Brooklyn Follies - Paul Auster

This book was highly recommended by Sid. Usually I trust his choice, but this one didnt work for me the way it did for him.
The story criss-crosses many lives in Brooklyn and probably the author's intention was to ensure everyone finds a connection somewhere. If so, then I feel it backfired bigtime.
The storyline has Nathan Glass, a retired insurance sales guy, with lung cancer trying to spend his life, whatever is left of it, in a quiet place. So he moves to Brooklyn. He meets his nephew Tom, who is working in a bookshop and the two together have some good time. In comes his niece's daughter who refuses to speak and, as claimed by the blurb in the book, their lives change drastically after this.
If you ask me, that is where the book starts going downhill. Initially the book managed to hold my interest, I kept thinking, something bigger is just around the corner, but more than halfway I realized it isn't going to be anything like that. The plot is stretched unnecessarily and few parts are too tacky and unconvincing. Not even once, do we see the protagonist (who is supposed to be a cancer patient) having any trouble with his health. I am not saying he should be in bed or have some major scenes in hospital, but, it simply does not allow me to believe in this character. In addition, the father daughter (did I not mention the hero had a daughter? well, yes, he does) relationship is not depicted strongly, that we can feel empathy for him when he had a 'fight' with his daughter.
However, the writing is good - simple and easy to read so I didnt have to tax my brain too much. There were some parts that I enjoyed reading - the nephew Tom's infatuation, Tom meeting his future wife (i forget her name, though) and umm, some more (not so memorable, I guess).
Overall, a decent read, with few good parts thrown in between.
Rating: 3/5

The Days and Nights of Shorty Gomes - Ahmed Bunglowala

This one is an old and a low-key detective fiction by Ahmed Bunglowala, published in 1993. I am not sure if he wrote more, he probably did, but google doesn't show much (hence, no image to go with the post). The main reason for reading this book is that it is HD's 'comfort book'. I was curious to know more about it so, this time, I picked up this book.

The story line goes like this: Shorty Gomes is a detective who is tired of working for a bigger agency, and now is trying to work independently with few cases trickling in. This has three short stories (a case of a wealthy and beautiful client seeking protection from own husband and dying premature death, a shady lawyer outsourcing the job of shadowing a high class hooker, and finally an aging royalty requesting protection against a soothsayer).

The stories are not great by any stretch of imagination but the style is what one remembers after one puts down the book. It has tongue-in-cheeck dialogues almost every time Shorty Gomes speaks. There is a liberal dose of sarcasm, again slightly highhanded I must say...
But, the good part of the book is that you get the feeling that the author enjoyed himself thoroughly while writing this. It is as if he deliberately wanted to give those ludicrous twists and chases in the story, just to have some fun. Another thing I liked about the book was that it had no pretense of pleasing a wider audience whatsoever. The scenarios, the background setting (Bombay, it says) and the characters, they are all truely on the Indian soil which made it more endearing.
Definitely not for readers who want some classic moments and a great story line, but probably once a while when you really have lot of time to spend and light reading is what you require, you can peek into this book.
I checked in Amazon, they don't have this book in stock and apparently none of the bookshops have even listed them in their stock, so says HD.

But, I am glad I read it - not just for HD's sake, but mine too.
Rating: 2.5/5

Comfort Books

In your reading life, have you come across that one book that made you feel you could be all alone in this world yet stay content just by holding this book and browsing through, even randomly? There, you have your comfort book.

What is a comfort book? - well, according to me, it is something you can pick up anytime and any number of times to read and not be bored. It soothes you, makes you feel better and generally there is this peculiar attachment - more like affection, towards the book and the characters. And, it does not have to be the best book in the world or even in your library. Your heart/mind does not give as much importance on the story as it does on familiarity (that is, your familiarity with the characters, situations, twists or dialogues). You might have read the joke many a times, yet it brings a small smile on your face. Every time you listen to the hero speak, you root for him, you feel sorry for the old man in his bad times and you feel good about the heroine finding her true love.

Well, it many not necessarily be the same experience for every one, but one thing is for sure, at the end of day, you feel warm and cozy and content.
What more could you ask for?

My comfort book is called 'The Adventures of Sally' by P.G.Wodehouse.
(Will write about it in detail sometime later)

What's yours?