PAUL AUSTER - THE BOOK OF ILLUSIONS

Image: portrait of Chateaubriand by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson

Those who’ve browsed my Currently Reading blog might conclude I’ve been on somewhat of a Paul Auster kick (Leviathan, 4 3 2 1 most recently). Whether or not this qualifies me to expound on the general idea behind his fiction is up for debate, but here’s a general idea behind his fiction anyway: we lead many lives in a lifetime. It’s stated explicitly in The Book of Illusions, via a quotation from Chateaubriand, but I’ve sensed it in all his novels. I find the idea hopeful. The life I lead rarely leaves me feeling trapped, but when I do, I need not look further than Mr. Auster’s characters to remember the human capacity for self-reinvention. Read, May 2020.