kirstiecat's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really enjoyable read even though the premise is that the protagonist, an older man, moves to NYC to die. What makes this book thoroughly engaging is how many stories about writers and life in general are found here. I also really enjoyed some of the conflicts-a child that refuses to talk, a woman who needs to be freed from the Christian right wing husband and in the midst of everything is the protagonist who realizes his life is pretty full of people who need him just as he was getting ready to join the choir invisible.
naimfrewat's review against another edition
1.0
Is Paul Auster worth your time?
This is my second Auster, the first was “Travels in the Scriptorium”Both works I have “read” as audiobooks while taking interminable journeys around the country. The journeys themselves were less taxing than the books.
The reason I checked both is because of -and I’m not ashamed to admit it- the publicity this guy gets!
“The Brooklyn Follies”, written in the first person narrative form, is about an ex-insurance salesman, Nathan Wood, well into his 60s, who survives cancer and returns back to his native Brooklyn (Auster’s perpetual home). Does this return symbolize or mean anything? No. Do we get to feel Brooklyn? No.
Serendipity brings him in contact with his nephew; a would-have-been brilliant author / critic, had it not been for... Well we don’t really know. Tom Glass, Nathan Wood’s nephew (and yes, Nathan/Auster does mention this brilliant pun), foregoes his writing ambition for the “safe” job of a cab-driver.
Gradually, characters inhabit the story, effacing any potential interest it might spur, besides it being a family-reunion fiction.
It feels tedious, and possibly boring, to give an account of what happens along, but I can safely say that, in comparison with third-degree storytellers, no other writer I know of uses this “magical wand” so frequently, and liberally, to make things happen and work like Auster does: Love develops, people are reunited, oppressed freed, money distributed to those in-need, people cured... So much, that at the end of the story, I am impatiently waiting for: “And they lived happily ever after”
In all fairness, real life is real life; monotonous, uneventful, duplicate acquaintances tending towards normality... and it is about this ever-flow with its stubborn perturbations, here and there, that Auster writes. But he could have done it with style, with some depth, with something original, something different, than the everyday banter we engage in.
Throughout the book, a couple of stories are told about Poe, Melville, and Kafka, though they feel to me as”Did you know?”blurbs.
To the post’s question, my answer is No! This will definitely be my last Auster; there are other contemporary writers out there, some certainly in Brooklyn, who better deserve our time and support.
This is my second Auster, the first was “Travels in the Scriptorium”Both works I have “read” as audiobooks while taking interminable journeys around the country. The journeys themselves were less taxing than the books.
The reason I checked both is because of -and I’m not ashamed to admit it- the publicity this guy gets!
“The Brooklyn Follies”, written in the first person narrative form, is about an ex-insurance salesman, Nathan Wood, well into his 60s, who survives cancer and returns back to his native Brooklyn (Auster’s perpetual home). Does this return symbolize or mean anything? No. Do we get to feel Brooklyn? No.
Serendipity brings him in contact with his nephew; a would-have-been brilliant author / critic, had it not been for... Well we don’t really know. Tom Glass, Nathan Wood’s nephew (and yes, Nathan/Auster does mention this brilliant pun), foregoes his writing ambition for the “safe” job of a cab-driver.
Gradually, characters inhabit the story, effacing any potential interest it might spur, besides it being a family-reunion fiction.
It feels tedious, and possibly boring, to give an account of what happens along, but I can safely say that, in comparison with third-degree storytellers, no other writer I know of uses this “magical wand” so frequently, and liberally, to make things happen and work like Auster does: Love develops, people are reunited, oppressed freed, money distributed to those in-need, people cured... So much, that at the end of the story, I am impatiently waiting for: “And they lived happily ever after”
In all fairness, real life is real life; monotonous, uneventful, duplicate acquaintances tending towards normality... and it is about this ever-flow with its stubborn perturbations, here and there, that Auster writes. But he could have done it with style, with some depth, with something original, something different, than the everyday banter we engage in.
Throughout the book, a couple of stories are told about Poe, Melville, and Kafka, though they feel to me as”Did you know?”blurbs.
To the post’s question, my answer is No! This will definitely be my last Auster; there are other contemporary writers out there, some certainly in Brooklyn, who better deserve our time and support.
scarlet_begonia21's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. A great recommendation from a friend
the_oakland_readers's review against another edition
3.0
This book started off slow. Well, it started off well but for some reason "I was looking for a good place to die" was a terrible opener for me...
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot thickened at every turn of the page, which meant it started off weak but grew on me a great deal.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot thickened at every turn of the page, which meant it started off weak but grew on me a great deal.
ashleyozery's review against another edition
4.0
How could I not read a Paul Auster novel set in my own neighborhood?
ag11's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A simple story of simple people. Paul Auster is a master.
juliettetheureau's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
just_tosh's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book based on someone's recommendation and I wasn't disappointed. Basically it's about a cantankerous older man by the name of Nathan Glass who moves to Brooklyn, New York to die. He meets some characters along the way: His nephew Tom, Tom's flamboyant boss Harry, the diner waitress Marina, just to name a few. His sets out to kill time by writing a book about his follies in life and the follies of others.
The story line goes a bit off track towards the end and and you have to ask yourself "where is the author going with this?" But it was still a good read and I'll recommend the book to anyone who needs a dash of humor mixed in with humanity.
The story line goes a bit off track towards the end and and you have to ask yourself "where is the author going with this?" But it was still a good read and I'll recommend the book to anyone who needs a dash of humor mixed in with humanity.
silviasbookreviews's review against another edition
5.0
The Brooklyn Follies es el ambicioso proyecto de Nathan Glass, un recién divorciado de sesenta años desencantado con la vida que vuelve a Brooklyn para pasar allí el resto de sus miserables días. A modo de entretenimiento, Nathan decide escribir un libro en el que recoge los eventos inusuales de su vida. Este comienza cuando vuelve a reconectar con su sobrino Tom, una joven promesa dentro del ámbito académico de la literatura, cuyos planes se ven truncados debido a los golpes que la vida le ha dado. Gracias a su compartida visión pesimista del mundo, los dos hombres recuperan su antigua relación, llevándoles a vivir una serie de aventuras juntos que les cambiarán para siempre.
Al igual que con The Book of Illusions, desde la página uno ya estaba metida de lleno en la historia. No sé qué tiene Paul Auster, pero realmente te atrapa dentro de sus historias, con sus personajes tan complejos, tan reales, tan humanos. Realmente sientes que estás leyendo la vida de estos personajes, que realmente existen, que los conoces. Lo que más me ha gustado del libro, y en general de lo poco que he leído del autor, es que retrata historias de la vida cotidiana, con las que todos nos podemos sentir identificados en algún momento. Además, ha dado la casualidad de que los dos libros que he leído tienen un gran componente literario, se discute sobre la literatura, sobre los grandes autores y los personajes se plantean las grandes preguntas filosóficas que atormentan a todos los seres humanos. Y para añadir a la genialidad de las tramas y de los personajes, el estilo de Paul Auster es precioso, lleno de frases hiperpoéticas y filosóficas que realmente te hacen reflexionar.
Al igual que con The Book of Illusions, desde la página uno ya estaba metida de lleno en la historia. No sé qué tiene Paul Auster, pero realmente te atrapa dentro de sus historias, con sus personajes tan complejos, tan reales, tan humanos. Realmente sientes que estás leyendo la vida de estos personajes, que realmente existen, que los conoces. Lo que más me ha gustado del libro, y en general de lo poco que he leído del autor, es que retrata historias de la vida cotidiana, con las que todos nos podemos sentir identificados en algún momento. Además, ha dado la casualidad de que los dos libros que he leído tienen un gran componente literario, se discute sobre la literatura, sobre los grandes autores y los personajes se plantean las grandes preguntas filosóficas que atormentan a todos los seres humanos. Y para añadir a la genialidad de las tramas y de los personajes, el estilo de Paul Auster es precioso, lleno de frases hiperpoéticas y filosóficas que realmente te hacen reflexionar.
lpreadstoo's review against another edition
1.0
The subject matter of this book was somewhat interesting, but I was not particularly impressed by the writing style. It's a fast read but nothing spectacular.