June 2013: Paul Auster

I'd never even heard of Auster before, but my library has his books, in English, so I'm curious to check him out.

Anyone have thoughts prior to getting into the works?

Auster is very interesting, you'll either love him or hate him. I've read The New York Trilogy which is tough going in places - I was addicted at the start and then trailed off, as I also did with The Book of Illusions. I'm halfway through Moon Palace on my iPod at the moment and really enjoying it. Auster has 7 books on the 1001 list so I'll be seeking out one that features on the list and is on my bookshelves

Ooh does he? I hadn't noticed (I've mostly only looked through to "check off" what I've read and mainly noticed titles/authors I'm aware of and whatnot. Well good then, I will check if any the library has are any of those! haha

True tales of American life is sitting on my shelf so I'll be starting with that one, although he just edited it.

I was really not impressed with City of Glass when I read a few years ago... but it was in Bulgarian and my main issue was the style. So I probably will try it again...

> 2 good catch, katrinasreads! I too had not noticed his books were on there.

For reference, here are his works on the list:

The Book of Illusions
Timbuktu
Mr. Vertigo
The Music of Chance
Moon Palace
The New York Trilogy

I don't know which one, if any, I'll get to in June -- that seems so far off still although I know it will be here before we know it!

>2 katrinasreads: I would agree with you about The New York Triology, interesting at first with some sections being a slog. But I must admit it has stuck with me; I still find myself wondering about how the characters were interwoven through the three stories.

I'm also a devotee of the 1001 list, so my aim will be to read at least Moon Palace (glad to hear it's good to the halfway point at least!) and maybe The Music of Chance.

it's not one of the ones on the 1001 list, but people seem to like the brooklyn follies. i haven't liked him but always am willing to keep trying!

>8 overlycriticalelisa: I think every author experiments with some different styles and whatnot, so I like to try to give them at least 3 shots before entirely ruling them out. :))

>9 .Monkey.:

totally agree. i think i've read 5 of his so far though, if you count the new york trilogy as 3. i can't remember if it was a 3 part book or 3 separate books. although i did *absolutely love* the volume he edited called i thought my father was god

That's probably enough to get a general feel, haha.

>10 overlycriticalelisa: The New York Trilogy is 3 short stories published in one book, they all link

I've just ordered Mr Vertigo so I should be ready to read Auster as the month begins.

I read The Brooklyn Follies a few years back and I remember thoroughly enjoying it at the time. I can't remember the first thing about it now, though I am not sure that it says as much about the book as it does about me.

Well, I have Moon Palace in my possession and I will be trying to start it this weekend (once I finish off a few partially started reads).

I have a book ready, but unfortunately my essay which is due next week is taking priority :(

I picked up Mr. Vertigo from the library today but just started a different book yesterday so I'm not sure when I'll get to this one.

The anecdotes in True tales of American life are good, but after a while I get tired of one anecdote after another.

The library seems to have a number of his books in English so I might try something else next week.

I am just starting Moon Palace - seems interesting so far.

I picked up Oracle Night from the library but have yet to start on it. I've been slacking something fierce with my reading lately. :/

I started Moon Palace too, only about 30 pages in, but interesting indeed.

I picked up The book of Illusions and The Red Notebook at the library today.

> 20 I've been slacking something fierce with my reading lately. :/

I also! There's far too many other things that *have* to get done, and other things that I'd like to do. My Auster book from the library is still sitting here completely untouched.

Just finished True tales of American life. I'm not sure how much he rewrote the stories. The stories are good, but I suspect have more impact read over the radio 3-4 at a time (as origionally made public) than all bundled into a book divided into sections on different topics. I find that kind of anecdote book gets boring after a while. Especially when similar stories are near each other.

>24 MarthaJeanne:

oh, i didn't at all. i thought the impact increased with the similar stories told near each other. but i could see how if you're not into this sort of thing that it could get old.

i didn't ever hear this spot on npr, though, so can't say if hearing it is more impactful or not. i just really liked this book so much. (it's the only auster i've really liked so far, and it's not even technically his.)

I finished Moon Palace over the weekend. It was interesting, but I wasn't as enamored with it as The New York Trilogy. The main coming of age story of M.S. Fogg kept getting interrupted by these seemingly random backgrounds of minor characters. It wasn't until the improbable coincidences came to light that I realized their importance. I guess it's more my fault that I was an impatient reader instead of slowing down and just enjoying the stories. (mental note to myself for future Auster reads)

I finished Moon Palace as well and liked it. At first I was annoyed by all the coincidences (really?) but once I just let it go, I got sucked into the story and ended up enjoying it. I still have New York Trilogy to read and can't wait.

I just finished The book of illusions about a man who wrote a study of a minor actor from the silent movies days, and what that led to. Very good.

>28 MarthaJeanne: That sounds interesting, maybe I'll pick it up next library trip, since I never did get around to reading the one I had out, heh.

PBS/Masterpiece Theater did a nice The Music of Chance

I've read few of his books
I read : Timboktu, Mr. Vertigo, and Leviathan

I can totally recommend Leviathan.
Its an amazing book an it left me amazed till this days (almost 10 yrs).

Its one of few books I read again from time to time.. just to pump me up some life story juice ; )

> 31 What did you think of the other two titles?

Acctualy Mr. Vertigo was the first book I have read, so my memory is abit dizzy about this one, even though, i remember i liked it a lot.

Timboktu is "personal" perspective of a dog, and I liked it also. his narrative and narrations knows how to get me. its always very intimate and personal, and with good smart and american authentic tense.

FYI, those of you who are Early Reviewers members probably saw this already, but for those who did not, Paul Auster has a new book due out in November called Report from the Interior. I believe it's autobiographical in nature.

After a bumpy start, I finally, finally finished reading Mr. Vertigo. I was entertained by the book, but I didn't think it lived up to the hype. (I certainly wouldn't have put it on the list of 1,001 books you must read.) The beginning was a little slow, as was the ending, and throughout there was far too much "telling" for my taste and not enough "showing" in the writing style. The characters were quirky enough to be interesting but there was little by way of character development, even for the narrator who begins the book as a 9-year-old boy and ends it as a 77-year-old man. Arguably, Master Yehudi changes as a character, but I think it's less a change in him than it is a perspective shift from the narrator. All in all, I don't regret spending time reading this book, but it didn't compel me to rush out and pick up any more books by Auster.

A brief overview of Auster's literary career and an interview that starts off with a description of his writing process. You'll need a subscription to read the entire thing though: https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/121/paul-auster-the-art-of-fiction-no-... (I just read the beginning part pre-subscription myself)