Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Timbuktu

3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 · rating details · 5,311 ratings · 427 reviews

Mr. Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's astonishing new book, is the sidekick and confidant of Willy G. Christmas, a brilliant and troubled homeless man from Brooklyn. As Willy's body slowly expires, he sets off with Mr. Bones for Baltimore in search of his high school English teacher and a new home for his companion. Mr. Bones is our witness during their journey, and

...more

Paperback, 181 pages

Published May 2000 by Picador (first published 1999)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Great "Dog" Books

59th out of 441 books — 973 voters

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

286th out of 934 books — 2,464 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 03, 2012 Shovelmonkey1 rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: 1001 book readers looking for a speed read

Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: 1001 book list

Shelves: 1001-books

Stop Press!
This is not your typical Paul Auster book. This is what Paul Auster books would be like if he suddenly decided the murky world of convoluted, maze-like po-mo literature was not for him and thought "I know, I'll write a nice book for children." Except this is a nice a book for adults.

I was suckered in by the picture of the moist-eyed dog on the cover and the fact that this is on the 1001 books to read before you die list meant that of course I was going to read it. I'm pretty sure thi...more

14 likes · like · see review

Apr 21, 2008 Darin Strachan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-writers

I stumbled upon this book at a used book store when I was trading in some older material. This was a pleasurable treasure to find.

The book is told omniscient narrator, but it follows the life and thoughts of Mr. Bones, a loyal and loveable canine. Willy G. Christmas is old Bonesy's master. Willy suffers from schizophrenia, but using the dog as the central character creates a unique way to look at his master's condition.

This book is a pretty simple read, but Auster fills each page with subtle ins...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 23, 2011 Will Byrnes rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mr. Bones is living a dog’s life. He is almost a peer to his master Willy G. Christmas. Willy is a kind-hearted, but damaged man, a child of holocaust survivors. Given to delusions, and writing poetry, he is homeless and in failing health. The road trip here is a walking journey to Baltimore, home to Bea Swanson, beloved high school teacher. He wants to offer to her his mass of unpublished writings, and to find Mr. Bones a home before his swan song. According to Willy, on the other side of death...more Mr. Bones is living a dog’s life. He is almost a peer to his master Willy G. Christmas. Willy is a kind-hearted, but damaged man, a child of holocaust survivors. Given to delusions, and writing poetry, he is homeless and in failing health. The road trip here is a walking journey to Baltimore, home to Bea Swanson, beloved high school teacher. He wants to offer to her his mass of unpublished writings, and to find Mr. Bones a home before his swan song. According to Willy, on the other side of death lies Timbuktu, a place where everything is wonderful.

The story is told in the third person omniscient, but really we are seeing the world through the eyes of Mr. Bones. Bones is not your typical dog. Although he lives in a world of scent and likes his bit of tail, he is a thoughtful critter. He is doggedly loyal to Willy, staying with him to the end. Auster takes things a bit beyond, as he likes to do. Bones not only thinks like a person, he dreams like one. Maybe his dreams are more like detailed premonitions. In one he transforms into an insect, then flies along with an ambulance to the hospital where Willy ultimately passes.

Willy does pass on, so Bones has to make his way in the world alone. He tries hunting with minimal success, finds a meal ticket via a lonely Chinese boy named Henry Chow. The boy is afflicted with a father who hates dogs, and, most unsettling to Bones, he lives above a Chinese restaurant. He heads for the hills after dad finds out, and finds his way into a nice suburban home. The mom, Polly, and her young daughter, Alice, love him, as does the little boy, Tiger. But the home is not entirely happy and dad, Dick, is not thrilled about having a hairy animal around his pristine home.

Even though his life has moved on, Bones is still visited in his dreams by the love of his life, Willy, and by the story’s end, he is facing his own demise. Can dogs be admitted to Timbuktu as well as people?

This may sound like a grim tale. It is not. It is a character portrait, of a dog and his man. A love story, with commentary on poetry, dreams, artistic ambitions, identity, what is important in life, with some observations about life in general and people in particular. I remain perplexed by the odd item or two, but this was an engaging, enjoyable read. Good book, good book, good.
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 29, 2012 Booknblues rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, contemporary-fiction

Timbuktu
By Paul Auster
4 stars
pp. 181

Timbuktu is a slim book and yet is a deeply affecting tale with Paul Auster’s wonderful prose. Mr. Bones, the hero of the tale is a Heinz 57 variety pooch who understands Ingloosh and is owned by Willie G. Christmas, who is a homeless bard who means to spread the gospel of Christmas around the country but sometimes becomes trapped in fits of psychosis and alcoholism.

I love the way that Auster develops Mr. Bones’ character. I was able to see how truly precariou...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2012 Paula rated it 5 of 5 stars

Using third-person omniscient narrative voice but through a point of view of a dog Auster gives us an account of a personal tragedy of a dying vagabond schizophrenic poet Willy G. Christmas and his only friend and confidant Mr Bones, his old faithful.

The novella opens with Willy's imminent death and a struggle to find his old schoolteacher to entrust her with his writing and to ask her to find Bones a new home.
None of his efforts, however, yields success; Willy passes on leaving Bones on his own...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 08, 2007 liz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary

I remember reading about this book when it first came out, and feeling very interested (I think it was around the same time as another novel narrated from the point of view of a dog?). Anyway, Mr. Bones is the intelligent, spiritual, philosophical companion of one Willy G. Christmas, a bum with good intentioned. Willy is dying. We get, through Mr. Bones's eyes, the story of Willy's life and death, and the subsequent story of how Mr. Bones must fend for himself. I really loved this book... up unt...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 03, 2008 Murasaki_neko rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: dog lovers

Shelves: bookclubs

This book is written with an amazing sense of detail. The style is gritty and very visual. The person who lent it to me loved it, and so did several other people in a book club I belong to.

I think this is just not a book for me. It is written from the point of view of a dog, and is full of descriptions of smells and bodily fluids, and I frequently found myself grossed out. I also ended up skipping over pages of rambling monologues from the dog's master, and the book is so short that those rambli...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2009 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

This is a moving and unsettling picture book that isn't for young children. A dog whose homeless master dies seeks a place to call home and to understand what it means to live.

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 21, 2008 Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars

A dog's eye view of this world and a few decent folks in it. Auster steps down from on high and gives us a nice little novella.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 25, 2013 Sadie rated it 2 of 5 stars

“Timbuktu” is the story of Willy G. Christmas and his dog, Mr. Bones. The tale is told from the dog’s perspective. He describes the life of Willy Christmas as they roam the streets of Baltimore searching for the home of Willy’s high school English teacher. Willy hopes to give Mr. Bones to his teacher, as he is dying and does not want to leave Mr. Bones to the streets. Willy is a mentally and emotionally troubled soul who has a history of mental illness and drug abuse. Mr. Bones is his only frien...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Mika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Paul Austerin romaanissa Timbuktu keskeisenä teemoina ovat kuolema ja kaipauksen tuska. Sitä käsitellään allegorisesti koiran näkökulmasta. Näkökulma on yllättävä, mutta valinta toimii yllättävän hyvin, sillä Auster on loistava tarinankertoja.

Romaanin päähenkilö on sekarotuinen hurtta nimeltään Mr Bones. Koiran ja hänen isäntänsä suhdetta pohditaan koskettavasti, sillä omistaja on elämänsä kalkkiviivoilla oleva mielisairas ”joulupukin ja Buddhan inkarnaatio” sekä epäonnistunut runoilija sekä päi...more Paul Austerin romaanissa Timbuktu keskeisenä teemoina ovat kuolema ja kaipauksen tuska. Sitä käsitellään allegorisesti koiran näkökulmasta. Näkökulma on yllättävä, mutta valinta toimii yllättävän hyvin, sillä Auster on loistava tarinankertoja.

Romaanin päähenkilö on sekarotuinen hurtta nimeltään Mr Bones. Koiran ja hänen isäntänsä suhdetta pohditaan koskettavasti, sillä omistaja on elämänsä kalkkiviivoilla oleva mielisairas ”joulupukin ja Buddhan inkarnaatio” sekä epäonnistunut runoilija sekä päihteiden sekakäyttäjä Puolan siirtolaistaustainen William Gurewich Baltimoressa.

Koko elämänsä harhaillut epäonninen juoppo tulee tekemään kuolemaa kotikaupunkiinsa ja palaa synnyinlukionsa liepeille tavoitteenaan antaa koko kirjallinen tuotantonsa häntä innoittaneelle äidinkielenopettajalleen Bea Swansonille.

Kaikkea tätä tarkastellaan siis Mr Bonesin näkökulmasta, ja koira on inhimillisempi kuin keskivertoihminen. Kohtaloaan ei voi kuitenkaan estää, sillä ” sitten kun huomaa seisovansa tuonelan portilla, sitä ei kaikilla Kiinan nuudeleillakaan estetä aukeamasta”. Näin sitten tapahtuukin, ja pitkän kuolinkorinan viime henkäyksiä piski ei tietenkään pääse sairaalaan, mutta onnistuneen uskottava ratkaisu on pieni tilapäinen inkarnaatio: Mr Bones pääsee seuraamaan kärpäsenä katossa koskettavaa murhenäytelmää.

Toisessa osassa monien takaumien avulla kaksikon elämästä ja varsinkin Williamin elämästä tehdään erityisen koskettava tragedia. Sitä tehostavat mm. monet yhteiset vuoden ja isännän ankeat lapsuuskokemukset, jotka ovat osaltaan johtaneet epäonnisen taipaleen päätepisteeseen.
Kaikkea menettämäänsä ja kokemaansa pohtien Mr Bones alkaa nähdä enneunia ja myös toiveunia paratiisista, jota isäntä kutsui Timbuktuksi. Siellä kuolleet ystävät palaavat yhteen, ja sitä yksinäinen koiraparkakin alkaa toivoa.

Monien vaiheiden ja vastoinkäymisten jälkeen Mr Bones onnistuu löytämään itselleen uuden, kelvollisen kodin, jossa häntä rakastetaan. Kaikki eivät kuitenkaan rakasta, vaan häntä kohdellaan osin kuin eläintä. Kaikki näyttää hyvältä, mutta kuitenkin kaikkein oleellinen tuntuu puuttuvan. Entistä ei mikään voi korvata, ja uusi perhekin tuntuu vain korvikkeelta, väljähtyneeltä, vain yksinäisyyden hetkellisenä helpottajana.

Kaikesta huolimatta Mr Bones ei voi elää sellaisessa valheessa, sillä hänen rakkaansa, kaikesta huolimatta, on ainoa, jolla on hänen elämässään merkitystä. Hän on William, joka odottaa Timbuktussa. Sinne johtaa vilkas tie, jolle Mr Bones viimeisillä voimillaan on matkalla…
(less)

like · see review

Oct 23, 2012 Lucrezia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Il primo libro che leggo di Auster , esperienza senza dubbio positiva ... Si potrebbe definire un on the road tutto particolare.... A narrare la storia in questo caso però è un cane. Tale Mr Bones (che bel nome per un cane, devo dire , fa molto chic). Mr Bones non è un cane qualsiasi, è dotato di un ' Intelligenza non comune per la sua specie, e anche di una notevole dose di saggezza e di senso pratico; quello che manca al suo padrone, ma più che padrone compagno di vita, William Gurevitch,logor...more Il primo libro che leggo di Auster , esperienza senza dubbio positiva ... Si potrebbe definire un on the road tutto particolare.... A narrare la storia in questo caso però è un cane. Tale Mr Bones (che bel nome per un cane, devo dire , fa molto chic). Mr Bones non è un cane qualsiasi, è dotato di un ' Intelligenza non comune per la sua specie, e anche di una notevole dose di saggezza e di senso pratico; quello che manca al suo padrone, ma più che padrone compagno di vita, William Gurevitch,logorroico filosofo e moderno scrittore Beat, che si è fatto ribattezzare Willy G.Christmas, a seguito di una bizzarra annunciazione/visione natalizia, ( di cui non voglio svelare nulla) dopo essersi fatto tatuare su un braccio babbo natale. Willy ha una missione , un vocazione , un compito nella vita ,definitelo pure come vi piace, e vale a dire:

"E’ tutto quello che ho sognato, Mr. Bones. Migliorare il mondo. Portare un po’ di bellezza negli angoli grigi e monotoni dell’anima. Ci puoi riuscire con un tostapane, ci puoi riuscire con una poesia, o tendendo la mano a uno sconosciuto. Non importa la forma. Ecco, lasciare un mondo un po’ migliore di come l’hai trovato. E’ la cosa più bella che possa fare un uomo."

E cosi il giorno di natale in particolar modo , ma tutti i giorni dell' anno effettivamente, Willy si mette le gambe in spalla e accompagnato dal suo fedele compagno cerca di rendere il mondo un posto migliore, sbronzo o in preda ad uno dei suoi attacchi di schizofrenia, inutile dire che troppe volte gli va storta, ma qualche volta gli va anche bene. Sempre senza un soldo in tasca, costretto spessissimo a dormire al addiaccio o a digiunare la maggior parte delle volte, nonostante tutto Willy continua la sua missione... Finché un giorno lui e Mr Bones sono costretti a separarsi, e dopo una mirabolante sogno reincarnazione di Mr Bones , questo riprende le sue peregrinazioni da solo alla ricerca di una nuova vita. Sulla sua strada difficoltà di ogni genere, ma nonostante tutto nei suoi sogno potrà sempre avere l' appoggio del suo compagno di vita, che lo consiglierà, nel suo bizzarro modo, sulle scelte migliori da fare:

"Willy annui.- adesso vado,- aggiunse,- ma prima voglio solo ricordarti una cosa che potresti avere dimenticato-. Si era già alzato in piedi e aspettava che le porte si aprissero.- te la ricordi Mami-san, Mr Bones?
-Sicuro che la ricordo. Per chi mi hai preso?
-Bene... Hanno tentato di uccidere anche lei. Le hanno dato la caccia peggio che a un cane,e per salvarsi non ha avuto altra scelta che fuggire. Anche gli uomini possono essere trattati come cani amico mio, e a volta devono dormire nei fienili e nei prati perché non hanno altri posti dove andare .Prima di compiangerti troppo , ricorda almeno che non sei il primo cane a restare solo."

Così, nonostante tutto, Mr Bones continuerà il suo viaggio, finché non deciderà di raggiungere il suo padrone nella terra dei suoi sogni Timbuctù. Un posto magico e favoloso dove finalmente i cani e gli uomini possono a parlarsi da pari a pari e dove Willy e lui non potranno più essere separati ...

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites-i-would-re-read

This was a terrific story. Short book, read it in almost one sitting. Tale from a dog’s perspective of life with his homeless master. Willie Guervich, Mr. Bones’ master, is the schizophrenic homeless man from Brooklyn. Mr. Bones is the dog, he understands humans and remembers things from when he was a puppy and things about Willie.

In the story we start with Willie, who changes his last name to Christmas, and Mr. Bones going to Baltimore Maryland to look for Willie’s old teacher who supported hi...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 21, 2011 Matthew Fitzgerald rated it 3 of 5 stars

Paul Auster, “Timbuktu”

I opened this slim Auster novel with memories of vague disappointment with his New York Trilogy, which I seemed to enjoy less with each “installment.” I liked the first book well enough, but they seemed to become progressivity less coherent, more experiments with style, like reading a cubist novel whose goal is to be richly cubist, story be damned. I wasn’t interested in more of that, so I was pleasantly surprised that within the first few pages, the simple, unpretentious...more Paul Auster, “Timbuktu”

I opened this slim Auster novel with memories of vague disappointment with his New York Trilogy, which I seemed to enjoy less with each “installment.” I liked the first book well enough, but they seemed to become progressivity less coherent, more experiments with style, like reading a cubist novel whose goal is to be richly cubist, story be damned. I wasn’t interested in more of that, so I was pleasantly surprised that within the first few pages, the simple, unpretentious prose of Auster drew me in, as did the unique perspective of Mr. Bones. At once joyfully innocent and lucid, and at other times brimming with all-to-human self-consciousness, Mr. Bones is our window into the pretty mundane and ordinary world made extraordinary because of his unique perspective, unencumbered by the doubt and over-analysis and fear and knowledge that comes with being human. Mr. Bones is nakedly emotional: his love for his master Willy, his searching for a new home, his genuine hope, and the compromises with the world and his own memories he has to make along the way. The book overall is an enjoyable melancholic read that reverberates with the loss of Willy, but unfortunately, Willy is the most interesting character in the book. Through Mr. Bones’s memories, we learn a lotf of crazy, interesting things about Willy. But once he’s gone – and that happens early in the book, so I don’t feel that I’m giving anything away – there are no new characters to connect with. Even the family Mr. Bones finally finds himself with are heavily characterized, strongly if briefly given some interiority, but within pages the characters disappear, that building goes nowhere, and the book ends. Perhaps these narrows rays of light cast on stifled suburban desperation are what Auster wants us to see, fleeting glimpses of minor tragedies, so we can appreciate an eccentric and free outsider like Willy, who for all his problems is clearly a good person who lived with hope, both in his own abilities and the world? Or perhaps the author just ran out of steam and lazily wrapped up the book without attending to such minor details as character or satisfying conclusions? Or maybe it’s both, and you get what you put into this slim, enjoyable, yet authentically slippery and opaque novel. That’s just Auster.

(less)

like · see review

Sep 16, 2010 Parksy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quick read. Interesting look at life through the eyes of a dog.

Amazon.com
In Timbuktu Paul Auster tackles homelessness in America using a dog as his point-of-view character. Strange as the premise seems, it's been done before, in John Berger's King, and it actually works. Filtering the homeless experience through the relentlessly unsentimental eye of a dog, both writers avoid miring their tales in an excess of melodrama. Whereas Berger's book skips among several characters, Timbuktu remains tight...more Quick read. Interesting look at life through the eyes of a dog.

Amazon.com
In Timbuktu Paul Auster tackles homelessness in America using a dog as his point-of-view character. Strange as the premise seems, it's been done before, in John Berger's King, and it actually works. Filtering the homeless experience through the relentlessly unsentimental eye of a dog, both writers avoid miring their tales in an excess of melodrama. Whereas Berger's book skips among several characters, Timbuktu remains tightly focused on just two: Mr. Bones, "a mutt of no particular worth or distinction," and his master, Willy G. Christmas, a middle-aged schizophrenic who has been on the streets since the death of his mother four years before. The novel begins with Willy and Mr. Bones in Baltimore searching for a former high school English teacher who had encouraged the teenage Willy's writerly aspirations. Now Willy is dying and anxious to find a home for both his dog and the multitude of manuscripts he has stashed in a Greyhound bus terminal. "Willy had written the last sentence he would ever write, and there were no more than a few ticks left in the clock. The words in the locker were all he had to show for himself. If the words vanished, it would be as if he had never lived."

Paul Auster is a cerebral writer, preferring to get to his reader's gut through the brain. When Willy dies, he goes out on a sea of words; as for Mr. Bones, this is a dog who can think about metaphysical issues such as the afterlife--referred to by Willy as "Timbuktu":

What if no pets were allowed? It didn't seem possible, and yet Mr. Bones had lived long enough to know that anything was possible, that impossible things happened all the time. Perhaps this was one of them, and in that perhaps hung a thousand dreads and agonies, an unthinkable horror that gripped him every time he thought about it.

Once Willy dies and Mr. Bones is on his own, things go from bad to worse as the now masterless dog faces a series of betrayals, rejections, and disappointments. By stepping inside a dog's skin, Auster is able to comment on human cruelties and infrequent kindnesses from a unique world view. But reader be warned: the world in Timbuktu is a bleak one, and even the occasional moments of grace are short lived. --Alix Wilber -

From Library Journal
Meet discerning and sympathetic Mr. Bones, a dog who is unconditionally faithful to his troubled master, Willy G. Christmas. Auster's leading human character is once again a tormented writer from Brooklyn who blindly believes in his ideals and willingly chooses to become a vagabond (see, for instance, Leviathan, LJ 7/92). But the real hero is the four-legged creature who follows him on his impromptu journeys and leads readers through the story. Yes, he thinks and he understands, and although he cannot speak, he keenly observes and contemplates the questionable logic of human behavior. The beginning of the story is promising; the middle gets suspiciously trivial but is rescued by a clever and moving ending. This is not the kind of work Auster has been praised for, but it proves his hunger for innovation once again. Timbuktu will undoubtedly provoke mixed responses, but that is the price of originality.(less)

like · see review

Apr 01, 2010 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it 2 of 5 stars

I failed to connect with this book not because it isn't well-written (it is) or it has a boring story (the story is interesting, unique and with a bittersweet ending). Paul Auster wrote this novel from the point of view of a dog (named Mr. Bones) and if you are a dog-lover, reading this can make you cry at some points.

The problem (with me), however, is that I also love dogs. I love to eat them. My parents were both hunters (when I was young). With his gun, my father would come home with exotic c...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2010 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

An interesting idea, but carried out in that self indulgent (Vonnegut?) way I don't dig so much. If you like Vonnegut and Kerouac and the stream of consciousness chapter in Ulysses, you might find that aspect of the book worthwhile. The thing that I liked best about the book ended up being the the thing that bugged me about it in the end - the "from the dog's point of view" take, and the question of whether dogs dream and whether or not they understand what we say. It started out fairly promisin...more

like · see review

Jul 10, 2010 Charlotte rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookworms

Every time I picked Timbuktu up in an airport, I’d read the blurb and promptly put it back down again. The title attracted me as it took me back to childhood and Timbuktu as Never Never Land – I must have been in my teens before I realised that Timbuktu actually did exist. But Mr Bones, canine sidekick of Will G. Christmas, a brilliant, troubled, and altogether original poet-saint from Brooklyn, New York was a book I could do without. And then as destiny would have it, the wormies picked it as o...more

like · see review

Oct 14, 2011 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars

I like Paul Auster and think he has had moments of brilliance. I don't think Timbuktu was one of them.

This is a story of Willy Christmas and his dog Mr. Bones. Willy is a homeless man who is walking from NYC to Baltimore with his faithful dog, Mr. Bones. He is in search of his high school English teacher, the elderly Mrs. Swanson, because she saw his talent many years before and will take care of his legacy... not just Mr. Bones but also Willy's sheaf of poetry which is stored in a Greyhound bu...more

like · see review

Feb 04, 2013 Stephanie "Jedigal" rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books

This didn't entirely work for me. It's told from the point of view of the dog, Mr. Bones, in third person. Mr. Bones' crazy original owner, Willy, spends the end of his life as somewhat of a hobo (yep, a hobo in modern America, sure we still have them), and dies apparently of a respiratory condition far from their 'home'. At least the first half of the book focuses mostly on Willy's eccentricities, and although we are seeing them from the dog's POV, it just seems that the book is "about" Willy a...more

like · see review

May 17, 2012 Harmony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ah Mr Bones how I miss you. I read this short book on holidays last year and still think about Mr Bones now and then. This innocent and simple creature who is happy to go wherever his beloved master Willy is and is content with their situation, even if sleeping on the cold streets with empty bellies, as long as they are together. Unfortunately Willy is not well and possibly losing his marbles when he gives Mr Bones advice in his last days that makes him terrified of most people and the big city...more

like · see review

Oct 17, 2011 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: dog lovers

Recommended to Katherine by: Rachel Shapiro

I've never been interested in reading books that read from the perspective of a dog, and there's been several of them out there. And if it weren't for several friends that told me that this book was really good, I would have never picked it up. But I have to say that I really got into this story from the very beginning, starting with wonderful writing. Never read Paul Auster before, but he made the book not be about the dog, but about a perspective. The perspective could have been from the autho...more

like · see review

Oct 01, 2009 Aaron Briggs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not really everything I had exepcted. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. My main complaint is really in the characters. Willy G Christmas wasn't nearly as engaging a character as Mr Bones, which may be the point. However, the first half of the book tends to drag because of this (its almost all focused on Christmas), and the book is split almost evenly between two distinct tones.

I did, however, truly enjoy Auster's themes of language, which I thought worked especially well through his canine na...more

like · see review

May 24, 2009 El rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books-list, late20th-centurylit

For such a short book it took me a while to get through this.

The story is told from the perspective of Mr. Bones, a dog belonging to Willy G. Christmas, a homeless schizophrenic who has just a short time left to live. Willy and Mr. Bones are on a quest to find Willy's former English teacher, a person who never gave up on him or his talents. Along the way Willy teaches Mr. Bones about the ways of life, how and who to trust and what to do upon Willy's death. When Willy does die Mr. Bones puts this...more

like · see review

Mar 30, 2013 Virginia Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite, fiction

Love, love, love this book. Now, I admit, I first only picked it up because Fionn Regan mentions it in his song "Put A Penny In The Slot." The lyrics go: For the loneliness you foster I suggest Paul Auster, a book called Timbuktu. So, naturally, when I saw it at the bookstore, I had to pick it up, and I'm SO glad I did. It is a fantastic book. Read it on the train going down to New Orleans - great train book. This book manages to say so much with so little words. I am definitely an Auster fan an...more

like · see review

Jan 29, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: recentlyread

Auster's novels are always intriguing and this is my personal favorite, also topping my (lengthening) list of dog fiction. Mr. Bones, loyal and intelligent friend of Willie G. Christmas, a hobo poet on his last legs, does his best to survive in a post-Willie world but dreams of Timbuktu, the heaven in which dogs are reunited with their masters. Maybe this sounds silly, but in Auster's hands it's a provocative and poignant study of the human-canine relationship. To say it's beautiful and moving m...more

like · see review

Nov 03, 2012 Jose Vera rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

El libro narra la historia de Mister Bones, un perro chusco que entiende el idioma inglés a la perfección; aunque no puede hablarlo y hay conceptos puntuales que se le escapan.

Mister Bones es el compañero de Willy G. Christmas; un vagabundo con problemas mentales, poeta desconocido y un moribundo que perdió la oportunidad de ser un escritor famoso; o en todo caso medianamente famoso.

Auster escribe este libro desde el punto de vista de Mister Bones, como es que este perrito observa el mundo y los...more

like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Josh rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is the second Auster novel I've completed, after Man in the Dark (which I enjoyed a lot.) People keep saying that Timbuktu is from the point of view of a dog, which is a misleading statement... The point of view is third person limited, though for the majority of the novel the narrator is focused on the dog, Mr.Bones. Let' just be frank with this review: Timbuktu is a corny book. That doesn't altogether make it bad, by any means, but thats just not my style. The story can be engrossing, I c...more

like · see review

Dec 29, 2010 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a relatively short book and a quick read. Timbuktu is told from the viewpoint of Mr. Bones, who is a dog. He is a dog who hangs out with (as an equal) with his schizophrenic vagabond caretaker, Willy. This doesn't sound like it will turn out good, and I read on with a feeling of dread of what would happen, since I am a dog lover and really cannot stand when harm comes to animals. A friend of mine recommended this to me though, and she is also an animal lover, I trusted her not to steer...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 08, 2010 Fabian rated it 4 of 5 stars

At its worst, this almost-novella is a prolonged and sorrowful swan song and existential meditation. At its peak, it is a radical exercise in stream-of-consiousness narration. Although reminiscent of Virginia Woolf at her most coherent, it is a relief to have a book that does not require trips to the faithful dictionary. Gratefully, this work is not rife with pretentions-galore (a-la "Book of Illusions" which is thankfully off the 1001 Best Books List) and has the imagination and sense of wonder...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (39)

More editions...

Genres

Animals > Dogs

30 users

Contemporary

19 users

Novels

18 users

Literature > American

17 users

Animals

13 users

Literature

8 users

Literary Fiction

7 users

Literature > 20th Century

6 users

Classics

5 users

Modern

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Paul Auster

Paul Auster is the bestselling author of Sunset Park, Invisible, Man in the Dark, The Book of Illusions, The Brooklyn Follies, and The New York Triology, among many other works. His books have been translated into forty-three languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/paulau...

More about Paul Auster...

Books by Paul Auster

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Timbuktu

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Timbuktu

“That's all I've ever dreamed of, Mr. Bones. To make the world a better place. To bring some beauty to the drab humdrum corners of the soul. You can do it with a toaster, you can do it with a poem, you can do it by reaching out your hand to a stranger. It doesn't matter what form it takes. To leave the world a little better than you found it. That's the best a man can ever do.” — 24 people liked it

“...once you fell in love with her, you
loved her until the day you died.” — 11 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Timbuktu
avg rating	preview: Timbuktu Goodreads rating: 3.60 (5311 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/449.Timbuktu?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355142497l/449.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/449.Timbuktu?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Timbuktu by Paul Auster[/url]

Timbuktu

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website