- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (7 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571234550
- ISBN-13: 978-0571234554
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
The Brooklyn Follies
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Review
"'I was looking for a quiet place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn, and so the next morning I traveled down there from Westchester to scope out the terrain...'"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'The Brooklyn Follies is Auster at the top of his game, sublimating the graft of writing into supremely effortless prose. His words are slinky and supple; his characters sing off the page.' Alastair Sooke, New Statesman 'No metaphysical writer can make you feel more like you're being read a bedtime tale by a gentle, hangdog uncle... there is still a hint of the magical in the everyday events that he chronicles.' Tom Cox, The Times"
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is probably the most light-hearted of all Auster's novels, and yet it still begins with a line haunted by darkness and despair: "I was looking for a quiet place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn....". Absolutely nobody can do those attention grabbing opening lines quite as well as Paul Auster.
Nathan Glass, retired from work, separated from his wife and now retreating from life itself, returns to the area in which he spent the first few years of his existence, looking for nothing more than a quiet time and a few peaceful years before death. Instead he finds himself trying to drag relatives and friends from the very same slough of despond into which he himself has descended. He meets up with his nephew, a once brilliant scholar who has since let himself go, and who spends most of his waking hours dreaming of the Beautiful Perfect Mother (a stunningly attractive unobtainable woman with two children whom he walks past on the way to work every morning), and Harry Brightman, a colourful 'con-man with a heart' who owns a local secondhand bookstore. Later in the novel a young girl appears, Lucy, who refuses to speak but who gives everyone a renewed purpose in life and a focus that drags them away from their own morbid introspection.
If I'm making this sound a dark and gloomy book then I couldn't be further from the truth. It's funny, tender, involving and ultimately life-affirming: look up from your own problems and concerns, look around and take an interest in the people around you, and suddenly you'll find all sorts of beautiful patterns and relationships developing in life. As usual with Auster there are plenty of colouful characters: Honey Chowder, the blousy, bright and fun daughter of a hotel owner; Rufus the transvestite drag act; Nancy the perfect beauty whose tastes don't quite run to the conventional, and David Minor, a religious fanatic who, ultimately, does the right thing in spite of all the odds.
The Brooklyn Follies is, if you like, Auster-lite. If you think you'd prefer the darker works then try The New York Trilogy or Oracle Night, but all of Auster's work is worth reading and in the pages of The Brooklyn Follies you will meet people who will stay with you, and you will come out of it with a renewed faith in mankind. Give it a go. Auster is one of the best writers out there.
Nathan Glass, retired from work, separated from his wife and now retreating from life itself, returns to the area in which he spent the first few years of his existence, looking for nothing more than a quiet time and a few peaceful years before death. Instead he finds himself trying to drag relatives and friends from the very same slough of despond into which he himself has descended. He meets up with his nephew, a once brilliant scholar who has since let himself go, and who spends most of his waking hours dreaming of the Beautiful Perfect Mother (a stunningly attractive unobtainable woman with two children whom he walks past on the way to work every morning), and Harry Brightman, a colourful 'con-man with a heart' who owns a local secondhand bookstore. Later in the novel a young girl appears, Lucy, who refuses to speak but who gives everyone a renewed purpose in life and a focus that drags them away from their own morbid introspection.
If I'm making this sound a dark and gloomy book then I couldn't be further from the truth. It's funny, tender, involving and ultimately life-affirming: look up from your own problems and concerns, look around and take an interest in the people around you, and suddenly you'll find all sorts of beautiful patterns and relationships developing in life. As usual with Auster there are plenty of colouful characters: Honey Chowder, the blousy, bright and fun daughter of a hotel owner; Rufus the transvestite drag act; Nancy the perfect beauty whose tastes don't quite run to the conventional, and David Minor, a religious fanatic who, ultimately, does the right thing in spite of all the odds.
The Brooklyn Follies is, if you like, Auster-lite. If you think you'd prefer the darker works then try The New York Trilogy or Oracle Night, but all of Auster's work is worth reading and in the pages of The Brooklyn Follies you will meet people who will stay with you, and you will come out of it with a renewed faith in mankind. Give it a go. Auster is one of the best writers out there.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It was my third book by Auster and I absolutely loved it. It's vibrant, the language is funny and moving. I loved the literary stories within about Kafka, Poe and Thoreau and many others. It's an optimistic novel about people who want to make their lives worthwile. It shows the beauty of every day and it did make me feel great.
Read it and enjoy!
Read it and enjoy!
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Brooklyn Follies is ultimately an optimistic novel, which makes it quite different from the dark early work which made me an Auster fan. Sure, there is sadness and despair, but they are defeated in the end - all but one of the characters manages to regain their lives and to find a kind of happiness. (The one who doesn't dies, but his death is the catalyst for others' redemption.) Auster's native Brooklyn is painted with an affection which manages not to be sentimental, and the characters, despite their quirks and weaknesses, are likeable because they are human and because they can change for the better. The book advocates community and humanity as positive forces. It ends minutes before the attack on the World Trade Centre and one is left with the strong feeling that even this awful event will not undo the transformations and renewed lives we have just read about. New Yorkers (and indeed Americans generally) refused to be cowed by 9/11 and perhaps this book tells us why - because beneath the grime of politics and commerce lies something altogether more worthwhile that can perhaps change America for the better.
I liked The Brooklyn Follies, but not for the same reasons that I liked The New York Trilogy or Moon Palace or The Book of Illusions. It's a gentler novel than any of those, without the hard edge, without the dark, slightly surreal veil. Read it to cheer yourself up, or to inspire you to re-engage with the world. It's a book to be enjoyed, so enjoy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A love letter to Brooklyn
A great story about the minutiae of everyday life, let down only slightly by some clunky dialogue. But what really shines through is the author's obvious love for Brooklyn and how... Read more
Published 22 days ago by daveinbrum
A lovely tale
I enjoyed letting the storytelling quality of this book just wash over me. The calm, measured, literary tone makes it sound as if you're listening to a wise old uncle reading aloud... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bookwoman
"Never underestimate the power of books"
"The Brooklyn Follies" reminds me what a skilful wordsmith Paul Auster is: he can capture startling insights, create intriguing characters and describe a beautiful spring day with... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Antenna
A wonderfully crafted view of modern life
This is a lovely book. Very easy to read and quite difficult to put down.
It contains all the joy, sorrow and unpredictability of life in general and relationships in... Read more
It contains all the joy, sorrow and unpredictability of life in general and relationships in... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr Gordon Davidson
Funny, but somewhat disappointing Auster
After having read The New York Trilogy" and loving it to bits I was looking towards another sophisticated story full of riddles and rich characters. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2010 by Elina Luca
A brilliant book - loved it
A wonderful tale of crossing lives, and unforgettable characters. The writing is brilliant, the wit pervasive, and you can feel Auster's genuine love and care for the characters he... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010
Not Auster's best
Was Auster bored? I've read almost all his novels, and this is by far the weakest. Calling it `follies' doesn't excuse the pointlessness, the sloppy dialogues, the ridiculous... Read more
Published on 28 July 2009 by reader 451
Very Auster
Again Auster takes you on a journey with his characters. For the duration of the book you live with them (or they live with you). Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2009 by French reader
great fiction
Nathan Glass newly retired and separated from his wife returns to the area where he first lived. By chance he meets up with his nephew Tom who dreams of the beautiful perfect... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2009 by lovemurakami
Really enjoyable but not the usual standard
I came to 'The Brooklyn Follies' after reading 'The Book of Illusions' and 'The Music of Chance.' If you are looking for a similiar experience you have come to the wrong place. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by Ms. J. Lee
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