As I read this book, I thought about writing a review. Through much of the book, I was in my usual "half star" mode...thinking it was 4.5 stars...not QUITE a five star but still a great read. Auster lost me (and the half star) towards the end...the final parts just felt dashed together, like he needed to solve the problem of ending the book and was just looking for a way out. In context, that has a bit of interest in itself, but it still let me down.

However, ending aside, I did very much enjoy this book. It is a book about books and about reality and the construction thereof. It carried me through quickly...I wanted to slow down but found myself pulled quickly forward. The narrator is a writer who is recovering from an illness and looking at his own life at the same time as he composes a story and also visits the stories of others. The long footnotes reminded me of reading Nicholson Baker in college...though that's too long ago to make more than a cursory comparison.

Definitely recommend it as an easy read but still intelligent and serious fiction. Quick to read but with a good bit of thought embedded in it. Good for fellow former English majors.