Reddit mentions of Motherless Brooklyn

Synthesyzer, i think you and your roommate might both like "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem. not only is it a great read & funny as hell, but also its a description of Tourette's from the inside, as experienced by the person with Tourette's.

an excerpt:

"Context is everything. Dress me up and see. I'm a carnival barker, an auctioneer, a downtown performance artist, a speaker in tongues, a senator drunk on filibuster. I've got Tourette's. My mouth won't quit, though mostly I whisper or subvocalize like I'm reading aloud, my Adam's apple bobbing, jaw muscle beating like a miniature heart under my cheek, the noise suppressed, the words escaping silently, mere ghosts of themselves, husks empty of breath and tone. (If I were a Dick Tracy villain, I'd have to be Mumbles.) In this diminished form the words rush out of the cornucopia of my brain to course over the surface of the world, tickling reality like fingers on piano keys. Caressing, nudging. They're an invisible army on a peacekeeping mission, a peaceable horde. They mean no harm. They placate, interpret, massage. Everywhere they're smoothing down imperfections, putting hairs in place, putting ducks in a row, replacing divots. Counting and polishing the silver. Patting old ladies gently on the behind, eliciting a giggle. Only--here's the rub--when they find too much perfection, when the surface is already buffed smooth, the ducks already orderly, the old ladies complacent, then my little army rebels, breaks into the stores. Reality needs a prick here and there, the carpet needs a flaw. My words begin plucking at threads nervously, seeking purchase, a weak point, a vulnerable ear. That's when it comes, the urge to shout in the church, the nursery, the crowded movie house. It's an itch at first. Inconsequential. But that itch is soon a torrent behind a straining dam. Noah's flood. That itch is my whole life. Here it comes now. Cover your ears. Build an ark.

"Eat me!" I scream."

Yes Read a book. I suggest [Motherless Brooklyn] (http://www.amazon.com/Motherless-Brooklyn-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/0375724834) by Jonathan Lethem.

Shantaram. Rich, marvelous book.

Also Auntie Mame. FYI the movie with Rosalind Russell may change your life. At the very least it could become your favorite movie ever.

The books by Hornby that everyone mentions are good.

Motherless Brooklyn is really good. So is Ghostwritten by David Mitchell. Not so much that they're happy, but that they're engrossing. And they're not, like, Atonement.

Oh! Duh! Happiest book ever maybe: A Confederacy of Dunces. The story behind its publication is tragic, but the book, pretty much everyone who's read it says, is the funniest ever.

Catch-22 also is really, really good. And funny! If you're into irony anyway.

Not OCD, but I think you'd like [Motherless Brooklyn] (http://www.amazon.com/Motherless-Brooklyn-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/0375724834) by Jonathan Lethem. The main character has Tourette's and it is wildly poignant and hilarious at turns.

http://www.amazon.com/Motherless-Brooklyn-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/0375724834/

http://www.amazon.com/Amnesia-Moon-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/015603154X/

I went to amazon to see if I could pick out the winner based on reviews. Unless you look at the 1 and 2 star distribution you might not be able to.

A few things:

A) If you have read Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

B) If yes to A, how accurate his portrayal of someone with Tourette's is.

C) ZENGEANCE!!!

Ooo! I do. Kind of.

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham

Motherless Brooklyn - Fiction, about a private detective with Tourette syndrome.

Most of what's on here is fairly classic straightforward detective stuff, which is great, but I've always been a sucker for mysteries that merge with other genres or do unusual things. A good handful if that's your bag:

• The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster - 3 short novels packaged together and vaguely related. Also a pretty great mindfuck book
  
• Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem - detective novel whose narrator has Tourette Syndrome
  
• The Alienist by Caleb Carr or In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff - Historical fiction/mystery taking place around the turn of the century and during the dawns of forensics/criminal psychology/criminology
  
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan - Sci-fi/hardboiled detective novel in a future where the human mind can be digitized and backed up off-site, rendering murder irrelevant. Terrific book, I find myself compelled to reread it and its sequels every year or so.
  
  Those are all more or less "detective fiction" style mystery, if you're looking at the broader genre I cannot recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon any more highly. I haven't been sucked into writing like that in a long long time.