The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster
About the book
'One day there is life . . . and then, suddenly, it happens there is death.'
So begins The Invention of Solitude, Paul Auster's moving and personal meditation on fatherhood. The first section, 'Portrait of an Invisible Man', reveals 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 son to his role as 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.
Review
Praise for The Invention of Solitude
“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationship.”
– The New York Times Book Review“Integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation. . .as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living.” – Newsday
“Eloquent. . .Paul Auster’s memoir combines the subjects of time, language, and family into a beautifully moving and intelligent mosaic.” – Charles Baxter
About the Author
Paul Auster
Paul Auster was born in Newark, New Jersey in the United States in 1947. He graduated from Columbia University with an MA degree. In 1970 he worked as a merchant seaman on an Esso oil tanker. From 1971 to 1974 he lived in France, spending two years in Paris and one in Provence. After returning to New York in 1974, he began his writing career. Throughout the 1970s he wrote mainly poetry and essays which appeared in various magazines including the New York Review of Books. During the 1980s he concentrated on prose writing: a memoir and four novels were published. His screenplay Smoke and Blue in the Face was published in April 1996 to coincide with the release of the film, and in 1999 Faber published the screenplay Lulu on the Bridge. The Art of Hunger (a collection of essays, interviews and prose) and his Selected Poems were published in November 1998. He is the author of nine novels, including his most recent outing The Brooklyn Follies.
| Author | Paul Auster |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Faber |
| Publication date | 3 November 2005 |
| Language | English |
| Number of page | 192 pages |
| Product Dimensions | 12.6 x 1.4 x 19.8 cm |
| Binding | Paperback |
| ISBN | 978-0571227273 |
| In the box | 1x Main Product |