Paul auster He is one of the best-known American writers thanks to his books having been translated into more than forty languages. Paul Auster's works are characterized by writing detective literature but you can also find topics such as existentialism, the search for meaning or personal identity.
Over the years he has published many books, but on this occasion we want to highlight seven of his works because they are very representative of the author. Take a look at what those titles are.
invisible
«In 1967, Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University, attends a party where he meets an enigmatic couple formed by the sophisticated Rudolf Born and the silent and seductive Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself trapped in a perverse triangle that, after a sudden act of violence, will alter the course of his life forever.
Three different narrators tell the story of Invisible, a time-traveling novel from 1967 to 2007, moving from Morningside Heights to the Left Bank of Paris and from there to a remote island in the Caribbean. A work about youthful anger, sexual hunger and the relentless search for justice.
With an uncompromising vision, Auster places us on the blurry boundary between truth and memory, between authorship and identity, to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as "one of the American authors with the most prodigious imagination." ».
We can't tell you that it is the author's best novel, nor the easiest to read, but Yes, you can notice the change of the writer in his pen. Remember that these go through several phases and evolve. And this is perhaps a "before and after" of Auster.
Leviathan
«It all starts from a suspicion: a man has died in an explosion and, for the moment, the FBI has not been able to identify him. For the narrator of the story, Peter Aaron, everything indicates that it is his old friend Benjamin Sachs, who has been missing for some time. To find out the reasons that may have led to his fatal outcome, he will reconstruct the experiences of the ill-fated Sachs with whom Aaron shares more than just a common past.
As you can see in the synopsis, Leviathan is a story that tells the life of a man, but not from his point of view, but through his best friend.
It is characterized by having a simple narrative and a plot full of mystery. The characters are quite complex and there is a great emotional charge.
The Book of Illusions
«Months after the accident in which his wife and son died, David Zimmer, writer and professor in Vermont, writes a book about the only person who has managed to restore his smile, the silent film actor Hector Mann, who disappeared decades ago.
In Paul Auster's tenth novel, the narrative of Hector Mann's life as told by Zimmer is mixed with what happens to the professor and with the actor's filmography, creating powerful intertwined stories that blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. .
From the perspective of David Zimmer, a university professor who has just lost his family in an accident, the story focuses on the "obsession" of the protagonist with writing a book about Hector Mann, an actor who disappeared in the 20s. Thus, the author deals with topics such as depression, isolation, the trajectory of a fictional character and an ending that we better not tell you about.
The music of chance
«A wild and unpredictable story, like the chance that drives the existence of the protagonists.
After inheriting a sum as considerable as it is unexpected, Jim Nashe leaves his city, Boston, behind and embarks on an escape trip with no specific destination, riding a red Saab. In the solitude of the road he meets Jack Pozzi, a young professional poker player, who survives from the game and who offers him a partnership. Together they will try to outwit a couple of millionaires, something that could change the course of their lives.
With great originality and a simple narrative that is easy to connect with the reader, Auster offers us a well-written book although many complain about the same thing: the ending was too hasty and left many doubts in the air.
The New York Trilogy
«A contemporary classic and one of the works that consolidated Paul Auster as an international best seller. Three sides of the same story with which the American writer reinvented the detective genre.
In The City of Glass, Daniel Quinn, a crime writer, receives a phone call from a stranger who takes him for a detective and entrusts him with a case. In Ghosts, a private detective and the man he must watch play hide-and-seek in a claustrophobic urban universe. In The Locked Room the protagonist must confront the memories of a childhood friend when he receives the news of his disappearance.
As the title indicates, It is made up of three detective novel books: City of Glass, Ghosts and The Locked Room.
We could say that this trilogy was Paul Auster's launch into the international market and he was recognized as one of the best American writers.
Baumgartner
«To live in fear of losing is to refuse to live. The long-awaited return to Paul Auster's novel.
Baumgartner is an eminent writer and university professor, as eccentric as he is incredibly tender, who lost his wife nine years ago. His life was defined by the deep and abiding love he felt for Anna and now, at 71, he continues to struggle to live in her absence.
Their common story begins in 1968, when they meet as penniless students in New York and despite being almost opposites in many aspects, they begin a passionate relationship that will last for forty years. The overcoming of grief over the loss of Anna is interspersed with wonderful stories - from her youth in Newark to her father's life as a failed revolutionary in Eastern Europe - and with a powerful reflection on the way we love at different stages of life. life".
In 2023, Paul Auster published this new book, his last so far. And there was a small break in terms of novels since he spent almost six years without publishing a novel.
The Immortal Flame by Stephen Crane
«A fascinating journey through the figure of Stephen Crane and the years in which the United States went from being the country of Billy the Kid to becoming Rockefeller's America.
Owner of a life as fleeting as it was intense, Stephen Crane is a unique figure in literature. Always pushed by the lack of money, he survived poorly during the last third of the 19th century writing articles, novels, stories and poetry, he worked as a war correspondent and defended the rights of the most disadvantaged. In love with the Wild West and the underworld, he survived a shipwreck, confronted the police, cultivated a strong friendship with Joseph Conrad and died of tuberculosis in Germany at the age of twenty-eight: his flame burned until it consumed him and turned him into an indisputable classic. .
The Crane years (1871-1900) are also those of a time in which the United States was preparing to leave behind the America of Billy the Kid and enter the America of Rockefeller, thus becoming the capitalist power that would dominate the world. .
In these pages, Paul Auster puts his indisputable skill as a writer at the service of an exciting biography that reads like a literary western.
Two years before the previous book, Auster published this one. But really, as you have seen, it is not a novel, but a essay in which he reviews the life of Stephen Crane.
Have you read any of these works by Paul Auster? Do you recommend any more?