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August 24, 2004
Leviathan
"Books are born out of ignorance, and if they go on living after they are written, it's only to the degree that they cannot be understood."
- Paul Auster, Leviathan
I finally agreed to read Paul Auster. Somehow or another, I had refused to read his book despite the fact that NYT seems to adore him. So I started on him and boy, reading Paul Auster feels like I'm on a bullet train. He writes fast. It follows the plot as the protogonist is rushing out the story, the confessional. And boy, what a trip it was.
I was perplexed when I first started because he reminded me of Murakami alot. So I was trying to figure out why. I later attributed it to the fact that both write in a very personal first person, and their contrivances in plot border almost on ridicule.
But Auster was interesting enough, a really fast read but a delicate observation on humans and relationships. His world of coincidences simply shows how humans are inextricably linked to one another. His characters are well-fleshed out and enough room is left for the reader to cast their own perception of the incidents and characters.
What makes it a more interesting read is that the book is set in New York City and Brooklyn. I could picture everything. Times Square, Union Square, West Village, East Village, West 112th St...Columbia University. It was an exhilarating nolstagic trip for me.
So I read Leviathan with relish. I read it on the trains. I read it on the bus. I read it in my sister's car. I read it while waiting for friends to arrive, and for once, I hoped that they were late. And to think what snagged my interest in the book is that Auster dedicated the book to Don Delililo.
And for this, I will give Auster another chance. I will read another book of Auster to see if it is his common habit to contrive plots and if he can hold my interest and attention enough.
I'm moving on to New York City of another era now. Reading Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence because I promised a friend I would watch a Scorsese and I thought starting with Innocence would be a good inaugural film.
Reading is a good escape.
Posted by lainey at August 24, 2004 03:21 PM