Paul Auster anyone?

[TheFifthElement]

Well, I have to admit it, I'm hooked. Paul Auster has joined the ranks of my favourite writers with his sharp, intelligent prose, intriguing and slightly mind bending storylines, and penchant for leaving you thinking you've missed the point. Just finished Oracle Night, which I read in less than a week, and already I want to read it again.

Thank goodness there are still a lot of his books for me to read, but so far this year I've devoured (in read order):

Travels in the Scriptorium
The New York Trilogy
The Brooklyn Follies
Timbuktu
Mr Vertigo
Oracle Night

Any other Auster fans out there? Which is your favourite of his works? For me I'd have to say it's The New York Trilogy, but Oracle Night is coming a very close second.

[Virgil]

I've never read him Fifth. Since I grew up in Brooklyn I should try him some day. Any of those novels really captures Brooklyn?

[TheFifthElement]

I've never read him Fifth. Since I grew up in Brooklyn I should try him some day. Any of those novels really captures Brooklyn?

I don't know, I've never been to Brooklyn ;)

I think most of his novels are based around New York. Of the one's I've read The Brooklyn Follies, The New York Trilogy and Oracle Night are all based in and around Brooklyn. Of those, The Brooklyn Follies is the more straight forward, light-hearted story (less absurdist, perhaps) though by no means lacking in intelligence. Be prepared to suspend belief at the 'chance', or coincidental, happenings - this is an underlying theme in many of Auster's books, but if you can swallow it they're well worth the effort.

This article is a pretty interesting summary, in Auster style: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-brooklyn-follies-by-paul-auster-516326.html

[Virgil]

I don't know, I've never been to Brooklyn ;)


:lol: I didn't exactly mean that you did. I found a neat interview with Paul that you might enjoy reading: http://www.worldmind.com/Cannon/Culture/Interviews/auster.html

I found this exchange interesting:


CAPEN: Not many poets come out of Brooklyn, although Whitman certainly is a notable exception.

AUSTER: Actually Brooklyn has a long literary history, and we shouldn't forget it, Walt Whitman being the most important. Quite a few of the great 20th century poets, the Objectivists, lived in Brooklyn, Louis Zukovsky, George Oppen, Charles Reznikoff, and probably one of the great 20th century poems, The Bridge, written by Hart Crane, was composed in Brooklyn. In fact there are few places in America with a greater poetic tradition than Brooklyn.
:D Yay for Brooklyn. Actually other than Whitman and Hart Crane, I've never heard of the others.

[TheFifthElement]

:D Yay for Brooklyn. Actually other than Whitman and Hart Crane, I've never heard of the others.

That's a cool interview, thanks :)

I'd heard of George Oppen but, other than Whitman, none of the others. Here's a poem by Oppen which you might like, being an engineer ;) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=175675

Yes, I'd heard that Brooklyn was a hotbed of writers, and Auster uses this in City of Glass which is the first book in The New York Trilogy. Auster writes a lot about writers and writing.

[Virgil]

Thanks Fifth. I'll check that out when i get home. You should check out some stuff by Hart crane. He was blossoming into a major poet but unfortunately he took his life. I bet his poetry is on the internet. Here's a little bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_Crane.

[Inderjit Sanghe]

I like his stories, in many ways they are interesting and original, but from what I have seen, his women rarely go beyond being anything but one-dimensional, sexy, smart, sexy, sexy, yes well you get the picture-his women are all rather boring, but apart from that, he is a great writer. This is only from what I have seen the books I have read so far, however.

[bouquin]

The New York Trilogy has been nominated for discussion in January '09. I encourage you to go to Forum Book Club & vote for it!

[TheFifthElement]

Ooh, yes. The New York Trilogy is a fascinating read. I just re-read City of Glass and would love to read it again. Vote! Vote!

[livelaughlove]

I've only read Timbuktu, but I enjoyed it immensely. I loved his style. If I get a chance, I'll definitely give his other books a try as well!

[r0land]

Count me in as another Paul Auster fan!

I must say though that I'm a little astounded there isn't more about him posted around here ..

r0land

[AmyC]

**Spoiler**
I've read Oracle Night and Travels in the Scriptorium. I loved Oracle Night, but I'll be honest, I didn't really understand Scriptorium. Just when I thought it might be going somewhere it ended pretty much exactly where it began. I would love if somebody would shine a light on my ignorance.

[Rogers_68]

I am a fan.

I've read:

Timbuktu
The Brooklyn Follies
Travels In The Scriptorium
Moon Palace
The New York Trilogy

So far Moon Palace is my favorite. I started The Book Of Illusions last year. I lost interest after about 75 pages but I plan to pick it up again some time.

[Kevets]

A friend of mine is really into him, so I bought and read Man in the Dark. It was interesting but ultimately fairly forgettable. But evidently I shouldn't have started with that one. I'll come back to him some time soon.