In his debut memoir, renowned author Paul Auster shares heartfelt and personal meditations on fatherhood that “integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation . . . as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living” (Newsday) “Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationships.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One day there is life. . . . And then, suddenly, it happens there is death.”
The Invention of Solitude, split into two stylistically separate sections, established Paul Auster’s reputation as a major voice in American literature. The first section, “Portrait of an Invisible Man,” explores Auster’s memories and feelings after the death of his father, a distant, undemonstrative, almost cold man. As he attends to his father’s business affairs and sifts through his effects, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old family murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In “The Book of Memory,” the perspective shifts from Auster’s identity as a son to his role as a father. Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations, the narrator, “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, and the solitary nature of storytelling and writing.
“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationship.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation . . . as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living.”—Newsday
“Eloquent . . . Paul Auster’s memoir combines the subjects of time, language, and family into a beautifully moving and intelligent mosaic.”—Charles Baxter
Praise for Paul Auster:
“One of the great American prose stylists of our time.”—New York Times
“Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter.”—New York Review of Books
“One of the great writers of our time.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Contemporary American writing at its best.”—New York Times Book Review, on Invisible
“A literary original who is perfecting a hybrid genre of his own.”—Wall Street Journal
In his debut memoir, renowned author Paul Auster shares heartfelt and personal meditations on fatherhood that “integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation . . . as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living” (Newsday) “Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationships.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One day there is life. . . . And then, suddenly, it happens there is death.”
The Invention of Solitude, split into two stylistically separate sections, established Paul Auster’s reputation as a major voice in American literature. The first section, “Portrait of an Invisible Man,” explores Auster’s memories and feelings after the death of his father, a distant, undemonstrative, almost cold man. As he attends to his father’s business affairs and sifts through his effects, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old family murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In “The Book of Memory,” the perspective shifts from Auster’s identity as a son to his role as a father. Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations, the narrator, “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, and the solitary nature of storytelling and writing.
Praise
“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationship.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation . . . as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living.”—Newsday
“Eloquent . . . Paul Auster’s memoir combines the subjects of time, language, and family into a beautifully moving and intelligent mosaic.”—Charles Baxter
Praise for Paul Auster:
“One of the great American prose stylists of our time.”—New York Times
“Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter.”—New York Review of Books
“One of the great writers of our time.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Contemporary American writing at its best.”—New York Times Book Review, on Invisible
“A literary original who is perfecting a hybrid genre of his own.”—Wall Street Journal
