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The Invention of Solitude

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Paperback
$17.00 US
5.1"W x 7.8"H x 0.4"D   | 6 oz | 72 per carton
On sale Jan 30, 2007 | 192 Pages | 978-0-14-311222-8
From Paul Auster, author of the forthcoming 4 3 2 1:  A Novel – his very first book, a moving and personal meditation on fatherhood

This debut work by New York Times-bestselling author Paul Auster (The New York Trilogy), a memoir, established Auster’s reputation as a major new voice in American writing. His moving and personal meditation on fatherhood is split into two stylistically separate sections. In the first, Auster reflects on the memories of his father who was a distant, undemonstrative, and cold man who died an untimely death. As he sifts through his Father’s things, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In the second section, the perspective shifts and Auster begins to reflect on his own identity as a father by adopting the voice of a narrator, “A.” Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, turning the story into a self-conscious reflection on the process of writing.
Praise for The Invention of Solitude

“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationship.”
The New York Times Book Review
 
“Integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation. . .as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living.”
Newsday
 
“Eloquent. . .Paul Auster’s memoir combines the subjects of time, language, and family into a beautifully moving and intelligent mosaic.”
– Charles Baxter

Praise for Paul Auster:

“One of the great American prose stylists of our time.”New York Times

“Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter.”New York Review of Books

“One of the great writers of our time.”San Francisco Chronicle

“Contemporary American writing at its best.”New York Times Book Review, on Invisible

“A literary original who is perfecting a hybrid genre of his own.”Wall Street Journal
© Spencer Ostrander
Paul Auster is the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Sunset Park, The Book of Illusions, Moon Palace, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature.  His other honors include the Prix Médicis étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Burning Boy, and the Carlos Fuentes Prize for his body of work.  His most recent novel, 4 3 2 1, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. View titles by Paul Auster

About

From Paul Auster, author of the forthcoming 4 3 2 1:  A Novel – his very first book, a moving and personal meditation on fatherhood

This debut work by New York Times-bestselling author Paul Auster (The New York Trilogy), a memoir, established Auster’s reputation as a major new voice in American writing. His moving and personal meditation on fatherhood is split into two stylistically separate sections. In the first, Auster reflects on the memories of his father who was a distant, undemonstrative, and cold man who died an untimely death. As he sifts through his Father’s things, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In the second section, the perspective shifts and Auster begins to reflect on his own identity as a father by adopting the voice of a narrator, “A.” Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, turning the story into a self-conscious reflection on the process of writing.

Praise

Praise for The Invention of Solitude

“Moving, delicately perceived portraits of lives and relationship.”
The New York Times Book Review
 
“Integrates heart and intellect, sensation and speculation. . .as it relentlessly tries to make sense of the shocks of living.”
Newsday
 
“Eloquent. . .Paul Auster’s memoir combines the subjects of time, language, and family into a beautifully moving and intelligent mosaic.”
– Charles Baxter

Praise for Paul Auster:

“One of the great American prose stylists of our time.”New York Times

“Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter.”New York Review of Books

“One of the great writers of our time.”San Francisco Chronicle

“Contemporary American writing at its best.”New York Times Book Review, on Invisible

“A literary original who is perfecting a hybrid genre of his own.”Wall Street Journal

Author

© Spencer Ostrander
Paul Auster is the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Sunset Park, The Book of Illusions, Moon Palace, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature.  His other honors include the Prix Médicis étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Burning Boy, and the Carlos Fuentes Prize for his body of work.  His most recent novel, 4 3 2 1, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. View titles by Paul Auster