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 I have read almost all of Paul Auster's fiction and feel this book is amongst his best. Just when I thought I knew where the book was headed, another change came, leading the story in a more complex direction. The theme I pick up on in many of Auster's books is his characters' self-destructiveness and search for meaning in their lives. Each character in this book has a complex past and clear personality traits based on their pasts. I found this book gripping. I came to the last few pages while riding the uptown E train in NYC. I couldn't wait until the end of the day to finish it, so I finished it while standing at the corner of 52nd and Lexington Avenue. The end was so breathtaking I was literally wiped out when I got to my office. This book, in my estimation, is one of the finest pieces of fiction written in the past decade.
I finished the book in one sitting. It seems to be more than a novel or stories strung together to tell a tale, but rather a grouping of real and beautiful pictures orchestrated with words. There is a sense of loss at its end, as if people you have known are now, once more beyond reach. It is one of those books that you wish you had only just begun, or that it was three times longer in length. I'll go back to the book and read it again and I will read the rest of Auster's work. |
I think he is a man of ability as a storyteller. The way of telling the story is so natural that we can imagine the shape,color,mood of atmosphere lively. When I read the passages about the painter,Blakelock's(? - I read this book in Korean version) work, I was fascinated with Blakelock's work that i've never seen. But as the story goes on the latter part of the novel, I've rather disappointed. Meeting with grandfather 'by chance' , meeting with father 'by chance'... It seemed that many important accidents happened 'by chance' continuously. Anyway, I think Paul Auster is a qualified writer and expect his great and developed next work.
