The Invention of Solitude
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
In his debut memoir, renowned author Paul Auster shares heartfelt and personal meditations on fatherhood that “integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation . . . as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living” (Newsday)
“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationships.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One day there is life. . . . And then, suddenly, it happens there is death.”
The Invention of Solitude, split into two stylistically separate sections, established Paul Auster’s reputation as a major voice in American literature. The first section, “Portrait of an Invisible Man,” explores Auster’s memories and feelings after the death of his father, a distant, undemonstrative, almost cold man. As he attends to his father’s business affairs and sifts through his effects, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old family murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In “The Book of Memory,” the perspective shifts from Auster’s identity as a son to his role as a father. Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations, the narrator, “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, and the solitary nature of storytelling and writing.
Customer Reviews
The Invention of Solitude
First half excellent but second half disappointing. Auster has better offerings available though the quality of his books ranges from terrific to hard to comprehend and frustrating. Too intellectual for his own good at times...EAF