Thursday, January 28, 2010

Invisible by Paul Auster


To read a review of Paul Auster's book, Invisible, click on the link below.  Warning: since I reveal much of the plot in the review, I suggest that you read this only if you have read the book or have no intention of reading it!   And, if the latter, consider this:  Auster is one of the most original and interesting authors writing today and I highly recommend this book, or any other of the dozen or so books he has written.

Paul Auster's books are compact gems, rich in detail, with prose that is transparent -- instantly immersing the reader inside a fascinating, deceptively complex universe only Paul Auster could create.  Each well-crafted sentence contains something essential that, if left out, would subtly change the meaning of the whole.  Not unlike another of his books, The Book of Illusions, Invisible is rich in details that could be true or fictional; details that unfold and then suddenly fold back on themselves, resulting in a tale that invites endless analysis and speculation.  You want to know; why did he say it that way?  How did his protagonist feel when that happened?  What was the protagonist thinking when he wrote that?  If you accept the story as true or partly true, its one story; if you believe it to be fiction, it's another; or maybe there are elements of truth and fiction, mirroring life's many contradictions.

Invisible is one of those rare books that invite endless discussion.  In the end, it left me with questions I thought only Auster could answer.  With that in mind -- as well as a desire to take a slightly different approach to writing this review -- I wrote the review as a letter to Auster.  At first, I had no intention of sending it; I just thought that a review written as a letter would be more interesting.  However, after I finished it (or nearly finishing it), I thought, why not send it?  So I did.  It wasn't hard to find Auster's address online.  I already knew he had two apartments in Brooklyn; one for writing and the other where he and his wife live.  But I couldn't bring myself to send it without a lot of self-conscious editing -- it's amazing how writing to an accomplished author heightens one's anxiety.  In the end, I realized I could never match Auster's fluid style without ending up with a stilted imitation of his prose.  So, into the envelope and off it went!



That's how this review came about.  If I get a reply from Paul Auster, I'll revise this posting and let you know what he said.

>Review of Invisible by Paul Auster

A few other books by the author:
The New York Trilogy
In the Country of Last Things
The Music of Cance
The Book of Illusions
Oracle Night
plus books of non-fiction, screenplays, poetry and illustrated books.


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