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True Tales of American Life
 
 
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True Tales of American Life (Hardcover)

by Paul Auster (Editor, Introduction)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (5 Nov 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571210503
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571210503
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 547,283 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #54 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > A > Auster, Paul

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

True Tales of American Life is a collection derived from a project launched by Paul Auster on US National Public Radio. Auster credits his wife with the idea of having listeners send in their own short pieces of true-life writing, from which Auster would choose half a dozen to be read on air each week. But, for all the success of the radio programme, as Auster writes, "you can't hold the words in your hands". Here, then, is the fully "holdable" book. Auster has selected 179 pieces from the 4,000 plus he had received by October 2000. Split fairly evenly between male and female authors, with an age range of 20 to "pushing 90", the collection revels in its multifariousness: the contributors include "a postman, a merchant seaman, a trolley-bus driver, a gas-and-electric-meter reader, a restorer of player pianos, a crime-scene cleaner", and so on. The biographical detail is relevant because inevitably most of these true stories draw on the rawest of raw materials, the writers' own experience.

Auster wanted "true stories that sounded like fiction". In an age where talk shows (think Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake) demand that we tell our life stories as fiction--and encourage us to live our lives as fiction--it's a particularly timely and potent meeting place of reality and art, or in Auster's words, "an archive of facts, a museum of American reality" in fictional form. Unlike Auster, who regularly has to wade through 60 of these tales in a day to meet his weekly radio deadlines, the regular reader can dip in and out. And at a rate of, say, one story per day, this book will keep you fascinated with (and occasionally horrified at) American's true life tales for just about six months. --Alan Stewart



Publishers Weekly, 2001

Finally a bathroom book worthy of Pulitzer consideration: the one-to-three-page stories gathered in this astonishing, addictive collection are absolute gems.
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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 (8)
4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Share It!, 30 April 2003
By Rich (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: True Tales of American Life (Paperback)
I was bought this book as a present, by someone who had only read the first story about the chicken. The great thing about it is that you can stop wherever you like in the book, and carry on later. Its an ideal book to be reading alongside your novel.
The best part is that some of the stories you instantly want to tell the first person you see about, and others remind you of tales of chance, coincidence or just quirkiness from your own or your friends experiences.

All in all a thoroughly worthwhile and enjoyable book

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant museum of American weirdness, 29 Dec 2001
This review is from: True Tales of American Life (Paperback)
Paul Auster once said 'stories happen to people who can tell them.' Here he has taken his words at their face value and produced an amazing document - an anthology of 200 true stories sent in to the National Story Project by ordinary yanks. Synchronicity, destiny and slapstick combine to make fantastic reading.
Paul Auster is an amazing writer and here he has tried an amazing experiment and it doesn't just work - there's something almost scary and magic in the result. Read these stories one a day for six months or gobble them down... - either way I think something in this book might change your life. Highly recomended.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Stories for Austerians with short-attention spans, 26 Feb 2003
By P. A. Curran "paul" (Tameside, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: True Tales of American Life (Paperback)
Norman Mailer once said that the average American's attention span was fifteen minutes - as that was the time until the next commercial.

This collection of stories is perfect for anyone who fits into this category.

Paul Auster has a peculiar knack of giving anything associated with him an 'Austerian feel', and these stories are no exception. Many are sentimental, a few are badly written, some are fantastic, but each one deserves its place and gives something unique to the book.

It has the same fascination for a Englishman that road movies have. Somehow, trivial events just count for more in America. Somewhere in that vastness, the magic that these writers imply just may be possible. And 'possibility' is the key to all of Auster's work. You might not get your wish, but keep your eyes open and you might get something better.

'True Tales...' isn't about writing style, cinematic sweep, or literary prizes, it is about a feeling, an attitude, a humanity. Something that fifteen minutes of television just doesn't give you.

You want a breakfast cereal, watch t.v.; you want to feel that life can be a bit more than that, buy the book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars an amazing idea
It's a book which gives you a pleasure to red. It's ab overview of american lifestyle caming form the story of the people. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Brambini Michela

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag - obviously.
I agree with all the other reviews! There are too many banal tales of dubious coincidences, but there are enough gems to make it worthwhile. Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2007 by Booky

1.0 out of 5 stars Bores reunited
I had high hopes of this book but frankly it's rather dull. There are one or two arresting anecdotes but the rest plods, wiht far too many of the tales revolving around... Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2004 by M. G. James

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone must read this book!
After the stresses of a long break from University, a relaxing Christmas and an amazing New Year, and the stress of not having a single exam I was in need of a week in the sun... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2003 by jammyholt

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the hype
Despite the praise that has been lavished on 'True Tales of American Life', and despite the wholly admirable intent with which the collection was commissioned, it's actually not... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2003 by dave_taurus

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing
This is a totally engrossing book. I felt like I'd been invited to share in the experiences of a huge range of people, just to touch their lives for a few minutes. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple stories told by ordinary people. Powerful stuff.
This book was almost never written. If it had not been for a chance remark by the author's wife these real life stories would have remained in the minds (and hearts) of the... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2002 by eagleeye

4.0 out of 5 stars coincidence is king
each of these tales reads like a miniature AUster. He says in the introduction that after reading a whole bunch, you can be almost overwhelmed by how teeming with life they are:... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read
If you have read "A place called bird" by Tony Parker in the 1980s (where Tony Parker interviewed a broad range of people living in Bird, Kansas and recorded their... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
As usual I was looking for something new by Auster when I found this one. When I saw on the cover that it was only edited and intruduced by PA I hesitated for a couple of seconds... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2001 by R. Moran

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