Reviews

City of Glass by Paul Auster

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dulkan's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

shauny_32's review against another edition

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4.0

A difficult story to describe. but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite feeling somewhat perplexed, my first novel by Paul Auster has been a pleasant experience.

A New York writer named Daniel Quinn is mistaken as a detective and ends up playing the role. He becomes embroiled in a case, starts to follow a man, and little by little, becomes too attached to the case.

I’ve been a fan of post-modern American writers, such as Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Cormac McCarthy and Thomas Pynchon, for a couple of years now and Paul Auster has been mentioned a few times but usually in a way that describes him as producing B-tier material for the sub-genre.

I understand why many would consider him as something less than essential but I was gripped by City of Glass from start to finish. It’s a swift, unchallenging read that is somehow thought-provoking but uneventful at the same time.

I’m not too experienced by detective novels, but I was immediately hooked. I liked the prose, the subtle humour and style, and the ending was Kafkaesque in the best possible sense.

After reading City of Glass, I’m convinced that it’s worth exploring more of Auster’s works.

em___graham's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I first heard of Paul Auster when I read his obituary in the New York Times. Considering my grade 8 dream was to move to New York City, I was instantly interested in reading a novel written by the “Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn.”

City of Glass is a surrealist noir. It’s a fast paced, unexpected page turner where nothing - yet everything - happens (maybe that’s a cliché). If you like mysteries, complicated characters, and to-the-point dialogue, this is for you.