Oracle Night by Paul Auster

[Dini, the master of meaning]

It's 2012 already! Our January book is Oracle Night by Paul Auster, please discuss here.

[Nikoline]

In school we have read some of Auster's other work, however, I am ashamed to admit that I could not get through Oracle Night. The composition was in my opinion quite unique, however, also quite confusing. I was not really sure how to read it, to be honest. Anyone else who had trouble reading this?

[Justine]

Anne Nikoline wrote: "In school we have read some of Auster's other work, however, I am ashamed to admit that I could not get through Oracle Night. The composition was in my opinion quite unique, however, also quite con..."
Yeah, I had trouble reading it as well. It was confusing to me too. Honestly, I gave up on it, ha ha. There's still 11 more books left to read. :-)

[Angelina]

I really loved it. It was interesting to read a story in a story. I have had trouble finishing some of his other books, but this one i loved.

[Gitte]

Paul Auster is one of my favorite authors. I really like his writing and most of his story lines. It's been a few years seince I read Oracle Night, but I remember it as very entertaining and amusing.

What I like about Auster is that almost all his characters in a book are interesting - I feel that he truly believes that everybody has an interesting story to tell. His minor characters - like eg a bartender - always have some unique, special or amusing qualities/characteristics... Maybe that's why some may find his stories confusing - there's often a story within a story and he digresses a lot. And that's what I like about him :-)

[Laura]

I was impressed that the story ideas that the main character abandoned seemed like they could eventually be books that I wanted to read.

While I was sometimes frustrated by the lack of chapters, I felt it contributed to the frantic feel of the end of the book.

[Nikoline]

Justine wrote: "Anne Nikoline wrote: "In school we have read some of Auster's other work, however, I am ashamed to admit that I could not get through Oracle Night. The composition was in my opinion quite unique, h..." At least we are in the same boat. How far did you get into the book?

[Kristine]

I enjoyed this book but I did find it a little hard to read at times. I really liked the writing but the story inside a story part was a little hard to follow. Very interesting idea. I might try another book by Paul Auster in the future.

[Antje]

This was my first Auster and I really enjoyed it! I am surprised that some of you didn't find it an easy read, I thought it was a pleasure to read, from start to finish. I really liked the idea of unfinished and unpublished story-ideas that writers have. I am a writer and an editor myself and I studied creative writing, so I guess the subject matter just really resonates with me. I am not sure, however, about the magic realism thing he is trying out here - is this something he does in his other books too? I thought it would have been enough to hint at something: like the stationary store that disappears and pops up again somewhere else. But I found the last scene with the Chinese man a bit too much. Same with Sidney's "disappearance" during his writing sessions. I found it didn't gel that well with the realism - for instance, if I had a vivid dream and my partner would have told me he wrote a very similar story the day before, I would have been much more freaked than Grace was.
But all in all, I am really glad that this was on this group's reading list, I don't think I would have picked it up. Can anyone recommend another book by Auster worthwhile reading?

[Gitte]

Antje wrote: "This was my first Auster and I really enjoyed it! I am surprised that some of you didn't find it an easy read, I thought it was a pleasure to read, from start to finish. I really liked the idea of ..."

Glad you enjoyed it, Antje! Auster is one of my favorite writers.

If your're interested in magic realism, I would recommend The New York Trilogy.

For his more straighforward stories with great characters and plots, I would recommend The Book of Illusions (my first Auster), Leviathan or Moon Palace.

He has also written a dystopian novel, In the Country of Last Things, which I remember as quite fascinating...

[Kristel]

I really like Auster. It's been a few years since I've read Oracle night. I really loved Leviathan.

In my book, he's one of the greatest authors.

[Gitte]

Kristel wrote: "I really like Auster. It's been a few years since I've read Oracle night. I really loved Leviathan.

In my book, he's one of the greatest authors."

I agree, Kristel! I also really like his wife, Siri Hustvedt.

[Antje]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I will give In the Country of Last Things a go, it sounds very fascinating indeed!

[Nicole]

I just started and finished this book last night, it was easy to read and understand for me, at for the first 2/3 or so I was really wrapped up and was loving it, even if it made me feel a bit unsettled, but then Jacob comes in and Sid stops writing his story, and everything kind of fell apart for me.

It felt to me like the first part of the book was completely separate from the rushed not plot related (in my mind) ending. Anyone else feel this?

Overall I really enjoyed it, but I have to admit I think I loved the story inside this story much more than the actual book itself. Im facinated by the telephone book collection!

As a last note, I found the footnotes to be a bit much, some of them went on for 4 pages! If you have that much to say, just put it in the actual text!

[Lisa]

I'm also a first time Auster reader. Not having chapters was a little different, but not altogether unenjoyable. That style reminds me of "On the Road" where he starts writing from start to finish without editing or pausing. Definitely more together than Kerouac though. I agree with an earlier comment about the footnotes being long and a bit annoying.

The story within the story was pretty cool. I wish it had been developed more and not just come to such an abrupt ending. One thing that was a bit confusing, and perhaps this is the point, was the "magic" of the blue notebook and Sid's "disappearance". Did the notebook actually cause him to disappear into the world he was writing about? Also, did whatever he write in the notebook ultimately come true? The blue notebook clearly has some significance but I was left feeling like I hadn't fully grasped what the author intended.

Overall, I think it was a fairly interesting read. Maybe I'll try to read some other Auster works and see how they compare.