false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179265110m/895333.jpg 50615 20 Beginning with the deconstructed detective novels of the New York Trilogy, Paul Auster has proved himself to be one of the most adventurous writers in contemporary fiction. In book after book, he seems compelled to reinvent his style from scratch. Yet he always returns to certain preoccupations--most notably, solitude and coincidence--and these themes get a powerful workout in this early memoir. In the first half, "Portrait of an Invisible Man," Auster comes to terms with the death of his father, and as he investigates this elusive figure, he makes a rather shocking (and enlightening) discovery about his family's history. The second half, "The Book of Memory," finds the author on more abstract ground, toying with the entwined metaphors of coincidence, translation, solitude, and language. But here, too, the autobiographical element gives an extra kick to Auster's prose and keeps him from sliding off into armchair aesthetics. An eloquent, mesmerizing book. 729200 book 1982 The Invention of Solitude total:771|5:222|4:288|3:200|2:54|1:7| 771 2977 1082 52 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 07:43:30 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 16 08:31:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 24 20:37:56 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 20:38:23 -0700 2009
Whenever I bought this, apparently I only read the first half about his father's passing, and assumed the second half was about him having a son, which it kinda is, but amongst lots of other things. But fo...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed May 14 11:27:12 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 27 09:46:45 -0700 2007 Wed May 14 11:27:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 16:01:03 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 16:59:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jun 05 19:37:58 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 19:39:25 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Apr 12 14:44:55 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 14:46:14 -0700 2009
I found the first section very interesting, I enjoyed the style, the flow and the story.

The second section I was less keen on - so much so that I didn't finish it. I did enjoy the references to other texts and the stories themselves were enjoyabl...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 14 11:08:42 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 12:09:29 -0700 2009 This book consists of two stories. The first, is superb and quite touching. The second is very abstract and diffuclt to engage with. Worth buying just read the first story about Paul Auster's father.

]]> 0 0 false false Fri Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 21:38:55 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 05:21:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 true false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 10 13:51:07 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 10 13:56:06 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Sep 24 16:26:35 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 09 17:30:43 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 04:53:33 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 04:55:34 -0700 2009 Por ahí, lo intuí apócrifo a ese relato.
Pero de ser cierto...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 18 05:59:35 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 06:01:08 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 04:44:45 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 07:07:41 -0700 2009 The first part however was really tedious.
Given that this book is renowned as Auster's best, ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Dec 11 11:34:58 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 20 12:01:13 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 09:32:39 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 09:33:36 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Aug 15 11:07:57 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 11:08:59 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 02 10:34:50 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 19 08:16:52 -0800 2008
He has alot of good insight into solitude, memory and writing. Written more like a collection of long thoughts into two parts, "Portrai...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Feb 18 17:42:59 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 17:52:46 -0800 2008
The first part is just plain good storytelling. Kinda makes you want to write about your own father/grandfather...
Auster writes of his fathe...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sat Jun 09 05:15:39 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 09 05:17:32 -0700 2007 The Art of Hunger and The Red Notebook. This memoir about his father is especially good, however, both for its formal restraint as for the odd way he approaches t...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 28 09:06:09 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 20:55:56 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=895333