Novel about a novelist named Quinn who's mistaken for a detective named Paul Auster and loses his mind and identity in the course of a meaningless case
Paul Karasik is an American cartoonist, editor, and teacher, notable for his contributions to such works as City of Glass: The Graphic Novel, The Ride Together: A Memoir of Autism in the Family, and Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All!. He is the coauthor, with Mark Newgarden, of How to Read Nancy, 2018 winner of the Eisner Award for "Best Comics-Related Book". He is also an occasional cartoonist for The New Yorker.
Credo che fosse il 1991, l’anno in cui ho incontrato Paul Auster per la prima volta: La musica del caso. E fu subito amore. Amore grande: c’erano in Auster umori che in letteratura mi sembravano insoliti, fuori, e oltre, che all’epoca percepivo solo nel cinema (non per niente l’esperienza cinematografica di Auster è sostanziosa e fortunata). Città di vetro era introvabile, così come la raccolta completa, la Trilogia di New York: fuori catalogo, e le biblioteche a Roma funzionavano ancora per modo di dire (nel senso che non funzionavano affatto). Ci volle del tempo per metterci le mani sopra, dovetti aspettare la ristampa. L’amore è continuato per qualche anno, ho letto di suo tutto quello che veniva tradotto (un po’ troppo tosto in originale per me). Poi, l’amore è finito: si sa, le storie iniziano e finiscono, solo poche durano per sempre, uno di noi due s’era stancato, forse entrambi, uno di noi due era cambiato, ma non lui: a me sembrava che si ripetesse oltre la mia sopportazione, che giocasse troppo a fare il Paul Auster, indugiasse nei suoi tic, ormai cliché - lui voleva che io gli fossi fedele oltre le mie consuetudini. Così, alla fine ci siamo lasciati. E non ci siamo mai più incrociati. Adesso lui è famosissimo, una star della scrittura, molto occupato con party e mondanità varia nella Grande Mela, a sponsorizzare moglie e figlia. Io, invece, leggo altro. E quando vado a New York non lo cerco, non gli faccio neppure sapere che sono in città. Ci siamo proprio persi.
Di mio posso solo aggiungere che mentre leggevo queste pagine le immagini che ho inserito qui mi si sono accese davanti agli occhi della mente come fari.
Io sono nuovo ogni giorno. Nasco quando mi sveglio al mattino, cresco durante il giorno, e muoio la sera.
Such a great adaptation of the Paul Auster novel. In the original City of Glass, the labyrinthine feel of the story was created through Auster's prose. In this adaptation, it's illustrated through beautifully creative visuals. It made me want to read Auster's book again, just to experience it through a new interpretive lens.
Not only a fantastic, engrossing read, but also the most teachable comic I know. My students in a recent 9 week class took a deep dive into the book and found layers of depth even I was unaware of.
It's also an adaptation that's true to the original, but does much more than merely illustrate the text. It uses every tool in the comics toolbox.
the original City of Glass, by paul auster, was a book that i enjoyed greatly when i first read it. i thought it was really unique, a thoughtful, stylish blend of raymond chandler, kafka, and borges. i still like it, but it hasn't aged that well for me. a lot of what i thought was playfulness now seems precious, facile. the prose is polished, but by the same token oddly eroded, flat, sanded down. often it feels like auster doesn't actually inhabit the english language--he reads like he's always already a french translation (which is maybe why he's so popular over there). and anyway, i like exuberence now, headlong run-on rushes and spiky thickets of clauses.
this graphic novel, with art by paul karasik and the amazing david mazzuchelli (one of my all time comic book favorites), is another beast entirely. it takes the fine small bones of auster's narration and clothes it in images. they are, individually, simple--black and white, stylized, deliberately cartoonish. but they flow in and out of each other with the exuberance that auster's prose lacks, and it makes all the difference. in the opening sequence, for example, the protagonist looks out a window and sees a brick wall. the lines of the brick wall turn into a cityscape. the cityscape zooms out, and we see a map of the city, a giant maze. and the maze melts and fragments and abstracts, until we're looking at a fingerprint. and then we see that it's an smudge of ink on a piece of paper... amazing.
This graphic novel was based on a novella by the same author and Comic Journals voted this in the top 100 for the 20th century. It's about a writer who takes on the role of his detective character to investigate a mystery but this choice sends him down a path of obsessive madness.
It blurs the line between reality and fantasy and even identity as the author of this tale finds himself changing roles, stories and overall identities. The voices coming out of objects and gradual changes and pullbacks were intriguing. That said, it's so cleverly done that I feel there wasn't enough of an interesting story here so I'd say it's worth a look for its overall cleverness but it isn't Sterling Silver quality for the tale. Casual readers will find this graphic novel mind boggling.
STORY/PLOTTING: B minus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK: B; OVERALL GRADE: B; WHEN READ: January 2012.
Li o romance ”A Trilogia de Nova Iorque” do escritor norte-americano Paul Auster (n. 1947) no início dos anos 90, uma obra inicialmente publicada em três partes (”Cidade de Vidro”, ”Fantasmas” e ”O Quarto Fechado”). Decorridos mais de vinte anos começo a ler ”Cidade de Vidro”, uma ”novela gráfica”, adaptada por Paul Karasik (n. 1956) e David Mazzucchelli (n. 1960), sob os auspícios de Art Spiegelman (n. 1948). A adaptação de um “bom” romance ao cinema é de tal forma comum que raramente suscita polémica, acabando quase sempre por desencadear as inevitáveis comparações qualitativas entre o livro e o filme. Agora “transformar” o romance de Paul Auster, ”Cidade de Vidro”, publicado em 1986, numa “novela gráfica”, editada em 2004, é mais incomum e original, e na edição portuguesa da Asa há uma introdução escrita por Art Spiegelman que resume e esclarece as inúmeras dúvidas que nos podem suscitar esta adaptação da obra de Paul Auster; desde a concepção original até ao convite endereçado a Paul Karasik e a David Mazzucchelli para materializar tal ideia. ”Tudo começou graças a um número errado… o telefone tocou três vezes a meio da noite… e, do outro lado, uma voz… perguntando por alguém que não era ele.” (Pág. 1 – 2) Daniel Quinn, foi no passado um poeta promissor, que perdeu a sua mulher e o seu filho, que “desistira de tudo”, tornando-se, actualmente, num escritor de romances policiais, sob o pseudónimo de William Wilson. O referido telefonema, efectuado por Peter Stillman, era destinado a Paul Auster, um detective da “agência de detectives auster”, a que Daniel Quinn dá seguimento, aceitando a incumbência de investigar e vigiar Peter Stillman, o pai de Peter Stillman, ambos têm o mesmo nome, que submetera o seu filho a maus tratos, durante mais de nove anos, julgado, declarado louco e internado, mas que vai ser libertado em breve. O resultado final de ”Cidade de Vidro” é verdadeiramente surpreendente, não apenas pela excelência e pela originalidade de um texto, simultaneamente, ambíguo e misterioso, sobre a identidade e a suas sombras, “um romance dentro de um romance”, onde surgem inúmeras personagens, que acabam por ter identidades que se confundem, “Quinn/William Wilson/o detective Paul Auster/Max Work (o detective narrador dos romances de William Wilson/ Daniel Quinn)/Paul Auster (o escritor, que é uma “personagem”, juntamente com a sua mulher Siri Hustvedt e o filho de ambos, Daniel); mas, igualmente, pela conjugação admirável do “grafismo” de Paul Karasik e a David Mazzucchelli, e pelas inúmeras referências literárias, com destaque para o livro ”The Garden and the Tower” – Early Visions of the New World (“O Jardim e a Torre. Perspectivas primitivas do Novo Mundo”) de Stillman (um livro inexistente), ao livro “Paraíso Perdido” de Milton, a Jorge Luis Borges, a Edgar Allan Poe,.. ; e, igualmente, ao romance “noir”, à sua “femme fatale”; uma ”novela gráfica” para ler e reler… Como passados mais de vinte anos não “restou” nenhuma lembrança do livro "A Trilogia de Nova Iorque" de Paul Auster vou "relê-lo"...
Despite the fact I remembered original novel (including ending, etc.) by Paul Auster, I enjoyed having one day with this comic and think that it is worth reading. Brilliant from the very beginning to the very last page. The ideas of climbing inside an imaginary skin of someone you don’t know, chasing the ghostly footsteps of unknown man, vanishing into the heart of megalopolis seem still catchy for me. While reading I remembered the first time I read novel ”City of Glass” and I loved the nostalgic feeling I had. What also should be told is that Art Spiegelman who is a real prodigy in comics’ field tells the introduction story about how this book was created. He also speaks about respectability and reputation of comics (uses term “graphic novel”) and etc. Very interesting and good pages to read. As for the art by David Mazzucchelli, I can only say positive words. It hauntingly follows the narration and combined with the story is so good that you cannot skip any panel. By the way, I still cannot explain how this brilliant novel is not adapted into feature film by any of the good directors of NY School?! I can imagine how Jim Jarmusch and Paul Auster can create the best NY movie of all time!
Art Spiegelman set out to hire some serious novelists to write a comic to help with the graphic novel boom of the 90s. Basically unsuccessful as his only callback came from Paul Auster who told him to adapt one of his existing books! Somehow they got the great David Mazzucchelli on board. He does a fantastic job. It's an excellent book, the only issue being that its adaptation and doesn't add much to Paul Auster's original tale.
It does somehow in just 120 comic pages tell the complete tale. It misses a lot of the internal monologue and descriptive language of course, but it does demonstrate the efficiency of the medium.
Mazzucchelli uses a lot of interesting symbology and visuals to drive home the narrative. I enjoyed the opening of a phone call, but the phone we see is simply a symbol on a phone book when the panel zooms out. I didn't really like his approach when the young Peter Stillman is talking the speech bubbles point to a bunch of random items, it's an interesting attempt to make a talking head more interesting but a tad confusing. Later when Quinn is watching the Stillman's apartment the figure starts to visually merge with the wall which illustrates perfectly that the character has been there for so long no one will notice a bum in an alleyway.
I still wish this was an original story, but it's a cool artifact. Mazzucchelli doesn't have a ton of pages so this is essential reading for fans of his work. I liked how the old Stillman looks similar to the titular character in Asterios Polyp.
Θα ήταν πραγματικά αδύνατον το οποιοδήποτε graphic novel να φτάσει τα βάθη και τις λογοτεχνικές κορυφές της νουβέλας του Auster. Παρ'όλα αυτά, στο συγκεκριμένο έχει γίνει εξαιρετική δουλειά τόσο στην εικονογράφηση όσο και στην προσπάθεια να κρατηθεί το ύφος και ο πυρήνας της ιστορίας του αυθεντικού κειμένου του Auster. Έτσι, το αποτέλεσμα αποζημιώνει και με το παραπάνω, κυρίως με τα εκπληκτικής ομορφιάς σκίτσα που καταφέρνουν να μετουσιώσουν σε εικόνες τα διάφορα περιστατικά που λαμβάνουν χώρα στο πρωτότυπο κείμενο.
On my journey of discovering graphic novels... just kidding, I have no intention of doing that. But I really liked this one. With a foreword by Maus's Art Spiegelman, City of Glass has a great story written amazingly (that should not come as a surprise, it's Auster after all), so it had a strong skeleton. But the graphics were not just illustrations either, they helped the story transform into something new. I found an original idea on every page, in the creative use of the grid, showing the character of a voice, the disintegration of a mind in pictures instead of words while still keeping the importance of language, and it was fun to see the drawn versions of Auster and his family, too. My attention never faltered for a second, this graphic novel had a firm grip on it. Very well done.
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A kép(es?)regények világában tett felfedezéseim következő állomása Paul Auster New York trilógiájának átdolgozása. Valójában nincs szó semmiféle műfajfelfedezésről, csak ez a kettő* érdekelt, de az Üvegváros alapján nem tennék le a formáról. A Maust elkövető Art Spiegelman előszavával megjelent kötetnek persze őrülten erős alapja volt, hiszen Auster írta. Az előszó szerint figyelmeztette is a projekt mögött álló Spiegelmant, miszerint már többször próbáltak filmforgatókönyvet varázsolni ebből a szövegből, mindhiába. Karasik és Mazzucchelli párosának végül mégis fantasztikusan sikerült az adaptáció. Nem csupán illusztrálták a történetet, egy egészen új művet hoztak létre. Minden oldalon újabb eredeti ötlettel találkoztam, a képregény rácsainak kreatív használatától az írott jellemzések képi megjelenítésre cserélésén át (miközben a nyelv semmit nem veszít jelentőségéből) a rajzolt Auster-családig. Egy pillanatra sem eresztette a figyelmem, remek munka.
Pure masturbation. Lots of build up with no closure. Lazy. Reminded me of the show "Lost", the endless questions keep you going until you realize they have given you no answers. Perfect bookshelf filler for the pseudo-intellectual.
Ik las ooit, lang geleden, Paul Austers The New York Trilogy en dat was toen een nieuwe, fascinerende ontdekking. Vervolgens bleef ik een tijdje rondzwerven in zijn oeuvre tot ik gaandeweg zijn schrijverstics en thema's wel kende. Uiteindelijk vond ik de oudere, autobiografische Auster van o.a. Winter Journal nog de beste. Nu stond deze graphic-novel-bewerking van 'City of glass', het eerste deel van de New York Trilogy, op de leeslijst van mijn dochter en dus ging ik nog eens overstag.
Het voorwoord van Art Spiegelman, auteur/tekenaar van het onvolprezen The Complete Maus, geeft een boeiende inkijk in de complexe totstandkoming van deze bewerking door Paul Karasik en David Mazzucchelli, waarbij ook Paul Auster zelf betrokken werd. En dan duik je in het al even complexe, spiegelende dubbelgangerslabyrint dat Auster ooit bedacht. Eerlijk gezegd raakte ik als lezer ook af en toe de draad kwijt, wegens de verschillende bewuste zowel als onbewuste persoonsverwisselingen.
Gelukkig zijn daar de tekenaars die met hun vindingrijke grafische werk blijven intrigeren en verrassen, al mindert ook dat naar het einde toe. Maar de manier waarop ze de moeilijker te verbeelden passages toch zo origineel en raak weten te verbeelden, dwingt zonder meer bewondering af. Een mooi voorbeeld daarvan is hoe ze het vreemde gesprek visualiseren dat schrijver David Quinn, de hoofdpersoon, onder valse naam (als Paul Auster!) voert met Peter Stillman.
Toch liep ik net als het verhaal een beetje vast naar het einde toe. Ik moest daarbij aan Murakami denken, die je ook al eens achter durft laten met een onbestemd of onvervuld gevoel. Maar Murakami slaagt er door zijn stijl en opbouw in je daar als lezer op voor te bereiden, terwijl Auster mijns inziens te hoge verwachtingen schept die dan niet (helemaal) ingelost worden. 3,5*
I haven't read the original book, but the story seems so unbelievable that I doubt I would enjoy it as a novel. The visuals of this graphic novel told the most interesting story, despite the loosely held together strings that are the existential plot. I didn't see the deconstruction of language in the story at all. I would describe the adaption of City of Glass (and possibly the novel itself) as Film Noir for 13 year-olds.
Considero a adaptação do conto Cidade de Vidro, de Paul Auster, para os quadrinhos por Paul Karasik e David Mazzucchelli, o melhor trabalho de transcrição de uma outra mídia para os quadrinhos. Digo isso porque seus artífices conhecem profundamente o potencial da linguagem dos quadrinhos e isso pode ser verificado em outros quadrinhos seus, como o Asterios Polyp de David Mazzuchelli. De longe essa adaptação é que mais usa e abusa dos recursos gráficos e narrativos de uma história em quadrinhos para ampliar o sentido da leitura de uma escrita literária. De longe também, toda a Trilogia de Nova York, obra-prima de Paul Auster, não são narrativas de fácil transcrição para a linguagem gráfica, então essa é outra razão para reverenciar o trabalho de Karasik e Mazzucchelli com Cidade de Vidro, principalmente a iconicidade e a metalinguagem da história. Uma pena essa HQ estar fora de catálogo há muito tempo, desde que foi lançada pela primeira e única vez em maio de 1998 pela Via Lettera. Uma pena também que a edição que eu compre no sebo, para minha segunda leitura, continha várias duplas de páginas em branco, já que o valor investido nela não foi pouco. Fica um apelo às boas editoras para trazerem novamente esse incrível material para o Brasil.
Pocas veces me he encontrado con una adaptación tan bien llevada pese a la dificultad de la obra original. Es casi más un complemento añadido que una adaptación http://entremontonesdelibros.blogspot...
Cam Kent muazzam bir anti-dedektif anlatısı örneği. Paul Karasik çizimleriyle öyle güzel yorumlamış ki romanı, zaten müthiş bir anlatı bir kat daha kusursuzlaşmış, kendisini takipteyim.
Bu şaşırtıcı çizgiromanı bastıkları için Show Kitap'a ne kadar teşekkür etsek az.
La Ciudad de Cristal es parte de la Trilogía de Nueva York (quizás la novela más conocida o "clásica" de Auster?), pero esta es una adaptación al formato novela gráfica. Debo decir como SUPER FAN de Paul Auster, que esta adaptación me pareció EXCELENTE. Es más, ayuda a entender mejor toda la complejidad que ofrece la versión original. Se disfruta más, y el arte es muuuy bueno.
Recomiendo mucho si te gustan las novelas gráficas, y también el género policial.
'La ciudad de cristal' es mi favorita de todas las cosas que ha escrito Paul Auster. Es también lo primero que leí de este escritor. Es la primera parte de la 'Trilogía de Nueva York' que a día de hoy me sigue pareciendo la única obra de Auster realmente conseguida. Es por esto que me animé a leer esta adaptación en forma de cómic (o novela gráfica, lo que ustedes prefieran). Una parte de mí no era muy optimista. Una parte de mí sólo quería leerlo para ver como este noble intento fracasaba. Sin embargo, no ha sido así. A pesar de que es una historia muy poco visual y bastante abstracta, el cómic se sale airoso, encuentra una serie de soluciones visuales realmente originales y que plasman perfectamente el tono de la obra original de Auster sin dejar de dar un punto de vista personal, algo que no era nada pero nada fácil. La recomendaría para curiosos que disfrutaron de la 'Trilogía de Nueva York'.
Interesting comics adaptation of Auster's novel is very strong on graphic design. Karasik and Mazzucchelli do some remarkable work with layout and panel design, with mixing representational and symbolic art. It's a pleasure to look at. Narratively, though, this is a highly self-conscious and post-modern take on noir. It includes the expected elements--first-person narrative, femme fatale, long-hidden secrets, etc.--but it's not really interested in telling a story so much as exploring subjectivity and indeterminacy. as a result, what's actually going on is never made clear--if, indeed, Auster even had a clear idea. Mystery is always about finally explaining the inexplicable, so it perhaps lends itself especially well to postmodern subversion of objectivity and determinability. But if you like your mysteries to have resolutions, and your plot points to have payoffs, you would do well to look elsewhere.
This is one of the most moving, weird, horrifying, heart-stopping graphic novels I've ever read, and there aren't many friends I'll be recommending it to- but I loved it.
I kept singing the Fionn Regan song that says, "For the loneliness you foster/ I suggest Paul Auster," as the book deals with the themes of language, names, identity, and how we use all those things to both reveal and conceal.
"Things have broken apart, and our words have not adapted. If we can't name a common object, how can we speak of things that truly concern us? My work is simple. In New York, brokenness is everywhere. I collect shattered objects to examine, and I give them names."
Se trata de una novela gráfica que relata el primer volumen de la Trilogía de Nueva York de Paul Auster, y editado por Anagrama.
Con un trazo sencillo y un tanto tosco, recorre la historia desde el punto de vista de su protagonista. Aparte de seguir la trama de forma bastante fidedigna, usa recursos muy imaginativos desde el punto de vista visual para hacer hablar a sus personajes y para describir ideas abstractas y confusas que aparecen en la narración original. Es además una oportunidad idónea para acercar a los que no conocen la historia al libro original.
Цей комікс має приголомшливу літературну основу яку, втім, не адаптує, а лише ілюструє. Зводити арт-комікс до простого ілюстрування є гріхом, так і запишіть.
Цікавості у нарації тут немає, глибини, як у оригіналі Остера - теж, бо нам одразу подають історію як сюрреалістичну, а не потроху зводять той сюр до його піку. Тим, хто читав "Нью-Йоркську трилогію", зайде ще й як. Тим, хто не читав, то краще спочатку таки оригінал, аби собі ж не спойлерити та провідчувати все якнайліпше, а потім вже цей альбом маццуккелівських ілюстрацій.
It's nothing short of a cute and novel expiriment that doesn't really go anywhere. My disapointment with this graphic novel was sorely exacerbated once I found out Spiegelman was the creative overseer and he did nothing to focus the narrative which is presented way too piecemeal and cut up for a normal reader to understand littleone enjoy.
Adaptación de la famosa primer parte de la trilogía de New York. El escritor no se caracteriza por escribir cómics y el artista es un afamado dibujante de superhéroes. Esta adaptación expande la complejidad del libro al punto que veo difícil entenderlo sin haber leído la novela. Interesante experimento narrativo que juega con los planos y la metafísica de forma muy original.
I am aware that’s its an adaptation from the original 1972 novel of the same name. Holy hell, did I enjoy this. It was very intriguing to read. On top of that there is so much meta textuality, as Paul Auster (the author) is placed within the text as a secondary character, who also is a writer.
There were so many beautiful panels, my favourite being the finger print and the language ones. I really enjoyed this so much.
The heck did I just read? The kind of book you finish and want to read all available analysis on it. Loved the intertextuality and how the author puts the reader in a constant search for answers, just like a detective. Furthermore the irony of the lack of answers in a crime/detective novel is on point. The adaptation to graphic novel is also quite good and exploits the visual medium, although since I haven't read the original novel I cannot compare it. I definitely recommend it. Although the novel makes good use of postmodernist techniques so be ready to be confused and with more questions than answers.
A wonderful adaptation. I love how so much is done with so little re: the artwork. Such a strange story with lots of interconnectivity I do not remember being as prominent in the novel....a serious page-turner!