Literary and Brooklyn darling Paul Auster made his name with these three detective novellas, although the word “detective” may be misleading. These are postmodern, meta fictional and existential, basically everything you need to breeze through a conversation with a grad student at some semi-friend's party. But, before you dismiss it on these catch words, it should more importantly be noted that it is also a very entertaining book that surprises and intrigues.
The first story, City of Glass, is compelling and dark. The second, Ghosts, requires some patience at first but is a well executed piece of experimental writing. The last story, The Locked Room, about a failed writer and his odd journey to fame through the life of his missing friend is my favorite. This is also one of those great New York books where you can locate where all the action is. Fun and enlightening, a rare and great combination.
But what do you think?