Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
As I read this book I started off as interested, then REALLY became interested when he was writing his story, and then I got plain bored when he was talking about his life, but then became interested again at the end. I didn't see that coming. A lot of ups and downs, but overall a good book.
3,5 ⭐️
There were just a little too many loose ends for my taste. A few storylines I would’ve loved to read more about, but were never explored any further. But nonetheless I got sucked in every storyline and every unfinished story in this book. It was nice enough and I would love to read more of Auster’s books.
—————————
Quotes:
Lungs gasping for air, my skin perpetually awash in sweat, I drifted along like a spectator in someone else’s dream, watching the world as it chugged through its paces and marveling at how I had once been like the people around me: always rushing, always on the way from here to there, always late, always scrambling to pack in nine more things before the sun went down.
———
I had my face in my hands and was sobbing my guts out. I don’t know how long I carried on like that, but even as the tears poured out of me, I was happy, happier to be alive than I had ever been before. It was a happiness beyond consolation, beyond misery, beyond all the ugliness and beauty of the world.
There were just a little too many loose ends for my taste. A few storylines I would’ve loved to read more about, but were never explored any further. But nonetheless I got sucked in every storyline and every unfinished story in this book. It was nice enough and I would love to read more of Auster’s books.
—————————
Quotes:
Lungs gasping for air, my skin perpetually awash in sweat, I drifted along like a spectator in someone else’s dream, watching the world as it chugged through its paces and marveling at how I had once been like the people around me: always rushing, always on the way from here to there, always late, always scrambling to pack in nine more things before the sun went down.
———
I had my face in my hands and was sobbing my guts out. I don’t know how long I carried on like that, but even as the tears poured out of me, I was happy, happier to be alive than I had ever been before. It was a happiness beyond consolation, beyond misery, beyond all the ugliness and beauty of the world.
Oracle Nights is another entertaining novel by Paul Auster. This is the third book by him that I've read, and there is a common thread between this, Leviathan, and Brooklyn Follies: each is narrated by a writer who has a more famous or talented writer as a best friend. All three, of course, are also set in Brooklyn, where Auster himself lives. Obviously, he writes about what he knows.
This is not a knock. Oracle Nights is engaging and clever, and holds your attention from the first pages. The ending is satisfying but not predictable.
Highly recommended.
This is not a knock. Oracle Nights is engaging and clever, and holds your attention from the first pages. The ending is satisfying but not predictable.
Highly recommended.
yet again, Paul Auster weaves a nested set of stories that keep the reader intrigued the whole way. Not as brilliant as Mr. Vertigo or Book of Illusions (my favorite) but completely satisfying with clever use of footnotes.
Also, I read this on the Nook, and the way the footnotes were handled as hyperlinks made the reading experience really neat.
Also, I read this on the Nook, and the way the footnotes were handled as hyperlinks made the reading experience really neat.
Paul Auster is the kind of writer who makes you wish you were one too. He might be too self-referential or self-indulgent for some, and this particular story isn't without it's shortcomings - too many loose endings, things left unexplained - but he has this gift for conjuring a lucid dreamworld that could easily intersect with your life, or mine. That alone makes it worth a read for the uninitiated.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was okay, I wished some things would have unfolded differently
