6 Followers
1 Following
SJane

SJane

Currently reading

Almost No Memory
Lydia Davis
Selected Poems
Philippe Jaccottet
The Tiger's Wife
Téa Obreht
Charles Dickens (Penguin Lives)
Jane Smiley
The Mansion of Happiness
Robin Ekiss
Schriften
Erik Satie
Oracle Night - Paul Auster Paul Auster is really good storyteller, and there a lot of stories in here. I was drawn into all the plots and imaginings, and liked the meta-fictional aspect of it all, and how all the threads connected back to the main plot. The main plot - writer recovering from an illness experiences vague marriage problems - was probably the least interesting plot of all until the end of the book. I don't mean it in a derogatory way - it also reflects how writers are able to create major fires from minor sparks.
I do take issue, though, with the protagonist and his "luminous" wife giving his penis a name. I always find this ridiculous. I guess it's part of the effort to create "believable" characters. Real men name their penises, so must Sidney Orr (the protagonist). Even with this charming quirk, I found the characters in this book - the non-meta characters anyway - a bit flat. And Sidney, for all his tribulations, conjured barely a glimmer of sympathy from me, even though he's hardly a bad or stupid or dorky guy. That was the weakness of this book for me, but it was much compensated for in the clever and involving plots.
4 stars, just barely. But I did go out and buyCity of Glass this afternoon, so rah rah.