Posts Tagged ‘paul auster’
“As the weird world rolls on.”
August Brill, a seventy-two year old widow lives with his daughter, Miriam, and his grand-daughter, Katya. August spends his nights creating worlds in his head, a retired book critic, August writes stories in his mind to keep the insomnia at bay.
I want to desperately share more about this book with you, my fellow readers but this short novel, at a whopping 180 pages, does not allow for too much insight into the plot, else it would be spoiled.
Man in the Dark, Paul Auster’s latest novel, focuses on the worlds in which we create to keep the world in which we live more bearable.
August begins the narrative of his mind, of the long night in the dark, by fashioning a tale of a middle aged husband, Owen Brick who finds himself thrown into a world in which a 9/11 never happened; instead a war of a different kind has erupted, at home within the United States, a civil war. Brick is given a mission that will ultimately destroy the world he lives in. August Brill & Owen Brick, must both confront realities they’d rather just leave alone. Along the way August and the two women left in his life must find a way to live in the real world, to move beyond the pain of past memories.
For fans of Auster this novel is standard fare. I urge you to give this author and this particular book a chance. Auster sits most comfortably when he steps outside of his fiction, into the post modern, into the meta where he fashions authors and writers who create characters that fashion and shape their very authors. Can I be more obtuse or confusing? Only way to understand what the hell I’m talking about, is to just pick up this book and give it a quick read. It took me only two days, the style is fast and the story is engrossing. August, Owen, Miriam, Katya, they’re all very real people dealing with the same struggles that everyone deals with. I believe that is what is at the heart of this novel, the struggles we have with facing reality and how we find ways to escape: film, literature, fantasy, dream, all of these are temporary respites for a world that is sometimes too overwhelming. Auster brings this into focus and the potential good and bad that results from this act of escapism.
Enjoy. Cheers.
Bookstore Adventures
Just returned from a delightful visit to the bookstore. Met up with Erin and Emi and had a wonderful time, a perfect way to enjoy the pleasant labour day weather we’re having, sitting out and enjoying the breeze.
Picked up a new book which I’m excited about reading.
Paul Auster’s latest novel, Man In The Dark, a story about a father who lives with his daughter and grand-daughter, both dealing with relationship trauma, set against a post 9/11 world as he struggles to deal with his growing insomnia. Looks to be a sad read, but I’ve been reading lots of sad stories lately and enjoying all of them. But I guess this is one of the reasons we read: tragedy, pain, drama, suffering, etc… all of these subjects are important to us, we can empathise and relate to such issues. We’re attracted to those around us who also share the same world we inhabit, a world filled with all of these melancholy subjects. That’s not to say that the world is lacking in positive subjects, of course there is love, happiness, joy, but these are only given value because of those darker subjects that we so often encounter.
Will review the book soon, as it is a fairly short read at 180 pages. Cheers.
'ahems and ahahs' 