Scan barcode
kenzbelle's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
octavia_cade's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
The last volume in this trilogy, and it's as weird and unexplainable as the first. An unpublished writer disappears, and his wife contacts an old friend of the disappeared man, asking him to take over her husband's literary effects. As with the rest of the volumes in this series, obsession quickly follows. The absent Fanshawe looms larger and larger in his friend's mind, and the two begin to merge, almost, into a single undermined entity. Fanshawe's actions are never entirely explained - even when he tries to justify himself, it's confused and unconvincing - and I'm left feeling that the two men are never quite stable, or even sane... that each has compromised his identity in ways that can never really be remediated. It's all very odd, and yet the slow collusion, the continued compromises between them, begin to be actually understandable. That's genuinely and effectively disturbing, and if the book leaves me baffled, I'm interested and baffled, which is something.
irisel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
diana_eveline's review against another edition
3.0
"The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle."
I gave it three stars because I had expected a little more from the conclusion of this impressive series. I loved the concept of losing yourself in someone else's life and to see what it can do to you. I do like that the books are finally tied together in the end. They connect in the struggle of identity. I just expected a little more. The part about the letters that Fanshawe sent to Ellen was far too elaborate. The first few anecdotes were fun and quite telling but then it just felt stretched. Still, quite interesting overall.
I gave it three stars because I had expected a little more from the conclusion of this impressive series. I loved the concept of losing yourself in someone else's life and to see what it can do to you. I do like that the books are finally tied together in the end. They connect in the struggle of identity. I just expected a little more. The part about the letters that Fanshawe sent to Ellen was far too elaborate. The first few anecdotes were fun and quite telling but then it just felt stretched. Still, quite interesting overall.
redeyedandhungry's review against another edition
4.0
The Locked Room works as a novella, and it's the strongest, most bizarre third of Auster's New York Trilogy even if it's not always his most enjoyable (especially in the beginning). But once coincidences start to spring up and little actions begin to loop back on themselves, Auster's work here becomes a masterpiece of Macguffins and Red Herrings, an emotionally resonant and psychologically intricate (with a big hit of Freud in a certain scene) document of noir-adjacent postmodernism. Whereas the previous two novellas (City of Glass and Ghosts) were arguably just highly enjoyable postmodern catnip, The Locked Room is a transcendent magnum opus that screams ambition while never forgetting the intimate and personal.
narcon_27's review against another edition
4.0
The Locked Room works as a novella, and it's the strongest, most bizarre third of Auster's New York Trilogy even if it's not always his most enjoyable (especially in the beginning). But once coincidences start to spring up and little actions begin to loop back on themselves, Auster's work here becomes a masterpiece of Macguffins and Red Herrings, an emotionally resonant and psychologically intricate (with a big hit of Freud in a certain scene) document of noir-adjacent postmodernism. Whereas the previous two novellas (City of Glass and Ghosts) were arguably just highly enjoyable postmodern catnip, The Locked Room is a transcendent magnum opus that screams ambition while never forgetting the intimate and personal.
bulkington's review against another edition
In retrospect I really should have logged these as one book, oh well.
corasteffani's review against another edition
1.0
I shouldn't have trusted a magazine to buy a book.
Only the first chapter was interesting,but it's one of the worst books I've ever read.
I wasted my money!!
If it was a bit longer,I would be in a mad house now!
Only the first chapter was interesting,but it's one of the worst books I've ever read.
I wasted my money!!
If it was a bit longer,I would be in a mad house now!