Collected Prose: Autobiographical Writings, True Stories, Critical Essays, Prefaces, and Collaborations with Artists
- Book Review,
by Paul Auster
From Booklist
Auster's mind-bending fiction is shaped by his fascination with coincidence and chance, and with how the most banal appearances conceal untold bizarreness. Any reader curious about how such a sensibility coalesces will find Auster's nonfiction full of clues. Following his Collected Poems [BKL F 1 04], this gathering of autobiographical writings, essays, and critical works illuminates key moments in Auster's life and traces the evolution of his imagination. The volume begins with "The Invention of Solitude," a staggering portrait of his father; next up is "Hand to Mouth," an arresting account of his wildly improvised efforts at survival while attempting to make it as a writer; followed by the resounding "Why Write?" and the surprising "True Stories." As a critic, Auster fully enters the works of the writers he discusses, including Kafka, Knut Hamsun, Laura Riding, Samuel Beckett, and Paul Celan, and pulls off feats of masterful concision in his prefaces and op-ed pieces. All told, this is a delectable and invaluable addition to the Auster collection, a unique facet of American letters. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Auster's Collected Prose provides a fascinating long-exposure snapshot of a writer's private and abiding obsessions and touchstones as he oscillates between the worlds of his life and art."--The Times (London)
"He is a remarkable writer whose work needs to be read in totality."--The Sunday Herald (Scotland)
"One of America's leading novelists...The literary essays and prefaces in this collection are elegant and accessible.... Much of what is offered here displays his warmth, democratic instincts, and human concerns."--The Daily Telegraph (London)
"Auster's informed enthusiasms, especially for European modernism and aspects of the avant-garde, make him a passionate, intelligent, and stimulating commentator. He writes acutely about the dilemmas which inform serious artistic decisions. The hospitable, generous pieces make one want to go immediately to the writers he discusses."--The Observer (London)
Book Description
An essential collection from one of the finest thinkers and stylists in contemporary letters.
The celebrated author of The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions, and Oracle Night presents here a highly personal collection of essays, prefaces, true stories, autobiographical writings, and collaborations with artists, as well as occasional pieces written for magazines and newspapers, including The Invention of Solitude his "breathtaking memoir." (Financial Times Magazine London)
Ranging in subject from Sir Walter Raleigh to Kafka, Nathaniel Hawthorne to the high-wire artist Philippe Petit, conceptual artist Sophie Calle to Auster's own typewriter, the World Trade Center catastrophe to his beloved New York City itself, Collected Prose records the passions and insights of a writer who "will be remembered as one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle).
From the Inside Flap
An essential collection from one of the finest thinkers and stylists in contemporary letters.
The celebrated author of The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions, and Oracle Night presents here a highly personal collection of essays, prefaces, true stories, autobiographical writings, and collaborations with artists, as well as occasional pieces written for magazines and newspapers, including The Invention of Solitude his "breathtaking memoir." (Financial Times Magazine London)
Ranging in subject from Sir Walter Raleigh to Kafka, Nathaniel Hawthorne to the high-wire artist Philippe Petit, conceptual artist Sophie Calle to Auster's own typewriter, the World Trade Center catastrophe to his beloved New York City itself, Collected Prose records the passions and insights of a writer who "will be remembered as one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle).
"Auster's Collected Prose provides a fascinating long-exposure snapshot of a writer's private and abiding obsessions and touchstones as he oscillates between the worlds of his life and art."--The Times (London)
"He is a remarkable writer whose work needs to be read in totality."--The Sunday Herald (Scotland)
"One of America's leading novelists...The literary essays and prefaces in this collection are elegant and accessible.... Much of what is offered here displays his warmth, democratic instincts, and human concerns."--The Daily Telegraph (London)
"Auster's informed enthusiasms, especially for European modernism and aspects of the avant-garde, make him a passionate, intelligent, and stimulating commentator. He writes acutely about the dilemmas which inform serious artistic decisions. The hospitable, generous pieces make one want to go immediately to the writers he discusses."--The Observer (London)
Paul Auster is the author of eleven novels, most recently Oracle Night. His previous two novels, The Book of Illusions and Timbuktu, were national bestsellers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
About the Author
Paul Auster is the author of eleven novels, most recently Oracle Night. His previous two novels, The Book of Illusions and Timbuktu, were national bestsellers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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