage on the Zendo. Fujisaki, Lionel surmises, sicced the giant on Frank and Ullman—but Lionel cannot believe that the giant just happened to use the...
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...Danny either. As Lionel looks down the block, he sees the “hulking shadow” of the giant move in a parked car outside the L&L storefront. Lionel and the giant are both...
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...drawers in a desk, frustratedly moving from pile of paper to pile of paper. The giant snacks on something as Tony moves to the file cabinets. Lionel knows he needs to...
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...half past seven in the morning. As Tony pulls onto the road, followed by the giant, Lionel follows suit, tailing them both at a safe distance. Lionel follows the two cars...
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Lionel enjoys the soothing highway driving as he follows Tony and the giant through New York and into Connecticut. When Tony pulls off to a rest stop, the...
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...Emporium.” Lionel parks in the restaurant lot—there is no sign of Tony’s car, or the giant’s. He gets out and urinates off the edge of a cliff looking down over the...
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Lionel realizes that Tony and the giant have gotten to Maine first. He drives to the ferry landing where he spots their...
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...what he’s doing here. He quietly explains that he followed Tony and Minna’s killer, the giant, to Maine. Julia tells Lionel to get lost, but he asks to talk to her....
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Julia asks where Tony is. Lionel says he’s on the boat with the giant. Julia says she’s waiting here for Tony—but she can’t wait much longer. Lionel says he...
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...he spots something moving in the parking lot. As Lionel gets closer, he sees the giant standing between his own car and Tony’s, reading papers from a manila folder. Clearly dissatisfied...
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Lionel gets into his car just as the giant catches up with him—it seems that the giant wants to push Lionel off the cliff...
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Lionel brakes over the spikes and comes to a halt—the giant rear-ends him, and Lionel watches as the giant’s airbag inflates. He hears the giant’s gun...
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...lot. He tells the police that they’ll find the wallet belonging to the man the giant killed in the water nearby. Lionel wonders to himself if guilt is “a species of...
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Formerly Known
...about Gerard, but Lionel got in the way. Lionel tells Julia that it was the giant who got in the way—Gerard sent him up to Maine. Julia insists Gerard would never...
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...dead, and she doesn’t want to be next. Julia believes that it was Lionel—not the giant—who killed Frank. Lionel begins performing tics. He begs Julia to put the gun away. When...
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