A review by borumi
Invisible by Paul Auster
5.0
A fast paced read, even for Auster fans. The book consists of four short chapters and they demonstrate the author's capacity in narrative diversity. The various versions told from different perspectives and the subtle drops of nuances make us doubt both the veracity of the narrator, the second-hand narrator and the listener as well.
The story reminded me of John Fowles' The Magus in many ways. It's not just the mysterious Mephistophelian Rudoph against the strugging yet ambitious Adam aspect. The younger liberal generation's revulsion against the older generation's empire constructed upon their hypocritical conservative philosophy ironically is set close to their dependence on the old regime: Adam and Margot's dependence on their parents or on Rudolph, Cecile's reliance on the black servants' help, etc. Cecile's 'escape' from Rudoph's domain is accentuated by the prisoner-like labor of the impoverished, colonized people as if she can't deny or run away from the ugly truth hammering on the Western civilization's conscience. As much as Adam would like to rectify or exonerate himself from many wrong or tragic or just some secret desires from which he wants to escape from (not only the boy's death but also other ghosts from his past like his brother or sister or parents or Margot or Cecile) by working as a new man he cannot fully escape or rest in peace before he gives a full sacrament of penance through his memoir. Ironically, his antagonist Rudoph also wants to write his own memoir to clean out his guts, but suggests it to be in fictional form to evade the aftermath (sort of like Gwyn, who seems to be hiding something as well).
It also gave me an insight to how much novelists may be spilling out their own lives in their novels albeit in faux-names. Paul Auster, is a jewish American who studied in Paris and worked a poet and translator before becoming a novelist. He has a sister as well and his parents' marriage problems were one of the reasons why he wanted to 'escape' to university. I believe he is not a Zionist and he is very liberal in his political views.
To grasp at the truth and beauty whether through our lives or through our work is hopeful at best and we struggle to escape from the ugly reality and our 'invisible' secrets and desires. Whether fiction or non-fiction, we all try to reveal or conceal our stories in the best way we can for our own existence. Although we hide ourselves behind our stories, we hope that our stories will keep us from becoming truly invisible even after we are gone.
This book could be read in one sitting and some may be put off by its abrupt ending, but it keeps you thinking after it's over and that's one of the most redeeming qualities of this book. It's the untold story that conjures up other stories and the invisible realm that may reveal something more about our visible reality.
The story reminded me of John Fowles' The Magus in many ways. It's not just the mysterious Mephistophelian Rudoph against the strugging yet ambitious Adam aspect. The younger liberal generation's revulsion against the older generation's empire constructed upon their hypocritical conservative philosophy ironically is set close to their dependence on the old regime: Adam and Margot's dependence on their parents or on Rudolph, Cecile's reliance on the black servants' help, etc. Cecile's 'escape' from Rudoph's domain is accentuated by the prisoner-like labor of the impoverished, colonized people as if she can't deny or run away from the ugly truth hammering on the Western civilization's conscience. As much as Adam would like to rectify or exonerate himself from many wrong or tragic or just some secret desires from which he wants to escape from (not only the boy's death but also other ghosts from his past like his brother or sister or parents or Margot or Cecile) by working as a new man he cannot fully escape or rest in peace before he gives a full sacrament of penance through his memoir. Ironically, his antagonist Rudoph also wants to write his own memoir to clean out his guts, but suggests it to be in fictional form to evade the aftermath (sort of like Gwyn, who seems to be hiding something as well).
It also gave me an insight to how much novelists may be spilling out their own lives in their novels albeit in faux-names. Paul Auster, is a jewish American who studied in Paris and worked a poet and translator before becoming a novelist. He has a sister as well and his parents' marriage problems were one of the reasons why he wanted to 'escape' to university. I believe he is not a Zionist and he is very liberal in his political views.
To grasp at the truth and beauty whether through our lives or through our work is hopeful at best and we struggle to escape from the ugly reality and our 'invisible' secrets and desires. Whether fiction or non-fiction, we all try to reveal or conceal our stories in the best way we can for our own existence. Although we hide ourselves behind our stories, we hope that our stories will keep us from becoming truly invisible even after we are gone.
This book could be read in one sitting and some may be put off by its abrupt ending, but it keeps you thinking after it's over and that's one of the most redeeming qualities of this book. It's the untold story that conjures up other stories and the invisible realm that may reveal something more about our visible reality.