Man in the Dark
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"Works beautifully . . . This is perhaps Auster's best book. Like Vonnegut's classic anti-war novel ["Slaughterhouse Five"], Auster's book leaves one with a depth of feeling much larger than might be expected from such a small and concise work of art."--"San Francisco Chronicle "
""Man in the Dark" is at once haunting, thought-provoking, emotional, and compellingly readable."--"The Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Remarkable . . . "Man in the Dark "possesses a grand and generous heart."--"The Boston Globe
""Auster's latest astute and mesmerizing metaphysical fiction . . . A master of the matter-of-factly fantastic, Auster tells an utterly authentic story of culpability and survival, the vortex of loss, and our endless struggle to translate terror into understanding."--"Booklist "(starred review)
"A novel that kept my attention from the first page all the way to the last. Frankly, it hypnotized me."--NPR's "All Things Considered "
"[Auster's] magic has never flourished m
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Loneliness takes many forms. For some it is a feeling of intense isolation even in a crowd or a room full of friends. If it is dark, nighttime, one may feel almost disabled by desolation. You truly are alone save for your thoughts, memories, unanswered questions that prevent sleep and only summon remorse. That is the condition in which August Brill finds himself in Paul Auster's brilliantly challenging latest novel "Man In The Dark."
At 72 years of age Brill finds himself in his daughter's Vermont home where he is trying to recover from an automobile accident. Sleep eludes him as he recalls past tragedies - the death of his wife, the desertion of his daughter's husband, the death in Iraq of Titus, his granddaughter's fiancé. A retired book critic Brill has a fertile imagination, and sees in his mind's eye quite a different America, and it is a haunting scene - a place where there has not been a terrorist attack, our country is not at war save for within itself when New York and 16 other states secede from the Union.
He flagellates himself for these thoughts, saying, "Why am I doing this? Why do I persist in traveling down these old, tired paths; why this compulsion to pick at old wounds and make myself bleed again?"
Auster, as is his wont, challenges us to consider the world in which we live. He underscores the atrocities of war by relating the horrible death of Titus that is posted on the Internet and seen by Brill and his granddaughter.
Brilliant, shocking? Yes. It is also unforgettable, undeniably the work of one of the most creative minds of our generation.
Auster's narration of his work brings an added depth to the story. For this listener there is a greater understanding of the author's intention when the inflections, phrasings, and emphases are his own.
- Gail Cooke
At 72 years of age Brill finds himself in his daughter's Vermont home where he is trying to recover from an automobile accident. Sleep eludes him as he recalls past tragedies - the death of his wife, the desertion of his daughter's husband, the death in Iraq of Titus, his granddaughter's fiancé. A retired book critic Brill has a fertile imagination, and sees in his mind's eye quite a different America, and it is a haunting scene - a place where there has not been a terrorist attack, our country is not at war save for within itself when New York and 16 other states secede from the Union.
He flagellates himself for these thoughts, saying, "Why am I doing this? Why do I persist in traveling down these old, tired paths; why this compulsion to pick at old wounds and make myself bleed again?"
Auster, as is his wont, challenges us to consider the world in which we live. He underscores the atrocities of war by relating the horrible death of Titus that is posted on the Internet and seen by Brill and his granddaughter.
Brilliant, shocking? Yes. It is also unforgettable, undeniably the work of one of the most creative minds of our generation.
Auster's narration of his work brings an added depth to the story. For this listener there is a greater understanding of the author's intention when the inflections, phrasings, and emphases are his own.
- Gail Cooke
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
August Brill lies in bed at night unable to sleep. Troubled by a recent spate of family disasters: death, accidents, separations, he creates stories in his head to fend off the realities of his life - and over the space of one night both worlds collide in this compelling, unforgettable piece of storytelling from Paul Auster.
Auster's knack is to create puzzles in his stories, puzzles which very often don't have neat or easy solutions, and here, his character Brill creates a puzzling alternative world view of America, which reminded me of themes explored by Philip Roth at times. Having constructed these compelling, strange other worlds and dilemmas, Auster then takes us in a completely unexpected direction, often within the space of a few, short sentences, that takes the reader places they weren't expecting to go.
Impressively, within the confines of a story under 200 pages long, Auster has created several alternative worlds that seem all too real; and peopled them with characters you actually care about. It's a tremendous achievement and an utterly captivating piece of storytelling. Give it a go - you won't forget it in a hurry. A little masterpiece of a book.
Auster's knack is to create puzzles in his stories, puzzles which very often don't have neat or easy solutions, and here, his character Brill creates a puzzling alternative world view of America, which reminded me of themes explored by Philip Roth at times. Having constructed these compelling, strange other worlds and dilemmas, Auster then takes us in a completely unexpected direction, often within the space of a few, short sentences, that takes the reader places they weren't expecting to go.
Impressively, within the confines of a story under 200 pages long, Auster has created several alternative worlds that seem all too real; and peopled them with characters you actually care about. It's a tremendous achievement and an utterly captivating piece of storytelling. Give it a go - you won't forget it in a hurry. A little masterpiece of a book.
Format:Paperback
I've read a couple of Auster's books recently (the other being 'Timbuktu') and have enjoyed them both. This book travels through a short period in time that is very difficult for the main character. For anyone who has struggled with sleep, or indeed with great personal tragedy, there will be very relevant emotions and thought patterns in this book. I enjoyed it and, although my flow as a reader was slightly unsettled by one or two twists in the book, I enjoyed the depth of the characters and the meandering nature of the narrative. This is not Hollywood writing, but something much more personally satisfying..
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Auster in the dark
This is the third Paul Auster novel I have read, my favourite so far being 'Leviathan', which I feel is flawed but enjoyable. Read more
Published 19 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
An idea more than a book
It is the early hours of the morning and August Brill can't sleep. Instead, he tells himself a story about a man called Owen Brick, who is involved in a civil war in an alternative... Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by Victor Ward
Auster losing his direction...
The last few offerings from the once brilliant Paul Auster suggest an author who has (hopefully temporarily) lost his way. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2008 by Sam Sinclair
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