September 08, 2009

Man in the Dark :: Paul Auster


Title: Man in the Dark
Author: Paul Auster
Read: August 2009; NYC
Format: kindle

August Brill, book critic, is an invalid. He lives a lonely life with with broken women: his daughter who has been left by her husband and his granddaughter who is mourning her boyfriend. Stuck in bed, August lays in bed all night and spins a story to occupy his mind. He imagines a young man, Owen Brick, who wakes to find himself in an alternate world where 9/11 never happened and where the liberal states have seceded. To get back to themselves, everyone must reorient themselves, explore their situations, and confront difficult challenges head on.


This is another one of those Auster novels with layered stories and layered meaning; where fragility, mortality, and loneliness are prominent themes. Man in the Dark is not my favorite, though. While it's not completely bleak, it is still too gray for my tastes and lacks the magic, mystery, or sweetness that the author can do so well. Instead, we get a heavy-handed suspense narrative couched within an exploration of sadness and loss.

A fast read and well-written, so not not worth it.
3 out of 5 stars

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