From Powells.com
Paul Auster could be postmodernism's poster child. Structurally overt,
intellectually complex, metaphorically self-conscious,
Auster explores surfaces in order to dig deep and borrows
classical forms in order to reveal contemporary dissonance.
Among Foucault-quoting, No Logo youth worldwide,
Auster is hip as a Radiohead T-shirt. And the French adore him. But don't
get the wrong idea. Though there may be enough literary arcana and linguistic
wordplay in
his work to inspire a semiotics symposium (or two), Paul Auster is primarily
a
reader's
writer.
And
never has this been more
apparent
than in his tenth novel, The Book of Illusions. As the story
opens, Vermont professor David Zimmer has just lost his wife and child
in a tragic accident. Nearly destroyed by grief, Zimmer finally escapes
his self-absorption by writing a book about an obscure silent film
comedian named Hector Mann, whose budding career was cut short in the
twenties after he
abruptly disappeared without a trace. Shortly after the book is published,
Zimmer receives a note from Mann's wife asking if he would like to the
meet
Hector, who, it turns out, is still alive. Naturally, Zimmer accepts
and becomes the first person outside of a very small circle to
hear the story of Hector Mann's strange, tumultuous life. As the reader
is led deeper into Mann's story, parallels between Mann's
and Zimmer's lives begin to emerge, and the stories of these
two wounded men become a provocative exploration of fundamental questions
about art, identity, and human passion. Farley, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A man's obsession with a silent-film star sends him on a journey into a shadow world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love Six months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost silent film by comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer's interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years.
When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer's mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico-supposedly written by Hector's wife. "Hector has read your book and would like to meet you. Are you interested in paying us a visit?" Is the letter a hoax, or is Hector Mann still alive? Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
This stunning novel plunges the reader into a universe in which the comic and the tragic, the real and the imagined, the violent and the tender dissolve into one another. With The Book of Illusions, one of America's most powerful and original writers has written his richest, most emotionally charged work yet.
Review
"Through all its dark and delightful twists and turns The Book of Illusions is suffused with warmth and illuminated by its narrator's hard-won wisdom. This artful and elegant novel may be Auster's best ever." Peter Carey
Review
"An enthralling new summit in Paul Auster's art." Jonathan Lethem
Review
"A nearly flawless work...Auster will be remembered as one of the great writers of our time." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Mr. Auster's elegant, finely calibrated Book of Illusions is a haunting feat of intellectual gamesmanship." The New York Times
Review
"This noirish, layered tale will keep you guessing to the very end." Time Out New York
Review
"One of his finest [novels]: an elegant meditation on the question of whether an artist or his public 'owns' the work he creates, and a thickly plotted succession of interlocking mysteries reminiscent of his highly praised New York Trilogy...gripping and immensely satisfying." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"An older and wiser Auster has added a new ingredient to the metaphysical play and deft storytelling, a sadness that colors all illusion, that creates a stunningly moving and very real portrait of a man over-marked by death....It is a story of unspeakable grief told with virtuousic brilliance, which Auster finally brings safely to Earth with a very human simplicity." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
A man's obsession with a silent-film star sends him on a journey into a shadow world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love.
Six months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost silent film by comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer's interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years.
When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer's mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico-supposedly written by Hector's wife. "Hector has read your book and would like to meet you. Are you interested in paying us a visit?" Is the letter a hoax, or is Hector Mann still alive? Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
This stunning novel plunges the reader into a universe in which the comic and the tragic, the real and the imagined, the violent and the tender dissolve into one another. With The Book of Illusions, one of America's most powerful and original writers has written his richest, most emotionally charged work yet.
Synopsis
In this rich and emotionally charged work, a man's obsession with a silent film star sends him on a journey into a shadowy world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love.
Synopsis
Six months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer's interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years.
When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer's mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
The Book of Illusions is, in the words of Peter Carey, “suffused with warmth and illuminated by its narrators hard won wisdom. This artful and elegant novel may be Auster's best ever.”
Synopsis
A NATIONAL BESTSELLERA NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK
Six months after losing his wife and two young sons, Vermont Professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. One night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. His interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929.
When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmers mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
Synopsis
Six months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. Zimmers interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years.
When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmers mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
The Book of Illusions is, in the words of Peter Carey, “suffused with warmth and illuminated by its narrators hard won wisdom. This artful and elegant novel may be Austers best ever.”
About the Author
PAUL AUSTER is the bestselling author of Travels in the Scriptorium, Oracle Night, and Man in the Dark, among many other works. I Thought My Father Was God, the NPR National Story Project Anthology, which he edited, was also a national bestseller. His work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.