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mrswythe89's review against another edition
3.0
Ooooh, I think I am done with Paul Auster for a while. It is very unfair of him to build up this thing that looks like a plot and add lots of atmosphere (protagonist picking up things and feeling mysteriously that it was the right thing to do! and so much weight attached to the moment that you think it must be important to the plot. And then he never mentions it again) and Foreboding and what not, and then to fail to DO anything with all that. I mean, he does literary things. There is a lot of musing and whatnot. Protagonist feels changed, or happy, or sad, or murderous, or whatever. But you never find out why he's there, or what's the deal with the wall he has to build, or why the eccentric millionaires are keeping him there -- I am not explaining this well, but there is no point explaining it because, okay, here come spoilers
Paul Auster builds up a plot and then literally ends the book with "Suddenly they were all run over by a truck."
You say postmodern, I say AAAAAAARGH!
It is not that I dislike all literary fiction or that I disagree with the Times Literary Supplement when they say "Auster is that rare bird, an experimental writer who is also compulsively readable." And I like that he is experimental and you are not entirely sure where he is going to go; it feels like flying because there are none of the conventional restraints on the plot (like, oh, that there should be an ENDING). But sometimes this can grate. Personally I like for my books to have a POINT.
Note also casual sexism. I suppose this is noowah and casual sexism is almost a prerequisite, but fortunately I am not required to put up with genres where casual sexism is a prerequisite.
Read [book: City of Glass]; it's better, though [SPOILER] kind of lacks an ending in a similar way.
Paul Auster builds up a plot and then literally ends the book with "Suddenly they were all run over by a truck."
You say postmodern, I say AAAAAAARGH!
It is not that I dislike all literary fiction or that I disagree with the Times Literary Supplement when they say "Auster is that rare bird, an experimental writer who is also compulsively readable." And I like that he is experimental and you are not entirely sure where he is going to go; it feels like flying because there are none of the conventional restraints on the plot (like, oh, that there should be an ENDING). But sometimes this can grate. Personally I like for my books to have a POINT.
Note also casual sexism. I suppose this is noowah and casual sexism is almost a prerequisite, but fortunately I am not required to put up with genres where casual sexism is a prerequisite.
Read [book: City of Glass]; it's better, though [SPOILER] kind of lacks an ending in a similar way.
elena_monti's review against another edition
4.0
Una storia al limite dell’assurdo che capovolge il naturale meccanismo narrativo di causa - effetto.
Auster nonostante la decostruzione, il simbolismo e i riferimenti culturali all’interno del testo, è, tra gli scrittori contemporanei postmoderni, il più classico e accessibile.
Jim Nashe è un vigile del fuoco che vive una profonda crisi economica e per questo motivo viene abbandonato dalla moglie. Eredita dal padre una piccola fortuna che gli permette di girare l’America on the road, senza una meta precisa.
Durante il suo viaggio, conosce Jack Pozzi, che lo convince a partecipare ad un torneo di poker organizzato da due milionari eccentrici e misantropi, Flower e Stone.
Flower fa collezione di oggetti storici e Stone dedica tutto il suo tempo ad un plastico, la "Città del Mondo", in cui ogni cosa sembra accadere simultaneamente.
La musica del caso è un grande enigma, in cui il protagonista è prigioniero in un destino che non gli appartiene, che non ha causato con le sue azioni, ma che gli è caduto addosso.
Il romanzo è denso di un’instabilità esistenziale, con punte di cinismo e drammaticità alte.
Il caso si presenta come un debito da saldare nella ferocia di principi votati al profitto, che condannano come oltraggiosa la perdita.
Auster narra il senso di stallo della vita di Jim e Jack con una ferocia quasi inspiegabile, ma inesorabile come il ritmo della storia, fino ad un finale inaspettato ma dovuto.
Auster nonostante la decostruzione, il simbolismo e i riferimenti culturali all’interno del testo, è, tra gli scrittori contemporanei postmoderni, il più classico e accessibile.
Jim Nashe è un vigile del fuoco che vive una profonda crisi economica e per questo motivo viene abbandonato dalla moglie. Eredita dal padre una piccola fortuna che gli permette di girare l’America on the road, senza una meta precisa.
Durante il suo viaggio, conosce Jack Pozzi, che lo convince a partecipare ad un torneo di poker organizzato da due milionari eccentrici e misantropi, Flower e Stone.
Flower fa collezione di oggetti storici e Stone dedica tutto il suo tempo ad un plastico, la "Città del Mondo", in cui ogni cosa sembra accadere simultaneamente.
La musica del caso è un grande enigma, in cui il protagonista è prigioniero in un destino che non gli appartiene, che non ha causato con le sue azioni, ma che gli è caduto addosso.
Il romanzo è denso di un’instabilità esistenziale, con punte di cinismo e drammaticità alte.
Il caso si presenta come un debito da saldare nella ferocia di principi votati al profitto, che condannano come oltraggiosa la perdita.
Auster narra il senso di stallo della vita di Jim e Jack con una ferocia quasi inspiegabile, ma inesorabile come il ritmo della storia, fino ad un finale inaspettato ma dovuto.
mkhalid04's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jayden_mccomiskie's review against another edition
5.0
This is why rereads are important. I gave this 2 stars last year, reread it and now this is a 5.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
5.0
Another Paul Auster novel that left me breathless. Day to day reality is as fragile as glass and as elusive as a reflection. Probably the most depressing book that didn’t depress me—the most frustrating characters that didn’t frustrate me. Auster allows his characters to drop the real world to reach for easy living—creating a slow cascade of chaos. One dream suddenly becomes another. Absurd becomes matter of fact. The ending, hard to imagine any escape, is perfectly executed.
Thought of this book while reading Ottessa Moshfegh’s MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION (wildly different but I could see the two books sitting down and having a nice chat). Both authors narrate like they are at a distance but their writing styles draw you in emotionally to understand their characters without hating them. Difficult achievement in both books.
Thought of this book while reading Ottessa Moshfegh’s MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION (wildly different but I could see the two books sitting down and having a nice chat). Both authors narrate like they are at a distance but their writing styles draw you in emotionally to understand their characters without hating them. Difficult achievement in both books.
waggeldoris's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
isoldee's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
dessa's review against another edition
2.0
The first hundred and the last twenty pages were not great. But everything in the middle was everything I like about Auster, despite the fact that he has a tendency to sound like that "Guy in my MFA" twitter parody that everyone loves to hate.
nuska's review against another edition
3.0
"- Estamos en América, Nashe. La maldita patria de la gente libre, ¿recuerdas? Todos podemos hacer lo que queramos.
- No sabía que fueras tan patriótico.
- Puedes apostar tu último dólar, amigo. Mi país por encima de todo. Por eso voy a esperar a que vuelvas a aparecer. Porque soy libre de hacer el imbécil".
Muy austeriano: engaña el género de la novela, primero road novel, luego novela de terror, mezclado con novela negra y esa gran manera de escribir.
Está presente su teoría de las "casualidades" o el azar y ambos protagonistas (Jim Nashe y Jack Pozzi) son muy interesantes. Nuevamente parece que el final se queda flojo.
Auster es un autor que muestra la aventura de la realidad y sus infinitas posibilidades regidas por un azar caprichoso (con pocas excepciones, como el vuelo de [b:Mr. Vertigo|63112|Mr. Vertigo|Paul Auster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408635132s/63112.jpg|1129459], todo lo que sucede es siempre posible). Los finales a veces se le quedan cojos.
- No sabía que fueras tan patriótico.
- Puedes apostar tu último dólar, amigo. Mi país por encima de todo. Por eso voy a esperar a que vuelvas a aparecer. Porque soy libre de hacer el imbécil".
Muy austeriano: engaña el género de la novela, primero road novel, luego novela de terror, mezclado con novela negra y esa gran manera de escribir.
Está presente su teoría de las "casualidades" o el azar y ambos protagonistas (Jim Nashe y Jack Pozzi) son muy interesantes. Nuevamente parece que el final se queda flojo.
Auster es un autor que muestra la aventura de la realidad y sus infinitas posibilidades regidas por un azar caprichoso (con pocas excepciones, como el vuelo de [b:Mr. Vertigo|63112|Mr. Vertigo|Paul Auster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408635132s/63112.jpg|1129459], todo lo que sucede es siempre posible). Los finales a veces se le quedan cojos.
elisala's review against another edition
2.0
Hé bien, quel livre horrible. Frustrant, angoissant. Le début est très bien, le déroulement, les personnages, le mystère léger, tout ça tout ça. Mais plus ça avance et plus... argh, mais pourquoi, pourquoi? Et puis le livre n'est pas bien gros, on se doute bien à un moment ou à un autre que ça s'annonce mal. Pourquoi! Pourquoi?! Je n'y vois pas grand sens.
Par ailleurs, je devrais sans doute ajouter quasi systématiquement à mes notes de lecture une rubrique "faut-il lire la quatrième de couv'", pour les gens qui, comme moi, aiment bien arriver vierges de toute idée de l'histoire. J'inaugure ici la rubrique: NON, ne lisez pas la quatrième de couv. C'est abusé.
Par ailleurs, je devrais sans doute ajouter quasi systématiquement à mes notes de lecture une rubrique "faut-il lire la quatrième de couv'", pour les gens qui, comme moi, aiment bien arriver vierges de toute idée de l'histoire. J'inaugure ici la rubrique: NON, ne lisez pas la quatrième de couv. C'est abusé.