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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
i enjoyed the book, i enjoyed the characters and the story it was telling. i always like books that have such colorful characters that i can actually imagine living in this city. it seems like a big book but i flew through it quickly and never got bored. nathan went to brooklyn to live out the remainder of his life, but ended up forging more important ties and having more excitement than ever before. life is unexpected.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is an enjoyable, light-hearted novel set in the author’s home territory of Brooklyn, New York. From an inauspicious start for the narrator, Nathan, where he crawls back to his native Brooklyn after a diagnosis of cancer and a bitter divorce, things only get better as he meets up with his nephew and the eccentric Harry Brightman aka Dunkell. Eventually he reconciles with his estranged daughter, rescues his niece from her cult-obsessed husband and enjoys a comfortable affair. There is some intrigue, fraud and sudden death as well as a near death experience for Nathan himself, but all turns out well for the main characters in the end.
I was immediately interested in this book. It helped that I knew the neighborhood a bit, having lived in A near-by neighborhood in Brooklyn, but Aster paints the community with personality and a beauty that makes urban life seem quaint.
The Brooklyn Follies is a captivating story and a really good intro to Auster.
The Brooklyn Follies is a captivating story and a really good intro to Auster.
I breezed through this, what many have regarded as Auster's most light-hearted work. And while the title might on the surface seem self-referential - that the story represents a folly compared to the rest of his literary oeuvre - with Auster you can't take things so literally. It's probably his most accessible book, too, so it's a good place to start for newcomers.
This is not rocket science. Not life changing. Not extremely original or mind blowing. But this was fun and satisfying and light and such a great company. It was a somehow captivating story with relatable characters who will make you feel good about this world. Loved it.
A nonlinear story, just like life.
Imperfect families, more or less like the ones we all know.
Diseases, psychological malfunctions, people of ill repute, life and death and illness.
The main character himself is waiting for his death and decides Brooklyn can be the right place to die.
But before then, the story is made of ordinary ordinariness: abortions, divorces, people once dear to us who have even lost their names in our hearts, the life of Mr. X and Mr. Y, the unknown, those who will not be remembered by anyone, who enter and walk out of our lives almost unnoticed.
Because this is the truth of life: no one will ever remember us in a few years time.
Our time is brief, limited and - unless you do something spectacular with your talent and build a stratospheric architectural masterpiece or write unforgettable books that survive you - you/we are all destined to oblivion.
This made me think of a recent brief news: Isabella Rossellini used to be recognised as the daughter of Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, two pillars of the history of cinema.
Now, according to the actress, wherever she goes, nobody knows neither who she is nor who her parents were. Nobody remembers them: Rossellini and Bergman mean nothing to most.
Paul Auster is a master of pulling the strings of the narrative and creating complex, at times interesting characters. He uses words knowing exactly how they are going to land before our eyes and where they sit in our chest.
Yet, The Brooklyn Follies, annoyed me for one tiny detail I find patronising: the main character - a writer - in different rounds, addresses the reader directly.
Imperfect families, more or less like the ones we all know.
Diseases, psychological malfunctions, people of ill repute, life and death and illness.
The main character himself is waiting for his death and decides Brooklyn can be the right place to die.
But before then, the story is made of ordinary ordinariness: abortions, divorces, people once dear to us who have even lost their names in our hearts, the life of Mr. X and Mr. Y, the unknown, those who will not be remembered by anyone, who enter and walk out of our lives almost unnoticed.
Because this is the truth of life: no one will ever remember us in a few years time.
Our time is brief, limited and - unless you do something spectacular with your talent and build a stratospheric architectural masterpiece or write unforgettable books that survive you - you/we are all destined to oblivion.
This made me think of a recent brief news: Isabella Rossellini used to be recognised as the daughter of Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, two pillars of the history of cinema.
Now, according to the actress, wherever she goes, nobody knows neither who she is nor who her parents were. Nobody remembers them: Rossellini and Bergman mean nothing to most.
Paul Auster is a master of pulling the strings of the narrative and creating complex, at times interesting characters. He uses words knowing exactly how they are going to land before our eyes and where they sit in our chest.
Yet, The Brooklyn Follies, annoyed me for one tiny detail I find patronising: the main character - a writer - in different rounds, addresses the reader directly.
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The beginning was a lot more engaging and interesting than the end. It ended up getting pretty campy and predictable. Everything but the kitchen sink ended up in this book.