FORGOTTEN BOOK: COMFORT STATION

 Comfort Station by "J. Morgan Cunningham"  (Donald E. Westlake), 1973

For thousand of years, the wisestof us have poindered the question,"Can a bad book ever be a good book?"  And, over the millennia, the answer has always come back with a resounding "No!"

Purportedly cashing in on the phenominal success of such 1970s blockbusters as Hotel and Airport, J. Morgan Cunningham has produced the epic story of the various cast of characters who passed through the men's room of the Bryant Park Comfort Station near the New York Pub;oc Library on 42nd Street on one very rainy day.

At the beginning of the book, we are given the cast of characters, of which I have taken the liberty to reproduce verbatim:

     FRED DINGBAT -- omnibus operative, prooud of his position in intraurban transit.  Too proud?

     MO MOWGLI -- custodian of the Comfort Station.  What was there about his past that haunted him?

     ARBOGAST SMITH -- plainclothes patrolman. In responsibility he found anodyne -- and the testing of his strength.

     HERBERT Q. LUMINOUS -- bookkeeper om the run.  What happened to him was almost a cliche.

     CAROLINA WEISS -- onetime Russian countess now A & E mechanic.  In the arms of another man she sought forgetfulness.

     GENERAL RAMON SAN MARTINEZ TORTILLA -- deposed dictator.  What was it he wanted to get off his chest?

     FINGERS FOGELHEIMER -- mobster.  Out of the thrilling days of yesteryear, he returns for vengeance.

     LANCE CAVENDISH -- Black.  With him and thirty-five cents you can take the subway.

Characters will meet.  Characters will interact.  Some lives will be changed.  A modicum of suspense may occur.

It sholuld be noted that author Cunningham was enthusiastic, if not very capable, with his prose.  He delivered an manuscript of over three million words, which staff editors managed to winnow down to a smallish paperback.  In doing so, the editors tried to retain the distinct and unpleasant (and oft times excruciating) flavor of the author's writing.  Best-selling blockbuster authors need not feel threatened.  Although considering the quirks of the publishing industy, as well as the buying public, perhaps they should be.

Donald E. Westlake could be a sly boots.  He is at his sly-est and bootiest here with this over the top farce that had become a hard-to-find camp classic.  Luckily, Open Road Media has made it available to the public after nearly half a century.

So, back to the question:  "Can a bad book ever be a good book?"  The answer is still an overwelming "No!"  But it can, in the hands of a master like Westlake, be a hell of a lot of fun.