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Elisabeth Quesnay: Christine Leboeuf 09 June 2001 02:40 Hi! I'm Elisabeth, a French girl. I read Paul Auster's books for a long time, above all in French because my English is not good enough to really appreciate the auther in his native language. My problem is that I just LOVE translations by Christine Leboeuf, but not at all by other translators... So I wonder if I really like P. Auster's book, or if I just prefer C. Leboeuf's style! Is there anyone you knows where I could write to Christine Leboeuf? That's VERY important... I hope the one who will read this will understand my English! Thans a lot for answering me, Elisabeth. Anonymous: Re: Christine Leboeuf 10 June 2001 14:29 just try to write to the French publisher, they will forward your letter to the translator... Aline Erieau: Where's Paul ??? 06 June 2001 18:37 Is there someone who would know in which part of Brooklyn Paul and Siri live ??? MS Fogg: Re: Where's Paul ??? 07 June 2001 01:39 easy enough, that'd be Park Slope. But that does sound much smaller than it is, so there's hardly any chance of running into him, if you plan to go there (except, of course, in one of his novels). I've been there myself two weeks ago and it's kind of interesting to see where he lives... Aline Erieau: disappearances by P. Auster 06 June 2001 10:07 hi !!! I'm a french student in literature and Im really fond of paul auster! I just would like to know how to do to get the poems from Disappearances. If you know u'd be cool !!! thanks! Quinn Skylark: Re: disappearances by P. Auster 06 June 2001 21:14 I found Disappearances at Powells City of Books in Portland, Oregon (USA), which is online at http://www.powells.com. However, as big a fan as I am of Auster's prose, I didn't like the poems at all. Auster himself described them once as a "closed fist" and while that's an accurate assessment, I just couldn't like them. If you do get a copy, let me know what you think. I was disappointed after I read them. They felt like the work of an immature writer. MS Fogg: Re: Re: disappearances by P. Auster 07 June 2001 01:47 I agree that Disappearences (or all of Auster's poems for that matter) is hard to take, especially if you're fond of his prose. But they still manage to create a certain atmosphere, almost like his novels do, so why not give it try. Just don't try to understand them. If you want to read an attempt of interpretation confere to "Beyond the Red Notebook" by Dennis Barone, in which you can find an article on the poems, called "In the Realm of the Naked Eye". Good Luck Aline Erieau: Leviathan 06 June 2001 10:07 Hi Im a french student in literature and Im fond of paul auster ! I would like to know if Paul auster inspired of Leviathan by the philosophe Thomas Hobbes. I thought about it and I said to myself that we could compare the leviathan (the big aquatic monster of a mythology) with capitalism (in Auster's book) and with the government called leviathan by Hobbes. There's a common point between the myth, hobbes's book and auster's book : leviathan the myth "eats everything on its passage" ! Is true for Auster's book ? Did he want to denounce capitalism as a "monster which eats everything on its passage", include the weakiers ? Did he want to compare the american government with the one imagined by Hobbes? MS Fogg: Re: Leviathan 07 June 2001 01:44 I totally agree with your idea - I thought about connection myself when I was reading the book. That was too long ago for me to remeber any specific thoughts, but Hobbes certainly fits in there. Now, I'm not too sure if the "monster" is limited to capitalism, I think it's about everything that is wrong in America and against the "American Creed", or as Sachs puts it (I rephrase here): I stuck to the rule word by word but still tried to bend and break them. This about what he says about flirting with Maria while still trying to faitful to Fanny. Remeber, he sat on the railing of the window to make her hug him without any sexual context...Well, of course he is a metaphor for falling America, and the very fact that he fell on July 4th, just stresses the point... Anonymous: Auster manuscripts 30 May 2001 01:52 Here's a little info for all grad students and serious researchers who are working with Paul Auster. The Berg collection of the NY Public Library holds most of Auster's manuscripts and is open for serious research. If you give proof that you are at least working on an MA project you can actually work with those manuscripts, which really is worhwhile... Dion: Austers game 26 May 2001 17:06 What is Austers game with names and characters supposed to mean ? I am a German student facing his final exam in American Literature and stumbled into this side by dealing with Auster. I still do not understand the meaning of Austers playing with names and identities in his book "The New York Trilogy " especially in "City of glass" . Having a closer look to the text, it occurs to me, that it's a sort of stylistic mean by which the reader shall be confronted with the post-modern and somehow existentially picture Auster draws. For remembrance: The protagonist is a guy named Daniel Quinn, who writes mystery novels under the synonym William Wilson (also the title of a story from Edgar Allan Poe) and pretends to be a private detective called Paul Auster. What does this circle show ? Does it announce, that every fiction happens nowhere but in the heads of the authors ? Is it supposed to illustrate that names mean nothing but sayings for thing ? I don't know. I would appreciate every inspiration. MS Fogg: Re: Austers game 30 May 2001 01:47 By giving his characters telling names Auster places them in a cultural and literary context that signigicantly determines the reading of the novels. Think of Marco Stanley Fogg, who merely by his name is characterized as traveller and explorer and also as author of his own life (cf. p.7f in the Penguin edition of Moon Palace). Anna Blume's name is a comment on the modernist's (dadaist's) struggle for a form, a form that is constantly falling apart in Country of Last Things. Finally Daniel Quinn, who by his initials DQ mirrors Don Quxiote. Now take this and look what the fictional Auster says about the narrative structure of Don Quixote in the novel (or the real Auster in Art of Hunger, it doesn't matter), and you will find out who the fictional Auster is and what role he is playing. You can do this most of his characters, really, the naming merely supports the narrative structure. The most impressive use of names actually is Moon Palace, with a bald character named Barber (!) and a very cynical character named Effing. Now if that isn't absurd I don't know what is... Dion: Re: Re: Austers game 01 June 2001 14:29 Thank you Marco Stanley Fogg. My thoughts went a bit in that direction but you opened my eyes..... Den: Auster the famous writer - but in which league is he playing ? 18 May 2001 18:35 I have just finished Mr. Vertigo (the 5 th book of him I read in a row ) and I am desperately disappointed - not about the book but about myself. I just can`t estimate why I begin to get so addicted to his words. His books move something in me, which is hart to articulate. I fail to evaluate Austers work. Is he one of the great authors, that will still be read in a hundred years ? The "New York Trilogy" is certainly something new, something never seen before but isn`t it also a bit " useless " to write three novels, which are actually only one ? O.K it is in deed exciting to "mingle facts with fiction " to crate a world, that functions like a broken mirror collecting things from what we call reality in order to rearrange them to a different one. But the point is, that everybody does this simply by remembering. Every memory consists of fiction as well as of facts - so what is so special about him ? Maybe I have to read another book of him.... MS Fogg: FYI 09 May 2001 19:04 There is a new book on Auster out, by one Carsten Springer, who also has a web page. It's called "A Paul Auster Source Book" and explains all the allusions in Auster's work on literary sources, on his life and on each other. Some of the allusions Springer found seem a little far-fetched but overall it's quite interesting. Another part of the book deals with Auster's original manuscripts, showing different versions and alternative endings of the novels, as Auster had originally planned them. For that sectioned Springer worked with the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library, were obviously Auster's manuscripts are kept, and he worked with Auster himself, as it seems. That part is definately the most interesting. The study finishes with a bibliography that Springer calls "comprehensive". Well, I don't know if it's ever possible to produce a comprehensive bibliography, but anyway, it's very extensive... Certainly an interesting reference work for all those who want to work with Auster's books. This is meant as a recommendation for all those who are working on an MA project and have not yet come across this book: Springer, Carsten. A Paul Auster Sourcebook. Frankfurt/M.; Berlin et al.: Peter Lang, 2001. Stuart Pilkington: Re: FYI 09 May 2001 20:01 Thanks for the pointer MS - lovely tip! Quinn Skylark: No Subject 08 May 2001 20:30 So, in addition to Paul Auster, what should I read? I'm a big DeLillo fan, and Rick Moody, George Saunders, Ken Kalfus, Lorrie Moore, and Stephen Millhauser. Any other suggestions? Oh, on another tact entirely. I can't rmbr the name of the character, but in The Locked Room, he goes to a the home of a poet in Boston (on Columbus Square). That poet is William Corbett, who apparetnly has a long-time relationship with Auster. Corbett used to write for a mag I edited. Corbett's poetry is not akin to Auster's writing, it's more old-school Charles Olsenish. Which, if you like that kind of thing, is good. But you can check out "Furthering My Education" which is a pretty decent autobiography, with an air of mystery that would appeal to Auster fans. The book is, in fact, dedicated to Paul Auster. Brian: Re: No Subject 09 May 2001 19:56 I can't say that these authors are in anyway related to Paul Auster in style or content but I 'kinda like 'em'...Iain Banks, Damian Lanigan, Peter Carey and Michael Tolkin. Anonymous: Re: Re: No Subject 12 May 2001 00:36 Well, there's also Thomas Pynchon, above all his "Crying for Lot 49", which kinda like "City of Glass" to some respect. Then there are many other postmodern and pre-postmodern (yet not modern in the literary studies' sense) classics, like "Catcher in the Rye", stuff by Edward Albee and by Philip Roth (I particularly like his "Deception"). Or try some of Auster's influences, I just adore Kafka and Beckett. There's plenty of stuff out there... Quinn Skylark: Re: Re: Re: No Subject 14 May 2001 15:09 Thanks for the tips. Keep 'em comming. But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) which takes the detective novel trope of City of Glass and warps it into epic proportions. Auster keeps CoG in little boxes and moves his characters, Beckett-like, through channels and ruts as if they were on a railroad track leading them to a predetermined end. Murakami does much the same. He has a penchant for tunnels and chambers. But his stuff just gets wierder than Auster's. Very good book. Enrique Tomás: Get more information about Paul Auster 03 May 2001 23:46 My name is Enrique Tomás and I am Spanish. I have been studying Paul Auster works during the last five years and I would like to contact with the author. I am preparing a thesis on his literature. Is it possible to get his address or his e-mail?. Thank you Stuart Pilkington: Re: Get more information about Paul Auster 04 May 2001 11:28 Hi Enrique. This is a common question and one you can find the answer to at this link: http://www.paulauster.co.uk/faq.htm Basically the best way to get in contact with Paul Auster is via his publishers...the page I've given you lists three or four of his publishers over the years. Give it a go and let us know how you get along. Stuart. Anonymous: Re: Re: Get more information about Paul Auster 04 May 2001 17:09 I tried to contact Auster because of an MA project myself, also via the publisher (Henry Holt). He wrote down some of my thesis to see what he thinks about them. He never really answered my letter, all I ever got was a (very friendly) e-mail from his assistant explaining that Mr. Auster is busily working on his new book and "barely emerges from the study to eat and sleep." She also wrote that he doesn't like talking about his own work very much. So, give it a try, I guess it's alway worth the effort, but don't expect too much... Stuart Pilkington: Re: Get more information about Paul Auster 04 May 2001 19:41 That's a little disappointing. I wonder if anybody else has had any other experiences trying to get in touch with Mr Auster? Stuart. Brian: Re: Re: Get more information about Paul Auster 08 May 2001 19:31 What was her name? Brian Howell: Auster interview 03 May 2001 07:37 I found the following excellent audio interview on The New York Times Books website: http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/06/20/specials/auster-audio.html Stuart Pilkington: Re: Auster interview 04 May 2001 11:33 Thanks for that Brian...I must have a listen to the interview very soon! Stuart. Orrin C. Judd: Reviews 02 May 2001 17:29 Thanks for the excellent site. I've also got reviews of a couple Auster books and a bunch of links posted at www.brothersjudd.com Stuart Pilkington: Re: Reviews 02 May 2001 19:39 Thanks Orrin, I've had a check out of your extremely extensive site and linked myself to a few of your pages. Thanks ever so much for the pointer. Stuart Quinn Skylark: No New Books. Sad. 02 May 2001 14:03 I am quite sad that Paul Auster seems to have moved on to writing screenplays, which frankly are no where near as good as his books. I remember an interview after Smoke in which Mr. Auster indcated that he would not be lured by the quick-and-easy coin he could garner from the movie industry. But it seems he has. I understand that one needs to pay one's bills, but that last two books, the mediocre autobiography and the slim, lackluster Timbuktu have done little to match Auster's earlier boooks. Sigh. Anonymous: Re: No New Books. Sad. 02 May 2001 18:58 first of all Hand to Mouth is all but mediocre - I think it's a brilliant and modest reflection of Auster's own life, in which he creates himself as a typical character of his literature. But apart from that, don't worry, I know that Auster is working hard on a book at the moment. So, more is to come... Quinn Skylark: Re: Re: No New Books. Sad. 02 May 2001 21:32 I don't agree that Hand to Mouth was "brilliant." No, not at all. The New York Trilogy was brilliant, and maybe Leviathan. But H2M? I enjoyed it, but the book as a whole lacked a certain resonance that the novels have. Perhaps it was too short. It felt as if Auster was avoiding subjects, skimming on the surface of autobiography, a little afraid to reveal too much about himself . It was the kind of thing that belongs in "reflections on writing" type of thing. For what it was, it was *good* at best, not great, and certainly not brilliant. And hey, just because you like a writer's work doesn't mean you have to like everything. I've also never been a fan of Auster's poetry, which he describes in some interview as being akin to a "clenched fist." I'd have to agree with that assesment. The clenched fist of Auster's poetry holds its secrets to tightly, stubbornly, as if he refuses to release them to the reader. Timbuktu was good, but kind of a let down, a little overly boyant. For a slim novel with gravity, check out Don DeLillo's THE BODY ARTIST, which accomplishes so much more in just about the same page count. Timbuktu was a good attempt, but really....a story from a dog's point of view is a little silly at best, and I don't think the book ever breaks free from this unintentional silliness. Auster is one of my favorite writers, but he's not a perfect writer. Anonymous: Re: Re: Re: No New Books. Sad. 03 May 2001 00:12 Hand to Mouth is not a real autobiography, it's a "Chronicle of Early Failure", so you can't really Auster for leaving out a lot of stuff. I'm myself not convinced how serious we should take his "autobiographies", including Invention of Solitude because while he includes many autobiographical elements in his fiction, he could as well include many elements of fiction in his autobiographical writings... that's not only the postmodern game, it's also what Kafka, one of Auster's role models, did. Oh, and I totally agree that you don't have to like all the books just because you like the author. I never even finished Timbuktu because it was such a let down. I think Auster is looking for a new way, which he alreade took with Mr. Vertigo - a great novel - but he as to find how far he can go with it yet... Quinn Skylark: Re: Re: Re: Re: No New Books. Sad. 03 May 2001 14:50 Okay, I guess I agree with you that H2M is not really an autobio, but I guess it let me down somewhat when I was hoping for more. Jerri Szseretky: interesting review of Paul Auster's "City of Glass" 30 April 2001 14:09 check out this review of Paul Auster's "City of Glass" http://ususpect.epinions.com/content_16136441476 Robert Martin: City of Glass : Intertexuality 30 April 2001 07:50 Greetings. I'm an undergraduate at Cleveland State University working through a seminar class on postmodern detective fiction. I'm thinking about doing a paper on the intertexuality of Paul Auster's City of Glass and was wondering if anyone here had any interesting ideas. Thanks much and hope to hear from someone soon. Orrin C. Judd: Re: City of Glass : Intertexuality 02 May 2001 17:30 Intertextuality ? MS Fogg: Re: Re: City of Glass : Intertexuality 02 May 2001 18:54 Well, obviously there is always the Don Quixote allusion. It might be interesting to realize that Quinns initials are D.Q. as well, and if you look at the narrative situation in both novels you can see the parallels as well. That would make the fictional Paul Auster the monk who writing to the chronics of Don Quixote. If you now look at what the fictional Auster says about Don Quixote and what the real Auster wrote in The Art of Hunger you can easily work out the parallels... Then there is the intertextuality to the fictional work of Max Work and to the fictional book of Henry Dark, a very postmodern idea to a point by refering to other intertextually that don't even exist. The allusions to Carolls "Through the Looking-Glass" I think are secondary but there is much to be worked in the intertextual references to the other books of the trilogy. Van Denbranden: Lulu on the Bridge, meaning of the movie 25 April 2001 17:46 Great site, I just discovered it. I've seen Lulu on the bridge a while ago and was wondering if someone has a tentative explanation about it. I had this one (a bit blurred, since it is 6 months ago). Harvey Keitel is dying and is doomed to some kind of 'hell'. He has a chance for redemption through that stone. The girl can save him if he lets his feelings come back... Dafoe is an angel that 'interviews' him for heaven, but he fails and dies without hope. Is Paul that religious??? Just an idea, not very precise(should see the movie again to refine it). Any reaction? Eszter: Re: Lulu on the Bridge, meaning of the movie 27 April 2001 07:43 I just saw the film yesterday (it just arrived in Hungary...) I think Izzy can choose if he wants to meet Celia and be happy with her - for a short while ...or to die, never meet her - but so he can save her life and gives his own. (My English is terrible, I hope you understand what I mean) Van Denbranden: Re: Re: Lulu on the Bridge, meaning of the movie 27 April 2001 11:26 Could be, but isn't Harvey a fundamentally bad guy? At least according to Willem Dafoe and his behavior at the end of the movie. In what extend is her dead a fatality and really his fault? As I said, I've seen the movie like 6 months ago. Is there any explanation by Paul A. published somewhere? Eszter: Re: Re: Re: Lulu on the Bridge, meaning of the movie 28 April 2001 08:52 I found something. "Lulu on the Bridge is not a puzzle, some code to be cracked," says Auster, "and I hope that audiences will be moved by what is essentially a story about deep and powerful feelings. Because, on another level, all these things that Izzy experiences really happen. I firmly believe that Izzy lives through the events in the story, that the dream is not just some empty fantasy. When he dies at the end, he's a different man than he was at the beginning. He's managed to redeem himself. If not, how else to account for Celia's presence on the street at the end? It's as if she has lived through the story, too. The ambulance passes, and even though she can't possibly know who's inside, it's as if she does. She feels a connection, she's moved, she's touched by grief--understanding that the person in the ambulance has just died. As far as I'm concerned, the whole film comes together in that final shot." Siri: Paul Auster's Escape into Solitude 23 April 2001 15:47 Hi Im writing my MA thesis project on the above subject .I intend to analize any kinds of escape in his fiction and prove that most of his characters flight into solitude. I aim to analize Auster's concept of solitude as the rejection of hypocritical , absurd society , and getting more into life , nature , real self ...Im looking for any concepts of soltude in literaure , philosophy and psychology which might have contributed into the concept of solitude he presented in The Red Notebook.What does the existensialism say about that ? Any interesting concepts of escape in Auster? MS Fogg: Re: Paul Auster's Escape into Solitude 23 April 2001 16:57 Hi I'm working on an MA project that might connections to your thesis. Contact me by e-mail if you want... Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Paul Auster's Escape into Solitude 29 April 2001 08:47 One of Auster's literary influences is Thoreau's 'Walden' - a story that can be encapsulated by your very statement 'solitude as the rejection of hypocritical , absurd society , and getting more into life , nature , real self ...'. Indeed this book is mentioned throughout a couple of Auster's own novels and the same themes can be seen running through almost all of his work. There's the isolation seeping through that Auster feels as an author: 'Quinn [character in 'City of Glass'] is a man without attachment, a loner who has minimised his relationships with the outside world, ignoring his new found fans, his publisher and his friends. He has turned inward on himself.' There's also the isolation that was compounded by the death of Paul Auster's real father and the consequent search for the self, which not only is explored in 'The Invention of Solitude' but also throughout his fiction. And finally you are right there is a strong theme to the 'auteur' Paul Auster which is about detaching oneself from contemporary life and the 'American Dream'...you can see this dynamic in the relationship between characters i 'Leviathan' and 'The Locked Room' (have a look at some earlier posts). Anyway, thanks for dropping by Siri [a very suitable name for this site by the way ] and if you want any more help I'll try and dig out some articles for you.] Stuart. Siri: Re: Re: Re: Paul Auster's Escape into Solitude 07 May 2001 14:45 im not sure if you got my email , so to make sure I just write to you one more time , to cut it short I desperately seek for any other traits in his definition of solitude asThoreau's works are the basis of my project , I feel it is not enough , How about his imagery of solitude which is symbolized by the room .are there any works on that?my email djsiri@yahoo.com i love this web , thanks for reply , siri Ehud: Center of the World 21 April 2001 21:30 I would like to hear from someone who saw Auster's new movie "Center of the World". PS-is it has a connection to "The Music of Chance" center of the world of Flower&Stone? Great site! Congratulations ! Anonymous: Re: Center of the World 22 April 2001 14:18 I haven't seen it, but try: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/18/arts/18CENT.html?ex=988596408&ei=1&en=20a42c53adcf8281 for a New York Times review. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Center of the World 29 April 2001 08:50 I too haven't seen the film Ehud so I can't comment as yet. However, if you visit the 'Center of the World' page on this site you'll find a load more links and you might find some answers to your questions. Stuart Chris McGreevy: spoiler-music of chance question 13 April 2001 05:53 warning-this question contains spoiler info to the music of chance, I just finished reading Music of Chance, and I was blown away by the ending. It seemed like a very un nashe like thing to do, and a very cynical ending. I don't know what to make of it really. Does anyone have any thoughts, has anything been written about the ending? Thanks for this site! Thomas Effing: Re: spoiler-music of chance question 13 April 2001 14:09 It's a typical Auster ending: the protagonist doesn't have a real purpose in life until something weird happens to him. It's the strange phone call in City of Glass or the Poker Game in Music of Chance. The incidence gives them a new meaning to their life, no matter how stupid it seems. But it is due to that new meaning that their lives finally fail. So as soon as Stillman jr. is out of danger, Quinn vanishes. As soon as the Wall is finished, Nashe has to die because he lost his meaning once more... Anonymous: Re: Re: spoiler-music of chance question 15 April 2001 16:48 THis question interests me. I had first seen the movie which depicts this ending but then shows what occurs afterwards: In the film, Nashe crashes-- but survives. THe next scene shows him wandering by the side of the road (just as Pozzi had been in the begininning.) A car drives by, sees him, and the driver stops to pick him up. Nashe begins to tell his story to the driver-- just as pozzi regaled Nashe with his. THe wonderful twist of the film is that the driver of the car in the end of the film is-- Paul Auster playing himself.-- Hence, the genisis of the story. THe ending of the book does not explicitly indicate that Nashe dies in the crash. It shows Nash surrendering himself to random chance-- we do not know what happens to him. THe movie provides a glimpse into what happens post crash-- and the fictional genisis of the story. Thomas Effing: Re: Re: Re: spoiler-music of chance question 15 April 2001 19:45 Paul Auster in an interview: "At the end of Moon Palace, Fogg is driving West in a car. The car is stolen, and he winds up continuing the journey on foot. I realized that I wanted to get back inside that car, to give myself a chance to go on driving around America. So there was that very immediate and visceral impulse, which is how The Music of Chance beginns - with Nashe sitting behind the wheel of a car." (Art of Hunger: p. 319) Steve: new york trilogy questions 25 March 2001 07:46 just read nyt for the 2nd time and have found myself even more confused and needing questions answered.firstly are any of the characters from the 3 stories linking within themselves e.g. fanshawe calling himself Henry Dark, being followed by a quinn, young stillman appearing in the 'locked room',and every story including a red notebook. as you can see this book has left a mark on my brain, which im sure most of us can appreciate! as you can see this book has left a mark on my brain, which im sure most of us can appreciate! Stuart Pilkington: Re: new york trilogy questions 29 April 2001 09:03 Steve, From what I can understand of Paul Auster, he tends to write organically, using a flow of consciousness...(that's possibly why his novels are so popular in countries like France where film and art etc is much more fluid and organic rather than the linear narrative of 'classic structure' here in the UK or the US)...therefore his novels and especially 'The New York Trilogy' are so appealing to a mass audience because you can get wrapped up in finding meaning. There is an existential feel to his work - like in our own lives we are constantly trying to find meaning and this is reflected in a lot of Auster's work. Many people for example think that Quinn's walk around the city in 'City of Glass' produces a picture of a gun or a 3 but as Paul Auster says 'quite a few people have mentioned this, and have worked out that picture, but it doesn't add up to anything.' In other words the author doesn't consciously weave hidden meanings into his writing but it is up to the reader to provide thier own meaning hence your very natural confusion when reading 'NYT'. But you are right there are cross references throught the Trilogy with regards to characters and to his own life (e.g. the red notebook) but I myself will have to read the novel again to get more of a handle on these...that's why it's so much fun. Hope that wasn't too garbled, Stuart. Paulo Sarmento: No Subject 13 March 2001 17:04 Moon Palace is quite obviously a novel on fatherhood, missing parents, missing identities. And more generally speaking it is about american identity, isn't it. Isn't Auster revisiting (and questioning)American History? I'll check your answers... Stuart Pilkington: Re: No Subject 29 April 2001 09:12 I know this is debatedly the case in 'Leviathan' Paulo and you are probably right saying 'Moon Palace' also is re-examining American History. Unfortunately I don't have any definitive answer for you but what you have made me do is want to re-read the book. So when I have done that task I'll come back and try to answer your query in more depth. Stuart Bjoern Brehe: Auster - Baseball 12 March 2001 18:48 I would like to get information about P.A. and Baseball. Somehow baseball is involved in most of his novels I ´ ve read so far. So what kind of role does baseball play in his life ? I would also like to know about a favorite team or whatever. Any hint, comment would be appreciated. Brian: Re: Auster - Baseball 27 March 2001 00:26 I think if you read either Hand to Mouth or the Red Notebook there's some good hints in there. His detective novel under a pseudonym is about the fictional New York Americans and I've read stories by him that talk about both the Yankees and the Mets. I think it's safe to say he likes those teams being from the area. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Auster - Baseball 27 March 2001 22:15 'Paul Auster in turn took him to see the Mets, 'because that's his orientation'. ' A quote from Salman Rushdie talking about baseball Aline Erieau: Re: Auster - Baseball 06 June 2001 11:21 hi Bjoern ! Im a french student Actually Paul Auster is really fond of baseball. That's why baseball is involved in his novels. He very soon started to play in a team, I think he was 6 (but Im not sure). When he was growing old he appreciated Willy Mays in the NY team. That's all I can tell you ! Andy: City of Glass 08 March 2001 22:03 Why do two Peter Stillmans get off the train in City of Glass? Sysiphos: Re: City of Glass 09 March 2001 00:23 It's a metaphor for how unpredictavle life and our choices are. Quinn has to decide within a matter of seconds who to follow, he has no real reason for his choice and yet it makes all the difference. The other Stillman might have led to an all different plot, maybe one in which Quinn doesn't have to fail in his task. It goes along with the fact that, unlike conventional detective novels, the reader never really learns what was going on. The whole novel is deprived of any logic plot on purpose, everything is based on chance and coincidence. MLS: Wim Wenders 02 March 2001 04:47 A few years back, Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Until The End of the World) wanted to film "Music of Chance", but another director took it. did anyone like that movie? I did, but I could see how Wenders would have done something else. Then Wenders and Auster were to collaborate on a new project. Any possibility ??? The writer Wenders is has worked with on his past Two Films "End of Violence" and Million Dollar Hotel" is not the best writer of characters. Any Thoughts? Stuart Pilkington: Re: Wim Wenders 02 March 2001 10:20 MLS, I can really see Wim Wender's version of 'The Music of Chance' in my own mind. In the book a good portion of the story I felt was just like a road movie with Jim Nashe driving around America - aimless, flowing...a bit like one of Auster's characters' many walks around Brooklyn (aka NYT etc). And who is better than Wenders for making road movies? I felt the Haas version of the book missed out on the car journey and just started with the meeting of Nashe and Pozzi...not that I think the film was bad...I thoroughly enjoyed it...it just focussed more on the characters. Anyway as for further projects - please find some quotes I've found...it appears that the two are friends and seemingly they always have something on the boiler. I'm sure they will do something one day: "Yes, I think in a strange way I turn to writers, that is novelists rather than screenwriters. I have worked now for the last few years with novelists, not with people whose profession it was to write scripts but people whose profession it was to write stories. I'm now working with Paul Auster - another novelist." (Interview with Fergus Daly & Katherine Waugh) "If "Leviathan" doesn't do the trick, maybe the movies will. He's working on a screenplay for Wayne Wang, who made "Chan Is Missing," and collaborating with the German director Wim Wenders." (Adam Begley 'Case of the Brooklyn Symbolist' 1992) "Auster inherited the director's chair for Lulu when Wim Wenders, for whose use the script was originally intended, backed out, judging Lulu too thematically similar to his other recent work." (Kenneth Kreutzer) "Auster did not at first intend to direct Lulu on the Bridge, His initial thought was only to write the screenplay and then give it to his friend Wim Wenders to direct. But after considerable discussion, Wenders encouraged Auster to take the next step and direct the film himself." (Stillman's Maze) Cheers, Stuart. Paul Brennan: Influence of the Objectivists on Paul Auster 26 February 2001 15:26 I'm interested in writing something on the influence of the Objectivist poets like George Oppen, Charles Reznikoff and Carl Rakosi on Paul Auster. Does anyone know of any discussions of this area? (Besides Auster's own, in The Art of Hunger.) I'd be grateful for any help with this. Sysiphos: Re: Influence of the Objectivists on Paul Auster 07 April 2001 20:33 I don't know about research about that topic but take a look into Auster's "Why write?", which is similar to the "Red Notebook". You can find a short piece about his relationship to Reznikoff there. Anonymous: No Subject 22 February 2001 12:40 Are there any Auster newsgroups out there? Mail me privately, please: springsteen@talent.dk Sincerely BO Rotehexe: Center of the world 20 February 2001 21:48 Its really hard finding any REAL information about Center of the world! Anyone able to help me? I'd be very grateful! Stuart Pilkington: Re: Center of the world 23 February 2001 14:25 I definitely know what you are saying rotehexe. If you look on my Center of the World page you'll notice only 3-4 links. I will be doing another search very soon however and if I find any extra sites I'll send them your way. Stuart. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Center of the world 27 February 2001 09:49 rotehexe - I uploaded a load more links last night on the 'Center of the World' page. As we get closer to the release date of 20th April 2001 there's inevitably going to be more and more info. Have a look at the sites that I have put links to - although I must there's hardly any meat - I guess we have to wait until the critics have had a chance to appraise the film. Cheers Stuart. Vicent Leal: Not a Big Writer but I'm curious 20 February 2001 02:30 I've read Hand to Mouth today. Before I've read Mr.Vertigo. I work in the bigger bookstore in Portugal and I cant find any info about the authors life and work. Could someone tell me something about Mr.Auster? I confess that the subject of e-mail was just to call you attention Stuart Pilkington: Re: Not a Big Writer but I'm curious 20 February 2001 14:30 Vincent, thank you for dropping by. I would start by having a look at the links on the Biography section of this site and then continuing throughout the site. Either that or visit: http://www.bluecricket.com/auster/auster.html Which is a great resource and gives you a good introduction to Mr Auster. All the best, Stuart. Andrew Whatley: Country of Last Things Play 15 February 2001 22:44 It is mentioned in the inside cover notes of "In the Country of Last Things" that the book had been adapted for the stage. This play was presented in the former Yugoslavia and starred Vanessa Redgrave. If anyone knows where I could find a copy of this script, please notify me via email. Thank you, Andrew. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Country of Last Things Play 20 February 2001 14:24 Andrew, I've scoured the internet and various booksellers (inc ebay) but unfortunately I can't track down this play for you. The only thing I can suggest is that you contact the two publishers involved with the play (namely Viking and Faber & Faber). You can find their addresses on the FAQ page on this site. Good luck, Stuart. P.S. A quote from Auster: "In The Country of Last Things was given to a theatre director from Sarajevo by an American or British journalist, he said, "you should read this book," and he did, under horrible circumstances, no electricity, no heat, it was winter during the siege, and he started reading and didn't stop until he had finished, he read all through the night with a candle. He felt that this book was the absolute rendition of the situation he was living at that moment. It was a kind of uncanny leap. He became so impassioned that he worked with his theatre group and turned passages of the book into a play performed in Sarajevo. Peter Brooks' company in Paris helped sponsor them to get out of Sarajevo and make a European tour." Andrew Whatley: Re: Re: Country of Last Things Play 20 February 2001 16:12 Thanks for trying. I'll keep looking. Andrew Aaron McClendon: Auster/Leviathan/Melville/Moby-Dick 03 February 2001 04:56 Does Peter Aaron's utilization of Sachs' Vermont cabin remind anyone of Melville's "Hawthorne and His Mosses"? Also, Despite the obviousness of the title, can readers view Aaron's narrative as similar to Ishmael's in Moby-Dick? Could the political purity which Sachs attempts to embody and which eludes him connect with the ubiquity of Melville's whale. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Auster/Leviathan/Melville/Moby-Dick 13 February 2001 21:37 Aaron, I just wanted to write to apologise for not coming back earlier. Unfortunately, I do not have any comment ref: your query and I have searched through data linked to this site but I am yet to find anything. I am still searching and when and if I find any cross references to Melville or Ishmael I will notify you straight away. Hopefully some of the other forum visiters will have some intertextual knowledge to be able to comment. Good luck and thanks for dropping by, Stuart. D. Kungas: smoke and auggie wren'chrismas story 31 January 2001 17:14 in the film why is the thief called roger goodwin and not robert as in the book? my class of pupils would like to know after we saw the film .thank you.we have studied an extract of the book Joost: Re: smoke and auggie wren'chrismas story08 February 2001 11:21 As Auster is a master in playing with names and surnames, it is hard to give a clearcut answer to this question. If your students'd except the answer that it might be a coincidence, not a change which has been thought about thoroughly by Auster, this would be a first step in the interpretation of this play of names. Furthermore, the story how it is told and appears in the movie must not be seen as a complete and defined copy of the story how it is first written by Auster in the NYTimes. So, an answer to your question can not be given that easily, but don't forget you are dealing with an Auster creation. If you'd like to continue on this matter, don't hesitate to contact me. Mats: Pascal Bruckner and Paul Auster 29 January 2001 01:22 What's the connection between Pascal Bruckner (the author of "Lunes de Fiel", on which the Roman Polanski film "Bitter Moon" was based on) and Auster? Pugster: Re: Pascal Bruckner and Paul Auster 01 February 2001 15:24 All I know is that Pascal Bruckner has written critical essays on Paul Auster such as "Paul Auster, or The Heir Intestate" in Beyond the Red Notebook (University of Pennsylvania Press) other than that I'm not sure!! Stuart Pilkington: Melvyn Bragg and Paul Auster 21 January 2001 13:32 Hey does anyobody have a copy or know how to get hold of the interview between Melvyn Bragg and Paul Auster (South Bank Show)? Thanks Stuart. Adam Fletcher: Re: Melvyn Bragg and Paul Auster 23 January 2001 09:35 I have a copy on VHS - I can arrange to copy it for you if you send a direct e-mail to me with details (this is not an open offer but a reply to this messager). Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Melvyn Bragg and Paul Auster 13 February 2001 21:39 Thanks once again for sending that to me Adam - very much appreciated. I watched the interview this evening. I see the guy and hear him speak and I just want to be able to write myself. If only I had the patience and the talent. Anonymous: Re: Re: Re: Melvyn Bragg and Paul Auster 23 March 2001 14:09 You'd better get yourself off to sea for a spell, then. Anonymous: Auster Movies 20 January 2001 23:12 Does anyone know how to obtain any of Auster's movies? I don't think they're on general release in Englang. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Auster Movies 21 January 2001 13:27 Anon, I bought 'Smoke', 'Blue In The Face', 'The Music of Chance' from either HMV or Virgin in the UK (the first two seem to be more prevalent that the latter mind you). And you'll find a quick stop to Amazon or Blackstar will help you out I'm sure. Last time I looked however I don't think 'Lulu On The Bridge' was available on DVD or video but that might have changed. Anyway have a go and let me know how you get along. Stuart. Josh Kostka: Re: Auster Movies 31 January 2001 22:52 I have all of Auster's movies on tape - Smoke, Blue in the Face, The Music of Chance and Lulu on the Bridge. If you're interested, I could send you copies, maybe we could work out a deal if you are able to obtain any of the slightly harder to find books (The Art of Hunger etc.) we could make a trade or something. E-mail me if you're interested. Stuart Pilkington: Links to Auster's life in 'Leviathan' 19 January 2001 22:30 I knew I should write down my thoughts when reading Paul Auster's work - as soon as I've finished they seem to vanish from my mind. Anyway, just thought it might be interesting to start noting all the references to Paul's own life in the novel 'Leviathan' (or any others for that matter). Here goes for kick off...In Leviathan Peter Aaron (Paul Auster)'s second wife is called Iris (Siri [backwards]). Peter in the book has a son with his first wife Lillian (Lydia) called David (Daniel) and then a daughter with his second wife Iris called Sonia (Sophie). I know there were plenty of these cross references throughout the novel. Can you remember any others? Sysiphos: Re: Links to Auster's life in 'Leviathan' 21 January 2001 01:52 Don't forget that Aaron spent some time in France before he returned to New York... Isabelle De Bremaecker: Re: Links to Auster's life in 'Leviathan' 21 January 2001 14:16 There are lots of references of Paul Auster's own life in "Leviathan", as there are in most of his books.For example, Peter studied at Columbia University, so did Paul Auster. His first marriage was over around 1980, so did Paul Auster's. Both then lived in Varick Street. Both were professor at Princeton. Peter writes a novel entitled "Luna" which is closed to Paul Auster's "Moon Palace". One could also see a link between the detective in "New York Trilogy" and the work of Maria Turner : they both follow someone in the street but, of course, the purpose is different. Although there are many references of Paul Auster's own life in his work, I don't think we can read all of these as autobiographical works. As Maria Turner says in "Leviathan" : "All of my works are stories, and even if they are true stories, they are also invented. Or, even if they are invented, they are also true." (this is a translation from the French edition, the only one I have at home...) Isabelle Adam Fletcher: Re: Links to Auster's life in 'Leviathan' 23 January 2001 11:41 Peter lives around New York (and Sachs indeed lives in Park Slope) and summers in Vermont to write - Peter has recently returned from France where he was writing. Again, these are a bit off the top of my head, I'm sure there are a lot more. There is also a degree of synchronicity between the events of the novel and the Unabomber, which I remember led to a newspaper article mentioning Leviathan at the time of the Unabomber's trial. Stephen Uzzell: Hi Jonna 19 January 2001 22:17 I know what you mean. It's so complex, where do you start ? You could simplify things by concentrating on the book as Postmodern Detedtive fiction, inspired by Borges perhaps, and also maybe Pynchon's Lot 49 ? It's just an idea...By the way, if you want more like this, come along to..http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/brooklyncigarcompany Jonna: New York and Existence 16 January 2001 17:53 Hi! I'm a Finnish student writing my MA thesis on Auster and The New York Trilogy. I love his work although Timbuktu was a slight disappointment. He is such a challenge and one could easily drown in his work and thus I also find it hard to tackle for example The New York Trilogy. I've thought about a lot of angles to approach the trilogy and tried to combine it with existentialism but it seems to get too tricky in the end and I'm back where I started. Also, I've wondered about the names/ colours used; Blue (sky?), White (moon?), Black/Brown/Green (earth?) = existence? I'd be happy for any suggestions concerning a focus, approach to the work. Thanks for a marvellous page! Sysiphos: Re: New York and Existence 18 January 2001 02:20 Hi, I'm not an expert on Existentialism but if you look at the character of Daniel Quinn in terms of Camus' Sysiphos-Myth you could say that Daniel becomes aware of his absurd existence when the telephone rings and the person is asking for Auster. He doesn't really have a meaning to his life before that event. The irony now is that as soon as he starts fighting that absurdity in Camus' sense and trying to give his existence a new meaning, it's the reason for his downfall at the same time. He might not have been happier without that task (=a true meaning to his life) but at least he still had an existence. Nashe, in the Music of Chance, is in a similar situation at the end of the book, after he finished builidng the wall... I don't know if this makes any sense to you, it's just random thoughts, really, but I think looking at Austers work from an existentialist point of view is a very interesting perspective. Samuli Lampinen: Re: New York and Existence 22 January 2001 11:32 Päivää, I think I can help you. Send message to me and I get back to you.OK? Anonymous: Re: Re: New York and Existence 08 February 2001 07:27 Hmm, not sure if this'll help you but I thought I'd suggest it anyhow. I recently took a Comparative Literature class exploring different visions of American. The professor had us read Sacvan Bercovitch's "The Puritan Origins of the American Self" alongside "City of Glass." There are some great connections to be made about language, etc. and it really resonates throughout the Trilogy. Let me know if you'd like to know more. Meghan. Mats: Moon Palace 16 January 2001 17:04 In my opinion "Moon Palace" is just one of the greatest American novels. It's a fantastic family saga with incredible twists and turns. I've read all the Auster novels and this is just number one all the way.But still it's seldom mentioned on any page more than in a few short sentences. Why? I ask. Pugster: Re: Moon Palace 19 January 2001 18:42 I suppose people consider it to be too ramblins and solipsistic, but I agree about its greatness.. mirrors the great sweeping novels of the nineteenth century which cross time and continents. Very modern. Feel free to visit http://members.tripod.co.uk/Pugster/paulauster.html Part 2 of the dissertation on fatherhood discusses Moon Palace Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Moon Palace 21 January 2001 22:05 Mats, I've recently uploaded some more material to the Moon Palace page on this site - they're slightly fleshier than your average tone. Have a look if you feel the urge. Stuart Christian Seidl: Leviathan and the American Dream 15 January 2001 23:14 Hi, I'm a German Graduate Student of American Lit. and I'm planning to write my MA thesis on Leviathan, investigating how Auster is representing his concept of the American Dream in the novel. I think that Sachs is a personification of the American Ideals and his "fall" on America's 200th birthday depicts America's fall from its high ideals of democracy and liberty for all. My problem now is that I don't quite see how the narrator, Peter Aaron fits into the picture. On the one hand he envys Sachs for everything he has but on the other hand he is the one who is living a fulfilled, normal life. If anybody has any idea on this question or on anything regarding this topic I would be more than grateful. Thanks, Christian Adam Fletcher: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 16 January 2001 12:53 If you changed the names around, I think your American Dream analysis of Leviathan would work quite well for The Great Gatsby, which is, I think, an interesting connection. You've made me go back and re-read Leviathan yet again - I'll post another message when I have done. Christian Seidl: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 16 January 2001 16:41 Thanks for your input - you're perfectly right about the Great Gatsby. I haven't thought of the Nick-Gatsby connection before. I will go back to Gatsby again and check for clues... Pugster: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 19 January 2001 16:41 Isn't Peter Aaron the essential outsider in American Literature. The observer that sees the ideals of America (Sachs) both as something to be unsure and wary of, and as something to admire and idealise. He can't work out which he chooses, and as a result merely watches the fate of his friend play out, without really being able to contact/assist/effect him. He wants to be guided by Sachs the father, but with the father as unruly and unpredictable, Aaron is left stranded. Like the American forefathers (personified by their perfect ideals) left the nation fatherless becuase they provided dreams that could never quite live up to expectation. http://members.tripod.co.uk/Pugster/paulauster.html Christian: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 22 January 2001 03:22 Nice idea Pugster, I will certainly check out your dissertation. However, a friend of mine who was in divinity school pointed out to me that the biblical Leviathan was the Angel of Death and that he could be regarded as something like God's executive branch. If you follow this thought you might say that America's high ideals (Sachs before his fall) are a kind of legislation, the Phantom of Liberty is the executive (=Leviathan) and that would make Peter Aaron the judicative branch (judging over right and wrong). What do think about that idea? Pugster: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 22 January 2001 10:23 if Aaron is the judiciary, why does he become so embroiled in Sachs behaviour? to the point where he attempts to emulate and replace the space that Sachs once held, but usurping his position with his wife. He does make judgments, but they are not unbiased. Is he distanced enough as a narrator/observer to play judge? Samuli Lampinen: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 22 January 2001 11:12 Check Job 40-41. Christian: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 23 January 2001 20:40 I think we have to distínguish between Sachs before his fall and Sachs after his fall. You're certainly right when you say that Aaron is admiring Sachs, but that's the Sachs before the fall. After it happens there is a certain sense of detachment between the two. I think then Aaron is capable of unbiased judgements. Pugster: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 24 January 2001 09:59 It is after the fall of Sachs that Aaron becomes drawn into physicallyand emotionally striving to replace Sachs. you are right to say before the fall Aaron is in admiration, but the fall of Sachs is felt as a loss to Aaron, and he attempts to replace that loss by the series of different events. I still don't think he ever really detaches himself from Aaron, he can't, he merely changes the expression of that bond from filial admiration to a series of panicked attempts to fill the gap left by Sachs Christian: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 24 January 2001 12:53 I think I know what you mean when you're a talking about a series of actions Aaron is taking to take Sachs' place. I assume you are talking about things like his taking over of the house (and even the study!) in Vermont and such. However, I wouldn't call those "panic actions". I think it's a sign for Aaron's coming of age, by detaching himself of his big role model, or father figure if you prefer, he's finally able to become a full individual. I was also thinking about what you mentioned earlier, that Aaron is trying to fill Sach's place with Fanny. In fact, he was affected by her even before any of the two knew Sachs. Pugster: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 31 January 2001 14:02 How can he be detaching himself from his role model when he is merely trying to replace him by being in the same spaces that Sachs once occupied? He went to Vermont and used the study, like Sachs, but it didn't help him come to any conclusions. This is what drives the narrative, Aaron follows where Sachs has been in order to answer the questions he has about Sachs. However, because Sachs keeps moving on, (he himself is without real direction since the fall) Aaron can never catch up and find out enough complete information to really find out what is driving Sachs and by default himself. This lack of knowledge is filled with Aaron's searching for information about Sachs, a driving force which is never resolved, until he comes to the vague realisation that what he seeks to learn about Sachs can never be known. Christian: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leviathan and the American Dream 8 February 2001 02:39 I still don't quite agree. I don't think Aaron keeps trying to replace Sachs. He moves into the study, okay, but this is only to show that he is an independent writer himself now. He is not so much trying to replace Sachs than conquering his own position in the world. He also doesn't keep pn searching for Sachs. He comes to a point were he still care what's going on but where he isn't actively trying to find out anything anymore. The moment of Sach's fall is the precise moment in the text when Aaron is moving away from very personal acount of things towards a more or less objective report on what happened next. If he used to be able to understand Sachs to a certain point before the accident he now is no longer able to comprehend Sachs' motives or deed. He can only descrive them but no longer explain them or comment on them. Daniel: City of Glass as Graphic Novel version 15 January 2001 03:44 Last night I was starting to reread the stunning graphic version of The City of Glass. The drawings are simply a work of genius from start to finish. It is like seeing an excellent movie version of the novel come to life before your eyes. Highly recommended. Stuart Pilkington: Re: City of Glass as Graphic Novel version 15 January 2001 21:27 Thanks for that review Daniel. I haven't read much of Paul Auster's subsidiary work but I think Neon Lit's City of Glass will be high on my agenda especially after your recommendation. Isabelle De Bremaecker: Contacts with French literature 12 January 2001 22:45 I am a student and I am writing a thesis about Paul Auster and his contacts with French literature. I would be interested in any information about: - which French authors Auster actually met - which French books he read - etc. Thank you. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Contacts with French literature 15 January 2001 21:34 I apologise Isabelle a) for coming back so late and b) for coming back to you without an answer. All I can suggest is that you consult the articles on the biography page to see if they shed any light or indeed ask the question on the other Paul Auster forums listed on the message board page. I've skimmed 'Hand to Mouth' in search of an answer but in vain unfortunately. Paulo Sarmento: Re: Re: Contacts with French literature 15 March 2001 16:04 Hi! It seems to me that you would find some information on the french influences on Auster if you checked The Invention of Solitude (more precisely the second part of the book ("The Book of Memory") where Auster reflects on himself as a writer.Good Luck Pugster: real Auster thoughts 5 January 2001 18:54 I have completed a dissertation regarding the complete novels of Paul Auster and I will be shortly publishing it on my website. I would appreciate any feedback and submissions of any Paul Auster related writing. Also if you have any Auster links you might have come across, please send them to me. Stuart Pilkington: Re: real Auster thoughts 15 January 2001 21:39 I've had a look at your site Pugster and I must say I like the no-nonsense design and the content definitely held my interest - not always an easy thing to do - it looks really good - keep up the good work. Pugster: Re: Re: real Auster thoughts 19 January 2001 16:31 Cheers for the feedback. The dissertation is now up on the site. Please have a look and spread the word. Any other submissions, comments, reciprocal links, would be most appreciated. Thanks. Stephen Uzzell: Auster 4 January 2001 21:08 Come and join my new club on Yahoo : Brooklyn Cigar Company. It's gonna be the coolest place on the web ! Stuart Pilkington: Re: Auster 4 January 2001 21:10 I like the sound of that one Steve - I'm on my way... Anonymous: timbuktu 26 December 2000 23:52 I really love Mr. Bones Stuart Pilkington: Re: timbuktu 4 January 2001 21:12 I haven't read Timbuktu as yet Anon but I'm working my way in that direction. I look forward to acquainting myself with this Mr Bones character (I'm guessing he's the dog rather than the owner?). Anonymous: Re: Re: timbuktu 16 January 2001 01:52 Yes: that's the dog, the real main character Anonymous: No Subject 26 December 2000 23:47 about Timbuktu I agree with your point of wiew about dogs' mind. Adam Fletcher: Squeeze Play 18 December 2000 12:03 Why no mention of the separate publication of 'Squeeze Play' under pen-name Paul Benjamin? My particular enjoyment of this comes from the fact that, although I did not make the link with Paul Auster until it was mentioned in a review of 'Hand to Mouth', I had bought it from the same bookshop where, a week or so earlier, I had bought New York Trilogy on the basis of the title and the cover, knowing nothing about it, and had always associated the two books. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Squeeze Play 18 December 2000 20:42 Thanks for the reminder Adam - I must say I keep forgetting to add certain elements of his work. Debbie: Paul Auster 5 December 2000 19:12 I'm am raising a question in one of my essays for my english class about Paul Auster and was wondering if anyone can answer it for it. Here it goes....In Paul Auster's short story (Auggie Wren's Christmas Story) which is the story that is actually the x-mas story. Is it the whole story itself or just the one that Auggie Wren tells. Any information on this would be great. Thanx!! Debbie Stuart Pilkington: Re: Paul Auster 18 December 2000 20:44 Sorry to be so long in coming back to you Debbie. Can I suggest that you take a visit to Yahoo Austerland (on the message board page) - a couple of members are discussing Auggie Wren as we speak and they may be of assistance. Daniel: Re: Paul Auster 15 January 2001 03:47 If you re-read the title of the story you give yourself, you have your answer. Paul: Book title 21 November 2000 11:48 In Auster's New York Trilogy, does anybody know if the author "Hawthorne" that he speaks about in "Ghosts" is real, also is Fanshawe in "The Locked Room" a real author. I doubt he is but I would be really interested in knowing the title of the book Hawthorne wrote about leaving his wife, saying he was going on a business trip, and never returning until he was very old. thanks! Stuart Pilkington: Re: Book title 21 November 2000 12:16 Paul, one of the questions answered on the FAQ page is as follows: Who have been Paul Auster's main literary influences? Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Beckett, Shakespeare and Cervantes. As you can see Nathaniel Hawthorne is indeed real as well as appearing to have had some impact on Paul Auster himself. He wrote many books including 'The Scarlet Letter' and was quoted by Henry James to have "the closest approach we are likely to have to the Great American Novel." With regards to the particluar novel mentioned in 'Ghosts' I'm really not sure - maybe someone else can help on that one. And finally, you're right Fanshawe is a figment of Auster's imagination and not a real life writer. However because his novels intertwine reality and fiction so cleverly it's always difficult to know which is which. Thanks for dropping by. Anne Onymous: Re: Re: Book title 23 November 2000 16:40 The Hawthorne book does exist and it is publication today. The short story is called Wakefield and can usually be found in a compilation of Hawthorne's short stories. As for Fanshawe, as Stuart said, he is fiction, but not Auster's imagination. Hawthorne wrote a short story entitled Fanshawe. So there! Paulo Sarmento: Re: Book title 15 March 2001 16:13 The name of the story Auster is referring to is "Wakefield". Check:Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Wakefield. in The Cpmplete Novels and Selected Tales. Ed. Norman Holmes Pearson (New York, The modern Library, 1937)p. 920. Paulo Sarmento: Re: Book title 15 March 2001 16:19 As I think you know by now, Fanshawe does indeed refer to a romance written by Hawthorne.Just one more hint: it was written in 1828 and was published anonymously. Later Hawthorne tried to cancel it out of his own canon!!!! Hellfried: leviathan 15 November 2000 14:25 for the past 4 weeks i have read 4 of paul auster's novels ie timbuktu, the music of chance, invention of solitude and leviathan. i have just started on the ny trilogy. auster has become my latest obsession. his stories are highly original and his style of prose is unobtrusive enough to let the actual tale take the centre stage.....and what tales! i have to admit that i was a little disappointed by the ending og leviathan which wants us to believe that the identity of the phantom of liberty could have been found from lifting fingerprints from a book which has been sitting on the shelf of a store. i find it hard to believe that only 10 people has actually thumbed through it. Stuart Pilkington: Re: leviathan 21 November 2000 12:17 Unfortunately, because I'm reading 'Leviathan' at the moment I'm loathed to read your post as it might give something away. As soon as I've finished I'll come rushing back and see if I can help. Paulo Sarmento: Re: leviathan 15 May 2001 19:52 Hi there! Since you have in common that thing called Auster-Obsession I felt I should share with you something I find absolutely necessary if you enter Auster's world: His literary universe has its own laws and the question probability has no relevance to him, so we have to accept what comes along on its own terms and as Auster himself says:"As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true" Brian: Beard in 'Blue In The Face'? 11 November 2000 22:59 Hey how come Harvey Keitel has a beard on the front cover to 'Smoke' and 'Blue In The Face' and yet his character, Auggie Wren, is smooth as a baby's butt? Stuart Pilkington: Re: Beard in 'Blue In The Face'? 21 November 2000 12:23 Brian, I can only guess that when the actors were called back for the photo-shoot for the front covers and posters Harvey Keitel was midshoot on another film where he needed to don a beard. I've had a look at around that time and it might have been on 'Get Shorty' or 'City of Industry' but I'm not sure. I remember a similar thing in Britain where Matthew Broderick's beard had to be airbrushed out for similar reasons. Jane: Re: Re: Beard in 'Blue In The Face'? 17 December 2000 18:31 jee Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Re: Beard in 'Blue In The Face'? 18 December 2000 20:45 Jee indeed! Wendy Chapple: Auster and Postmodern thought 11 November 2000 20:16 I am an MA design student at Central Saint Martins, London and am embarking on Illustrating 'City of Glass'. Having read the New York trilogy I felt I was reading something that relates specifically to contemporary postmodern thought and through this book Auster is dealing with an area of study taken up by the structuralists and post structuralists, et al = Our relationship between language and reality. Help anyone? Stuart Pilkington: Re: Auster and Postmodern thought 11 November 2000 20:27 Wendy, apologies for coming back to you so quickly but I'm updating the site at the moment and the message came straight through. I'm afraid when it comes to the terminology related to postmodernism I get a tad lost however I can heartily recommend a book called 'Beyond The Red Notebook' to help answer your question or if you visit some of the related links on the 'Articles' and 'Essays and Other Related Work' pages. You may want to post your question in the other forums as well - you can find them on the 'Message Board' page. All I can say though is that Paul Auster, from what I've read, doesn't class himself as a postmodernism - it was never his conscious intention anyway - he says that if his work has coincided with any of the movements you mentioned then it was purely coincidental. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you get somewhere with your question. It would also be superb if you could send me some copies of your illustrations when you have finished so I can upload them to the site (only if you want to that is ). Brian: City of Glass - a movie? 11 November 2000 17:42 I noticed in the New York Trilogy section that there are a couple of links to the 'City of Glass' as a film. Has this been done? Does anyone know anything about this? I can't see it registered anywhere else e.g. Internet Movie Database? Anonymous: Re: City of Glass - a movie? 13 November 2000 11:36 I e-mailed the author of the site Brian and he replied saying that it was all done for fun. They'd take books or other means of inspiration and turn them into films i.e. they'd become 'virtual producers', producing synopses and film posters etc. Meghan: Mapping City of Glass? 12 October 2000 05:30 I'm currently studying "City of Glass" in a comparative literature course at DePaul University. After spending weeks on the book and attempting to solve as many puzzles as we possibly could, we tried mapping Quinn's walk in Chapter 11. Perhaps it was the map we were using but a coherant image didn't appear. We have some ideas about what it MIGHT be and I've heard from other people that an image does form. Could anyone who's succeeded at this please let me know what Quinn's path forms? Thanks! Stuart Pilkington: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 12 October 2000 19:38 I've read The New York Trilogy but I haven't studied or discussed the books within. They are indeed mysterious and open to interpretation. Maybe you could send some of the knowledge you've gained my way so some time. Apologies for not knowing the answer to your question. I would be interested to know myself...have you got Barone's 'Beyond The Red Notebook' - maybe there's something in there? Meghan: Re: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 13 October 2000 05:05 I took a look at "Beyond the Red Notebook" a few weeks ago but I didn't automatically find the information I wanted. For your information, after squinting at and rotating the map, it looks like a gun. This detail would correspond with Quinn's initially inexplicable first dream, in which he sees a gun shooting at a blank white wall. We had originally interpreted the gun as a tribute to the detective novel genre. It makes a lot of sense to have the map form a gun since the walk occurs just before Quinn enters the 69th Street building and the room with "4 white walls." I dunno, just some interesting theorizing and more evidence of Auster's genius. The small class of 12 students and the professor have become quite obsessed with the novella, as evidenced by our compulsive interpretive behaviors. Chris: Re: Re: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 6 November 2000 00:31 Meghan - I've read much of Auster's fiction and autobiographical books. It seems clear to me that he has suffered with clinical depression. I believe he wrote City of Glass as a disturbing answer to the question "What if I (Paul Auster) would have continued to write hack mystery novels-- what would have become of me." Prior to city of glass-- he had undergone a divorce, was almost pennyless and missed his child tremendously. I take the image of the gun rather literally. I'd say it appearance represents nothing more than his thoughts of suicide that he must have been experiencing. I don't think that this is "psychologically" insightful though. I'd be willing to be that he probably did it knowlingly and thought it was an amusing inside joke-- with himself. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 11 November 2000 22:31 I've just read this in an interview with Paul Auster: CP: So you didn't have anything in mind when you were making him have that route? You weren't tracing out any shape? PA: No, no. CP: I was wondering, because you had Stillman tracing out those letters earlier in the book. I thought that this might have been another message written on the streets with someone's footsteps. PA: I know, I know. In fact, quite a few people have mentioned this, and have worked out that picture, but it doesn't add up to anything. Again - mystery where there is no mystery. Meghan Sitar: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 15 November 2000 10:12 Thank you for the interview excerpt! Very helpful. Renko: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mapping City of Glass? 27 December 2000 17:20 hello drew a map of the last 30 pages or so and it looked like huge 3, as in nytrilogy... it has to have meaning, it is quite obvious... by the way, does anyone know for how long paul a. has known sophie calle? i am writing an essay on that topic but it's kinda hard to get biographical notes... and in the end sophie calle has done all that stuff he writes about... renko Lindsay: Music of Change 13 September 2000 16:53 i was just on amazon and noticed the Music of Change (June 2000), can some one tell me what this is? Stuart Pilkington: Re: Music of Change 13 September 2000 19:55 Lindsay, if it was 'The Music of Chance' you saw then I can tell you that it is Paul Auster's fifth novel (actually my favourite) and revolves around two characters called Nashe and Pozzi. It's a road movie of a book and was actually put to celluloid in 1993 in a film with James Spader. It's a good representation of a great book in my opinion. Stuart Isa: Re: Re: Music of Change 3 October 2000 22:33 Hi, I didn't know there was film made of that book. Is it any good? What is it called? Isa: Re: Re: Re: Music of Change 3 October 2000 22:39 sorry, this was my first visit on this site and hadn't searched it all, found the answer myself - hm... don't think I will bother to try and find the film. Stuart Pilkington: Re: Re: Re: Re: Music of Change 4 October 2000 00:34 Why's that Isa? |
