A review by kurtwombat
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

5.0

Usually the term TRILOGY means the continuation of a certain plot or the lives of certain characters for good or ill depending on whether the author actually has more story to unfold. Often it may be justified to toss around the accusation of a “money grab”. Sometimes however something greater is afoot. My favorite trilogy is John Dos Passos’ USA TRILOGY. Dos Passos mixes experimental techniques (interviews, song lyrics, headlines, stream of consciousness, character biographies—and this was in the ‘30’s) with straight narrative to achieve a greater impact than if he had carried along down a straight line. I have shambled through many trilogies since reading Dos Passos 25 years ago, but nothing came close to creating the same power and buzz for me until I read Paul Auster’s NEW YORK TRILOGY. Auster too seems to be creating his own techniques to tell his tale. Each of the three books is loosely structured as a detective story. Very quickly, the mystery changes…and then changes again. What seems straightforward slowly bends in different directions. You could read each novel and argue that you have read the same thing three times…or make the opposite argument as well. When I think of the books I see three giant arrows pointing toward an empty center. Not empty, but something I can’t yet see. Each book is from the point of view of it’s detective. They proceed logically but as what they seek starts to shift, so does their logical footing. Each book starts as a lark, but soon shudders into darkness. Is this darkness the absence of love…or the penalty of imposing order on chaos…or even the personal hell awaiting writers facing blank sheets? Auster’s creation is marvelous. It seems kindred to Dos Passos and at the same time existing in a world we haven’t caught up to yet.