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The Brooklyn Follies
Nathan Glass has come to Brooklyn to die. Divorced, retired, estranged from his only daughter, the former life insurance salesman seeks only solitude and anonymity. Then Glass encounters his long-lost nephew, Tom Wood, who is working in a local bookstore—a far cry from the brilliant academic career Tom had begun when Nathan saw him last. Tom's boss is the colorful and charismatic Harry Brightman—a.k.a. Harry Dunkel—once the owner of a Chicago art gallery, whom fate has also brought to the "ancient kingdom of Brooklyn, New York." Through Tom and Harry, Nathan's world gradually broadens to include a new circle of acquaintances. He soon finds himself drawn into a scam involving a forged page of The Scarlet Letter, and begins to undertake his own literary venture, The Book of Human Folly, an account of "every blunder, every pratfall, every embarrassment, every idiocy, every foible, and every inane act I have committed during my long and checkered career as a man."
The Brooklyn Follies is Paul Auster's warmest, most exuberant novel, a moving, unforgettable hymn to the glories and mysteries of ordinary human life.
The Brooklyn Follies is Paul Auster's warmest, most exuberant novel, a moving, unforgettable hymn to the glories and mysteries of ordinary human life.
306 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 2005
About the author
Paul Auster
274 books11.4k followersPaul Auster was the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Bloodbath Nation, Baumgartner, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He was also a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). Auster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He died at age seventy-seven in 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,221 reviews
October 22, 2022
There is no such thing as a happy family life… All the characters in the story are, in different ways, victims of an unhappy family life… However, despite all the initial unhappiness, The Brooklyn Follies is a happy book.
The protagonist who is also a narrator of the tale relocates himself in Brooklyn and to occupy his spare time he develops a hobby…
Soon, accidentally, he meets his nephew working in the second hand bookshop and gets acquainted with its owner – an idiosyncratic gay crook…
When, quite unexpectedly, the narrator’s nine-year-old great-niece appears at his door the events begin to accelerate… Bad luck and mishaps… Infelicity and misfortune…
But in the end the proverbial rule ‘all’s well that ends well’ triumphs, in a way.
The protagonist who is also a narrator of the tale relocates himself in Brooklyn and to occupy his spare time he develops a hobby…
Humble as the project was, I decided to give it a grandiose, somewhat pompous title – in order to delude myself into thinking that I was engaged in important work. I called it The Book of Human Folly, and in it I was planning to set down in the simplest, clearest language possible an account of every blunder, every pratfall, every embarrassment, every idiocy, every foible, and every inane act I had committed during my long and checkered career as a man.
Soon, accidentally, he meets his nephew working in the second hand bookshop and gets acquainted with its owner – an idiosyncratic gay crook…
“There’s an imp inside me, and if I don’t let him out to make some mischief now and then, the world just gets too damned dull. I hate feeling grumpy and bored. I’m an enthusiast, and the more dangerous my life becomes, the happier I am. Some people gamble at cards. Other people climb mountains or jump out of airplanes. I like tricking people. I like seeing how much I can get away with. Even as a kid, one of my dreams was to publish an encyclopedia in which all the information was false. Wrong dates for every historical event, wrong locations for every river, biographies of people who never existed.”
When, quite unexpectedly, the narrator’s nine-year-old great-niece appears at his door the events begin to accelerate… Bad luck and mishaps… Infelicity and misfortune…
What a motley bunch of messed-up, floundering souls. What stunning examples of human imperfection. A father whose daughter wants nothing to do with him anymore. A brother who hasn’t seen or heard from his sister in three years. And a little girl who’s run away from home and refuses to speak.
But in the end the proverbial rule ‘all’s well that ends well’ triumphs, in a way.
June 7, 2021
Una lectura muy agradable. Es el primer libro de Auster que leo en mi vida.
Es una historia cotidiana que, página a página, se va complicando cada vez más. A Auster se le va un poco la mano con los personajes y con la trama porqué todo resulta demasiado forzado. Todos los personajes que intervenen llevan una vida dura, complicada hasta el extremo y esto le resta veracidad. Entiendo que es necesario para la novela y que, a pesar de todo, bueno... cumple con el objetivo y con creces.
Lo mejor: el personaje principal de Nathan Glass. Sin duda. Un casi sesentón cínico y de una gran agudeza. Se hace querer.
A very pleasant read. It's the first Auster book I've ever read.
It is a daily story that, page by page, becomes more and more complicated. Auster goes a bit too far with the characters and the plot because everything is too forced. All the characters involved lead a hard, complicated life to the extreme and this detracts from its truthfulness.
I understand that it is necessary for the novel and that, despite everything, well... It achieves the goal more.
The best: Nathan Glass's main character. No doubt. A cynical sixty year old man of great wit. He makes himself loved.
Es una historia cotidiana que, página a página, se va complicando cada vez más. A Auster se le va un poco la mano con los personajes y con la trama porqué todo resulta demasiado forzado. Todos los personajes que intervenen llevan una vida dura, complicada hasta el extremo y esto le resta veracidad. Entiendo que es necesario para la novela y que, a pesar de todo, bueno... cumple con el objetivo y con creces.
Lo mejor: el personaje principal de Nathan Glass. Sin duda. Un casi sesentón cínico y de una gran agudeza. Se hace querer.
A very pleasant read. It's the first Auster book I've ever read.
It is a daily story that, page by page, becomes more and more complicated. Auster goes a bit too far with the characters and the plot because everything is too forced. All the characters involved lead a hard, complicated life to the extreme and this detracts from its truthfulness.
I understand that it is necessary for the novel and that, despite everything, well... It achieves the goal more.
The best: Nathan Glass's main character. No doubt. A cynical sixty year old man of great wit. He makes himself loved.
February 2, 2023
“Estoy buscando un sitio tranquilo para morir. Alguien me recomendó Brooklyn…”Con esta atractiva frase empieza una algo insípida novela ambientada en un Brooklyn a medio camino entre una gran ciudad y un pueblecito donde toda la gente se saluda por la calle. Pero, como todo el que conoce a Auster sabe, el hombre propone y el azar dispone.
"Todo destino es arbitrario, toda decisión está regida por el azar. Ya puedes ir derecho, zigzaguear, llegar lo más rápido posible, pero en el fondo no tienes ni voz ni voto en el asunto. Eres un juguete de los dioses y no tienes voluntad propia."Y esta vez dispone a gusto de casi todos.
“El mundo ha ido de tragedia en tragedia, de horror en horror, pero los seres humanos seguimos existiendo, enamorándonos y hallando alegría en la vida. Me pareció que éste era un momento para recordarlo."Esto decía Auster en sus entrevistas de presentación de la novela, algo que ya dejó dicho en su texto:
“Quiero hablar de felicidad y bienestar, de esos raros e inesperados momentos en que enmudece la voz interior y uno se siente en paz con el mundo.”Y efectivamente, de esto trata la novela, de cómo el azar maneja nuestras vidas y de no ceder al desaliento, de no perder nunca la esperanza de que surja algo que cambie por completo nuestra vida y nos traslade a un mundo diferente y mejor. Para ello Auster encadena una serie de historias de final feliz sobre las que lo más que puedo decir en su favor es que me han entretenido.
Quizás sea mucho más difícil escribir una obra notable cuando lo que se cuenta es una historia amable sobre gente simpática que mantiene unos principios similares a los nuestros y que al final consiguen un estado de tranquila felicidad, pero el caso es que esta novela de Auster me ha parecido una sinsustancia. Y ya siento decirlo pues estaba en un momento de redescubrimiento del autor y comprendo perfectamente su necesidad de escribir una novela de este tipo tras el suceso más trágico de la reciente historia de su país, pero poco he podido disfrutar de una novela que me ha parecido simple y predecible. Aun así, aceptando la tesis de Guelbenzu de que la novela es un cuento de hadas y así hay que enfrentarse a ella, mantengo las tres estrellas que tan generosamente le otorgué en su día.
February 23, 2022
يحكي بول أوستر حكايات وحماقات شخصياته المختلفة في بروكلين
بطل الرواية رجل ستيني مريض ومتقاعد ينتقل للعيش في بروكلين انتظارا للنهاية
لكنها لم تكن النهاية بل بداية حياة ممتعة مزدحمة بالمشاعر والأحداث والشخصيات
وتظل العثرات والأخطاء والحماقات الانسانية جزء أساسي في الحياة لا تكتمل بدونه
بطل الرواية رجل ستيني مريض ومتقاعد ينتقل للعيش في بروكلين انتظارا للنهاية
لكنها لم تكن النهاية بل بداية حياة ممتعة مزدحمة بالمشاعر والأحداث والشخصيات
وتظل العثرات والأخطاء والحماقات الانسانية جزء أساسي في الحياة لا تكتمل بدونه
January 11, 2020
Wasn't sure whether I'd like Auster, but I enjoyed this book about NYC. I can see Al Pacino doing the main part in a future movie... Now I still have the Book of Illusions on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up...
April 6, 2024
ناتان به بروکلین آمده تا بمیرد.او مسئول فروش بیمهی زندگی بوده،اکنون طلاق گرفته و بازنشسته شدهاست،فقط به دنبال اندکی آرامش است.
ناتان یک روز به طور اتفاقی تام را ملاقات میکند که یکی از خویشاوندان نزدیک ناتان است و مدتها بود که او را گم کردهبود.تام اکنون در یک کتابفروشی کار میکند.
شخصیتها یکی یکی وارد زندگی ناتان میشوند و...
در این رمان،دغدغهها و دلمشغولیهای پل استر بایکدیگر مرتبط میشوند و آدمهای داستان سرنوشت خود را میسازند.
ناتان یک روز به طور اتفاقی تام را ملاقات میکند که یکی از خویشاوندان نزدیک ناتان است و مدتها بود که او را گم کردهبود.تام اکنون در یک کتابفروشی کار میکند.
شخصیتها یکی یکی وارد زندگی ناتان میشوند و...
در این رمان،دغدغهها و دلمشغولیهای پل استر بایکدیگر مرتبط میشوند و آدمهای داستان سرنوشت خود را میسازند.
May 20, 2018
اوایل فکر میکردم چون کتاب در مورد مرد شصت ساله ای که اتفاقا سرطان هم داره هست ، از داستان دلزده میشم اما اصلا اینطور نشد و برعکس دوست داشتم همراه موج کتاب پیش برم و تا انتها بخونمش . داستان هیجان انگیز و عجیب و غریب ��بود بلکه روایتی از زندگی شخصیت های مختلفی رو در خودش داشت که تا انتهای کتاب بارها نوع رفتار و اعمال شون تغییر میکنه و به این میگن یک رشد انسانی بی نظیر که نویسنده بدون اغراق و بزرگنمایی کاملا دلچسب درش آورده و جو بین شخصیت هاش و خواننده های کتاب رو صمیمی میکنه و همین باعث میشه با قلبی گرم "دیوانگی در بروکلین" رو بخونیم . جالبه با اینکه خاص نبود ولی برام دوستداشتنی بود و از خوندنش لذت بردم ؛ نمیدونم چطور میشه همچنین داستانی همچنین کاری با مخاطب کنه که اون رو با لذت به اتمام برسونیم ولی معلومه هرچی که هست نویسنده قلمی گرم با اندکی چاشنی ای نامشخص ولی جادویی داره که باعث جذب ما میشه و برای مدتی با دغدغه ی آدم هایی که گاهی کاملا عادی و بی هدف اند ، گاهی خرفت و سر به هوا و گم شده و گاهی حسابی مصیبت زده زندگی میکنیم و در آخر همان آدم ها را داریم که در بخش های پایانی تغییراتی با شیبی ملایم دارند و موفق از دل جهنمی که زندگی و یا خودشون ساختن بیرون میان و به زندگی جدید ولی تقریبا عادی شون ادامه میدن ...
May 16, 2021
Nathan Glass, our protagonist, returns to Brooklyn, the place of his birth, thinking that his life is over. He is divorced from his wife, estranged from his only daughter and is in remission from lung cancer but has no idea how long that will last; if he has one month or many years left to live. At the beginning of the novel he doesn't seem to care that much. But he begins to care more and more as the novel progresses. On arriving in Brooklyn he meets up with his nephew, Tom. They haven't met for many years. Tom has changed drastically from the brilliant young boy with an academic scholarship and a marvelous career ahead of him. But things didn't work out for him as planned. Nathan finds himself getting involved more and more deeply in Tom's life and in the lives of others he meets in his Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond, mostly in efforts to help them. In doing so he finds the desire to live and and the ability to love, as do many of the characters in this novel.
Auster's message is that life is messy and expectations don't always work out as planned due to our follies, the foolish or just desperate mistakes we make in our lives People do not always have control over their lives and can only strive to hopefully, dig themselves out of their messy and often painful lives and perhaps find a reason to live a better life, and even love. Many of the well-drawn characters in this novel do just that.
Throughout this novel, Nathan observes these people while involved in their lives and is scribbling notes for a book about them. Perhaps this is that book.
Auster's message is that life is messy and expectations don't always work out as planned due to our follies, the foolish or just desperate mistakes we make in our lives People do not always have control over their lives and can only strive to hopefully, dig themselves out of their messy and often painful lives and perhaps find a reason to live a better life, and even love. Many of the well-drawn characters in this novel do just that.
Throughout this novel, Nathan observes these people while involved in their lives and is scribbling notes for a book about them. Perhaps this is that book.
October 6, 2020
Paul Auster's The brooklyn Follies presents a stark contrast to the first work of his that I've read, The New York Trilogy; although the majority of it takes place in New York, the two are different as night and day. Novels that comprise The New York Trilogy have been largely experimental, post-modern cat and mouse between the author and the reader; The Brooklyn Follies is a novel with a pretty straightforward but nevertheless compelling plot and characters one can care about. As the title suggests, it is a novel about folly; what follies do we put ourselves in, voluntarily or not, and what are their consequences.
The protagonist and narrator is a man named Nathan Glass, a 60 year old ex-insurance salesman, who went through lung cancer and has recently became a divorcee, has sort of given up on life and wants to calmly wait it out until its end, spending the savings he has attained. Looking for a quiet place to die, upon someone's recommendation he moves back to Brooklyn, the place he kept returning to, as he lived there as a child. While browsing the area, Nathan Wood encounters his newhew, Tom, once a promising academician, now a former cab driver and a current used book store employee. He introduces Nathan to his boss, Harry Duncan, a character with a colorful past, who still has a few schemes and plans up his sleeve. To pass the time, Nathan began a project of his own - The Book of Human Folly - an accounts of mishaps and mistakes, which as the title suggest might have ended as the text of the very novel we're reading.
Starting with a wish to die, The Brooklyn Follies slowly moves up towards the will to live. Reading the novel is a journey, during which we witness the transformation of the characters; their redemption and reconfirmation, regaining of life. The tone is much more jovial than the one of The New York Trilogy and the characters often end up in mishap and folly; but there is poignancy, a sense of place and time, a community before the 9/11 attacks, peacefulness and ordinariness. The plot is captivating and the drama is real; to say more would be to spoil it. The characters are colorful and the book never drags; in fact, I wouldn't mind if it was longer. The theme of the book, the folly, is an important one. We all are a part of life, and observe it. The characters in the novel all have ben lost, resigned or misplaced; we observe how they slowly get their lives back, and change from willing to die to wanting to live. Perhaps beneath the tiredness and mundanity there is still something worth striving for, and these people have taken their chances.
Although not the most original of ideas, the novel is captivating and full of colorful characters. The writing is crisp, and the lack of surreal elements and impersonal cold serves greatly to its favor. Auster paints his Brooklyn with warm strokes, and gives his characters original and likable personalities; the novel is a gentle and tender one, where the reader genuinely cares about the fate of people he's reading about.It's humorous, engaging and inspiring; it's human drama done well. A good choice to spend several hours, involved in the life of an everyman, his aspirations, dreams, triumphs, failures and hopes. At worst, you'l put it away and not think much of it; at best, it might inspire you and re-engage you with everyday activities and make you see them in a different light.
The protagonist and narrator is a man named Nathan Glass, a 60 year old ex-insurance salesman, who went through lung cancer and has recently became a divorcee, has sort of given up on life and wants to calmly wait it out until its end, spending the savings he has attained. Looking for a quiet place to die, upon someone's recommendation he moves back to Brooklyn, the place he kept returning to, as he lived there as a child. While browsing the area, Nathan Wood encounters his newhew, Tom, once a promising academician, now a former cab driver and a current used book store employee. He introduces Nathan to his boss, Harry Duncan, a character with a colorful past, who still has a few schemes and plans up his sleeve. To pass the time, Nathan began a project of his own - The Book of Human Folly - an accounts of mishaps and mistakes, which as the title suggest might have ended as the text of the very novel we're reading.
Starting with a wish to die, The Brooklyn Follies slowly moves up towards the will to live. Reading the novel is a journey, during which we witness the transformation of the characters; their redemption and reconfirmation, regaining of life. The tone is much more jovial than the one of The New York Trilogy and the characters often end up in mishap and folly; but there is poignancy, a sense of place and time, a community before the 9/11 attacks, peacefulness and ordinariness. The plot is captivating and the drama is real; to say more would be to spoil it. The characters are colorful and the book never drags; in fact, I wouldn't mind if it was longer. The theme of the book, the folly, is an important one. We all are a part of life, and observe it. The characters in the novel all have ben lost, resigned or misplaced; we observe how they slowly get their lives back, and change from willing to die to wanting to live. Perhaps beneath the tiredness and mundanity there is still something worth striving for, and these people have taken their chances.
Although not the most original of ideas, the novel is captivating and full of colorful characters. The writing is crisp, and the lack of surreal elements and impersonal cold serves greatly to its favor. Auster paints his Brooklyn with warm strokes, and gives his characters original and likable personalities; the novel is a gentle and tender one, where the reader genuinely cares about the fate of people he's reading about.It's humorous, engaging and inspiring; it's human drama done well. A good choice to spend several hours, involved in the life of an everyman, his aspirations, dreams, triumphs, failures and hopes. At worst, you'l put it away and not think much of it; at best, it might inspire you and re-engage you with everyday activities and make you see them in a different light.
June 4, 2019
An old dude gives a nine year old girl her bath. A niece tells her uncle about her own personal experiences with... oral sex.
... Yuck!
That there is an urge to be risque makes the conservative, too-quick-to-be-astonished writer a humongous dud in this instance.
Only when tackling meta terrains is this esteemed writer of ANY practical use.
... Yuck!
That there is an urge to be risque makes the conservative, too-quick-to-be-astonished writer a humongous dud in this instance.
Only when tackling meta terrains is this esteemed writer of ANY practical use.
September 25, 2017
Nathan Glass, Fifty-nine, retired and divorced who is not normally prone to bouts of self-pity, declares his desire to seek 'a silent end to my sad and ridiculous life'; the same Nathan Glass who is writing a book dedicated to his life's collection of 'verbal flubs, physical mishaps, failed ideas and social gaffs. Auster's postmodern idea's are built around a host of such recurrent themes, identity and feeling lost in the world, Auster's prose here is nothing new, but that's a good thing. Sharp, simple and compelling. I warmed to Nathan immediately, urbane and funny, but also insecure and generous. He has moved from the suburbs to Brooklyn and claims he doesn't wish to last the year, whilst also trying to write a book, He grows to love its vitality and endless possibilities, and for chance connections. He doesn't really want to die, probably just bored. But a re-acquaintance with his nephew Tom, would lead to a friendship he least expected, he and Nathan share long conversations about the nature of things. Tom's nine-year-old niece Lucy turns up out of the blue, refusing to speak. Suddenly these three bridge a gap from their past lives and help each other with the possibility of reclaiming hope. Tom and Nathan take her on a car trip and fatefully escape a crash; the bookshop owner dies, leaving it to Tom; Nathan rescues Aurora (Lucy's mother) from a lunatic husband; Nathan, Tom and Aurora get girlfriends. This could only be Auster, it's oddly compelling pretty much all the way through, Because he is simply such a gifted storyteller, whether things are slightly bizarre is irrelevant, he draws you into a world you don't want to leave, with characters to warm the soul. The Brooklyn Follies was a pleasure to read, but it does carry a sense of literary coasting. It is strong on set-pieces ans conversation, but as the story gathers pace, the thread between these fragments starts to fray. There is nothing wrong with being anxious about humankind's ignorance and impotence, but Auster can be too eager to shoehorn in reminders about the randomness of fate, and the effects this has on everyday people. A solid Auster novel, not in my view him at his peak, but it's warm humour within the pages was a joy to behold.
September 12, 2016
Oh hey look, another book by a pompous old white man peopled almost entirely by pompous white men holding forth on existence and the meaning of life and the inner workings of the mind and their own bloated legacies and women as playthings and agents of growth.
Is this what Paul Auster is always like? I think the only other of his books I've ever read is the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass, which was about a million years ago.
Idk man, I mean I didn't hate-read this exactly, but I definitely knew by p. 20 that I was going to be annoyed the whole way through, and I was. Barring a few relatively interesting plot surprises, this was more or less insufferable from start to finish.
Is this what Paul Auster is always like? I think the only other of his books I've ever read is the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass, which was about a million years ago.
Idk man, I mean I didn't hate-read this exactly, but I definitely knew by p. 20 that I was going to be annoyed the whole way through, and I was. Barring a few relatively interesting plot surprises, this was more or less insufferable from start to finish.
April 6, 2017
من که دوست داشتم بازم ادامه داشت داستان. شبا می رفتم سراغ کتاب و از دنیای واقعی می رفتم تو دنیای تصادفات و انسان های گرفتار استر. مثل همیشه می گم جنبه های انسانی - به همه ی معانی - روایت استر منو به خودش جذب می کنه و اینکه روایتش پذیرای تصادفه - تصادفی که خودش معنایی نداره فقط هست و چاره ای هم نداره؛ اصلا ما همه زاییده ی تصادفاتیم نه اینکه خودمون بیرون گود باشیم
باورم نمی شه که این ترجمه از خجسته کیهان باشه. ترجمه کمی بهتر از متوسطه. اولا به دلیل مواردی از اشتباهات و ثانیا به دلیل اینکه در سانسور گشاده دستانه عمل شده - یعنی به جای حذف یک کلمه یا یک جمله یهو چند خط یا چند بند حذف شدن - و ثالثا اینکه چیزهای دیگه ای هم حذف شده که واقعا دیگه به سانسور ربطی نداره. احتمالا حداقل ده صفحه ای از کتاب ترجمه نشده - کم نیست مواردی که حذفیات فهم ماجرا رو مختل کرده. البته خجسته کیهان یه ویزگی مثبتو نگه داشته و اون توضیحاتیه که در مورد اصطلاحات و افراد و ... در متن - در قالب نوع برگرداندن جملات - یا در پاورقی ها آورده. تفاوت این ترجمه با سایر ترجمه هایی که از خجسته کیهان دیدم یا نشان از دقت کمترش تو این کتاب داره یا نشان از ویراستارانی که در پشت صحنه مشغول به کارند و ما قدر نمی دانیم
سانسورهای مضمونی: مطالب مربوط به همجنس گرایی - مردانه و زنانه - در کتاب حذف شده (مردانه خصوصا در مورد هری و افراد دور و برش و زنانه در مورد روری در پایان کتاب). بندهای مربوط به رابطه ی همزمان روری با دو مرد و معلوم نبودن پدر لوسی هم حذف شده. صحنه ی رابطه ی دهانی پدر باب با روری حذف شده جز چند جمله ی پایانی. و اموری از این دست
حاشیه: کتاب در چاپ های جدید جلدش هم تازه شده اما به گواهی سایت کتابخانه ی ملی خبری از ویرایش نیست
باورم نمی شه که این ترجمه از خجسته کیهان باشه. ترجمه کمی بهتر از متوسطه. اولا به دلیل مواردی از اشتباهات و ثانیا به دلیل اینکه در سانسور گشاده دستانه عمل شده - یعنی به جای حذف یک کلمه یا یک جمله یهو چند خط یا چند بند حذف شدن - و ثالثا اینکه چیزهای دیگه ای هم حذف شده که واقعا دیگه به سانسور ربطی نداره. احتمالا حداقل ده صفحه ای از کتاب ترجمه نشده - کم نیست مواردی که حذفیات فهم ماجرا رو مختل کرده. البته خجسته کیهان یه ویزگی مثبتو نگه داشته و اون توضیحاتیه که در مورد اصطلاحات و افراد و ... در متن - در قالب نوع برگرداندن جملات - یا در پاورقی ها آورده. تفاوت این ترجمه با سایر ترجمه هایی که از خجسته کیهان دیدم یا نشان از دقت کمترش تو این کتاب داره یا نشان از ویراستارانی که در پشت صحنه مشغول به کارند و ما قدر نمی دانیم
سانسورهای مضمونی: مطالب مربوط به همجنس گرایی - مردانه و زنانه - در کتاب حذف شده (مردانه خصوصا در مورد هری و افراد دور و برش و زنانه در مورد روری در پایان کتاب). بندهای مربوط به رابطه ی همزمان روری با دو مرد و معلوم نبودن پدر لوسی هم حذف شده. صحنه ی رابطه ی دهانی پدر باب با روری حذف شده جز چند جمله ی پایانی. و اموری از این دست
حاشیه: کتاب در چاپ های جدید جلدش هم تازه شده اما به گواهی سایت کتابخانه ی ملی خبری از ویرایش نیست
February 11, 2018
The Brooklyn Follies, Paul Auster
The Brooklyn Follies is a 2005 novel by Paul Auster. 60-year-old Nathan Glass returns to Brooklyn after his wife has left him. He is recovering from lung cancer and is looking for "a quiet place to die". In Brooklyn he meets his nephew, Tom, whom he has not seen in several years. Tom has seemingly given up on life and has resigned himself to a string of meaningless jobs as he waits for his life to change. They develop a close friendship, entertaining each other in their misery, as they both try to avoid taking part in life.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و دوم ماه آگوست سال 2008 میلادی
عنوان: دیوانگی در بروکلین؛ پل آستر؛ مترجم: خجسته کیهان؛ تهران، افق، 1386، در 357 ص؛ شابک: 9789643692957؛ داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی قرن 21
ناتان پیرمردی شصت ساله که همسرش از ایشان جدا شده، ارتباطی با سایرین و فامیل ندارد، سرطان گرفته و به دنبال مکانی آرام است تا سالهای آخر عمر خود را در آنجا سپری کند. دوستی به او بروکلین را معرفی میکند و ناتان راهی آنجا میشود. ... ا. شربیانی
The Brooklyn Follies is a 2005 novel by Paul Auster. 60-year-old Nathan Glass returns to Brooklyn after his wife has left him. He is recovering from lung cancer and is looking for "a quiet place to die". In Brooklyn he meets his nephew, Tom, whom he has not seen in several years. Tom has seemingly given up on life and has resigned himself to a string of meaningless jobs as he waits for his life to change. They develop a close friendship, entertaining each other in their misery, as they both try to avoid taking part in life.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و دوم ماه آگوست سال 2008 میلادی
عنوان: دیوانگی در بروکلین؛ پل آستر؛ مترجم: خجسته کیهان؛ تهران، افق، 1386، در 357 ص؛ شابک: 9789643692957؛ داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی قرن 21
ناتان پیرمردی شصت ساله که همسرش از ایشان جدا شده، ارتباطی با سایرین و فامیل ندارد، سرطان گرفته و به دنبال مکانی آرام است تا سالهای آخر عمر خود را در آنجا سپری کند. دوستی به او بروکلین را معرفی میکند و ناتان راهی آنجا میشود. ... ا. شربیانی
September 19, 2021
واقعا عالی و خوشخوان
October 1, 2012
رجل ستيني يبحث عن مدينة صالحة لكي يموت فيها بسلام ، بعد حياة لا يمكن وصفها بالناجحة أبداً فقد خلّف ورائه مطلقة ناقمة و ابنة ترفض الرد على رسائله و سرطان قرر الانضمام إلى المعسكر الآخر . و هناك يلتقي بابن أخته الشاب الذي كان يحلم أن يكونه في صباه و لكنه هو الآخر قد تاه في رسالة الدكتوراة فوجد نفسه دونما انتباه سائقاً للأجرة و من هذه الظروف غير الجيدة أبداً تنطلق القصة و أستطيع القول بكل ثقة أنها رواية أمل من الطراز الأول على الرغم من كون الكاتب لم يغفل ضربات الزمان القاسية و التي لا بد أن تأتي بين الفينة و الأخرى و بحبكة غاية في الدهاء والتشويق تجد نفسك لا تتوقف عن القراءة إلا مرغماً فالرواية جميلة جداً و مكتوبة بعناية فائقة و بحس فكاهي و فلسفي في ذات الوقت . يؤكد بول اوستر في هذه الرواية على صعوبة حياة أبطالها أنها حياة تستحق العيش . أمر آخر ، هناك مكتبة و هناك حديث جميل عن الكتب و الكتابة و الكتّاب و هذه أشياء لا يمكن مقاومتها .
توصية مغمضة العينين لحماقات بروكلين .
May 16, 2021
2.4 stars. It was a relatively fast read for me—one day. Sort of wanted to just get it over with so I could move on to other books that I might like more. Not a ringing endorsement for this book, I realize.
I felt some of the writing was contrived.
In fact I will say this….what I did not like about it the most, and I borrow a quote from a GR friend of mine who said something in her review, and I liked it so much because I felt that she nailed it —said something so eloquently I wrote it down so I could use it later when I came across that feeling and to say it how she said it…she said this: “It pulls me out of the narrative to hear the writer writing.” Auster would write some crazy goofy sappy or stupid things (IMHO) and I no longer believed the character was real. I was distracted from the story. I love a book when I am immersed in it and the universe for me is an alternate universe—the universe of the novel or short story I am reading.
So there! 🤨 🧐 🙃
Reviews:
• (yup, I pretty much agree with this reviewer’s assessment): https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• https://bookpage.com/reviews/4433-pau...
• https://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2008/...
I felt some of the writing was contrived.
In fact I will say this….what I did not like about it the most, and I borrow a quote from a GR friend of mine who said something in her review, and I liked it so much because I felt that she nailed it —said something so eloquently I wrote it down so I could use it later when I came across that feeling and to say it how she said it…she said this: “It pulls me out of the narrative to hear the writer writing.” Auster would write some crazy goofy sappy or stupid things (IMHO) and I no longer believed the character was real. I was distracted from the story. I love a book when I am immersed in it and the universe for me is an alternate universe—the universe of the novel or short story I am reading.
So there! 🤨 🧐 🙃
Reviews:
• (yup, I pretty much agree with this reviewer’s assessment): https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• https://bookpage.com/reviews/4433-pau...
• https://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2008/...
October 2, 2017
پل استر رو دوست دارم، چون به سادهترین شکل ممکن پیچیدهترین جنبههای انسانی رو به رشتهی قلم درمیآره. هرچند بروکلین بهنسبت دو اثری که پیش از این خوندم، تفاوتهایی داشت. ولی بیشتر از اونا دوست داشتم. تا میانهی کتاب، کُند میخوندم و خیلی برام معمولی و حتی ملالآور بود! به نظرم راوی خیلی حرف میزد، خیلی همهچی رو توضیح میداد و خیلی شخصیتها رو باز میکرد. طوری که مثل صدسال تنهایی، آدم قاطی میکنه کی به کیه و حتی اعصابش خرد میشه از این همه اطلاعاتی که یه بند راوی به خورد خواننده میده. اما با پا گرفتن جریان همکاری هری و ناتان و و پروژهی هاثورن(آره، درست دارم میگم؟) داستان رو دور میافته. کمکم به واکاویهای راوی عادت میکنی و تازه جملات درخشانش جلو چشمت میآن. شخصیتها هیچکدوم خوب و بد نیستن، جز کسایی که باعث مرگ هری شدن. فقط این نحوهی واکاوی و بازکردنِ شخصیتها و دغدغههای انسانی، خیلی داستانو لذتبخش کرده.
جاهایی که دوست داشتم، یکی جریان دلجویی ناتان از دخترش بود، مرگ هری و تلاشهایی که ناتان میکنه و زنگ میزنه به اون یارو و یه سری دیالوگ معرکه بینشون رد و بدل میشه، کمکهایی که به لوسی و روری میکنه و زندگی سختی که روری داشته. اول آدم فکر میکنه چقدر روری بیفکره که دختر کوچیکش رو ول کرده. اما وقتی میفهمی چه سختیهایی میکشیده و چه شوهر احمقی داشته، درکش میکنی. پایان هم خیلی عالی بود، واقعاً پایان عالی بود. ینی اگه با جریان بستری شدنش تموم میشد هم باز داستان کامل بود. ولی اینکه به سرش زد شرکتی بزنه برای کسایی که در گمنامی میمیرن و فراموش میشن و یادشون رو برای نزدیکاشون نگه داره، اونم با کتاب و یادداشت و البته کتابی که مینوشت هم گذاشت کنار... خیلی انسانی بود. وقتی ناتان مریض میشه و میبرنش بیمارستان، منم نگران شدم. بعد رسیدم به اونجایی که میگه من سرطان رو پشت سر نذاشتم که ورم مری کارمو تموم کنه. خیلی خوب بود.
دیوانگی در بروکلین واقعاً دیوانگی بود. شاید تا نصفه اول کتاب خیلی حرصتون درآد و فکر کنین یه داستان پستمدرن بیسروتهه. ولی هرچی بگذره و با شخصیتها بیشتر آشنا بشین، بیشتر خوشتون میآد. از محمدعلی عزیز ممنونم که دربارهی سانسورها توضیح داد، این از چیزایی بود که یهکم برام عجیب باقی مونده بود. حس میکردم این وسط یه چیزایی حذف شده و یه چیزایی با عقل جور نمیآن. مثلاً اون جریان پدر باب و روری رو فهمیدم، چون گفته بود کار زشتی کرده و لباسش لکه شده و خیلی بش برخورده و فلان. ولی بقیه رو نفهمیده بودم و فقط حس میکردم یه چیزایی این وسط حذف شدن. ترجمه میتونست از این بهتر باشه. یه جاهایی خیلی خوب بود و یه جاهایی آدم گیر میکرد و نمیفهمید چی شده یا با اطلاعات قبلیش همخوانی نداشت.
در کل چیزی بود که از وسطش نظرمو کاملاً تغییر داد. نصفه اول رو خوندم و فقط داشتم تحمل میکردم و برام لذتی نداشت، ولی با پایان معرکه و اتفاقاتی که میافته و درگیری شخصیتها، خیلی بهم چسبید. فقط ناتان چقد هی عاشق میشد. :/ بعد پررو میگفت زنا نمیتونن تنها بمونن و تن به رابطه میدن. نه که خودت اصن نمیخوای! :/
+ تام رو دوست داشتم و سیری که این شخصیت طی کرد، بیشتر از همه نظرمو جلب کرد. و هری! وای از هری! مرد پدرسوختهای به نظر میرسه که وقتی میمیره از مرگش متأثر میشی. مردی که ظاهرش ناجوره ولی خیلی شخصیت محکم و جالبیه.
جاهایی که دوست داشتم، یکی جریان دلجویی ناتان از دخترش بود، مرگ هری و تلاشهایی که ناتان میکنه و زنگ میزنه به اون یارو و یه سری دیالوگ معرکه بینشون رد و بدل میشه، کمکهایی که به لوسی و روری میکنه و زندگی سختی که روری داشته. اول آدم فکر میکنه چقدر روری بیفکره که دختر کوچیکش رو ول کرده. اما وقتی میفهمی چه سختیهایی میکشیده و چه شوهر احمقی داشته، درکش میکنی. پایان هم خیلی عالی بود، واقعاً پایان عالی بود. ینی اگه با جریان بستری شدنش تموم میشد هم باز داستان کامل بود. ولی اینکه به سرش زد شرکتی بزنه برای کسایی که در گمنامی میمیرن و فراموش میشن و یادشون رو برای نزدیکاشون نگه داره، اونم با کتاب و یادداشت و البته کتابی که مینوشت هم گذاشت کنار... خیلی انسانی بود. وقتی ناتان مریض میشه و میبرنش بیمارستان، منم نگران شدم. بعد رسیدم به اونجایی که میگه من سرطان رو پشت سر نذاشتم که ورم مری کارمو تموم کنه. خیلی خوب بود.
دیوانگی در بروکلین واقعاً دیوانگی بود. شاید تا نصفه اول کتاب خیلی حرصتون درآد و فکر کنین یه داستان پستمدرن بیسروتهه. ولی هرچی بگذره و با شخصیتها بیشتر آشنا بشین، بیشتر خوشتون میآد. از محمدعلی عزیز ممنونم که دربارهی سانسورها توضیح داد، این از چیزایی بود که یهکم برام عجیب باقی مونده بود. حس میکردم این وسط یه چیزایی حذف شده و یه چیزایی با عقل جور نمیآن. مثلاً اون جریان پدر باب و روری رو فهمیدم، چون گفته بود کار زشتی کرده و لباسش لکه شده و خیلی بش برخورده و فلان. ولی بقیه رو نفهمیده بودم و فقط حس میکردم یه چیزایی این وسط حذف شدن. ترجمه میتونست از این بهتر باشه. یه جاهایی خیلی خوب بود و یه جاهایی آدم گیر میکرد و نمیفهمید چی شده یا با اطلاعات قبلیش همخوانی نداشت.
در کل چیزی بود که از وسطش نظرمو کاملاً تغییر داد. نصفه اول رو خوندم و فقط داشتم تحمل میکردم و برام لذتی نداشت، ولی با پایان معرکه و اتفاقاتی که میافته و درگیری شخصیتها، خیلی بهم چسبید. فقط ناتان چقد هی عاشق میشد. :/ بعد پررو میگفت زنا نمیتونن تنها بمونن و تن به رابطه میدن. نه که خودت اصن نمیخوای! :/
+ تام رو دوست داشتم و سیری که این شخصیت طی کرد، بیشتر از همه نظرمو جلب کرد. و هری! وای از هری! مرد پدرسوختهای به نظر میرسه که وقتی میمیره از مرگش متأثر میشی. مردی که ظاهرش ناجوره ولی خیلی شخصیت محکم و جالبیه.
August 7, 2017
“Una persona muore, e a poco a poco tutte le tracce di quella vita spariscono. Un inventore sopravvive nelle sue invenzioni, un architetto nei suoi edifici, ma la maggior parte della gente non si lascia alle spalle monumenti o prodotti duraturi.”
Nathan, sessantenne in pensione con un tumore in via di guarigione decide di tornare a Brooklyn, città dove è nato, lontano da tutte le persone che conosce, per morire.
“Quando un uomo arriva alla nostra età è poco più che una serie di ex.”
Le cose però non vanno esattamente come previsto. Nathan non rimane solo per molto; l’incontro con il nipote che non vedeva da anni e tante avventure improbabili ben incastrate tra loro rendono l’esistenza di Nathan decisamente varia e tutt’altro che monotona. Nathan decide inoltre di raccogliere in un “Libro della follia umana” (da qui il titolo) tutti gli avvenimenti e i comportamenti assurdi o divertenti che gli sono successi nel corso della sua esistenza.
La scrittura è una presenza costante nel romanzo. I libri e la letteratura sono il passatempo preferito di Nathan, ma sono anche al centro della vita di molti dei personaggi del libro.
“Leggere era per me evasione e conforto, era la mia consolazione, il mio stimolante preferito: leggere per il puro gusto della lettura, per il meraviglioso silenzio che ti circonda quando ascolti le parole di un autore riverberate dentro la tua testa.”
Auster scrive con uno stile pacato storie semplici, scorrevoli, divertenti ma ricche di dettagli e di aneddoti, piene di riflessioni sulla vita, la morte e l’amicizia.
“Desidero parlare della felicità e del benessere, di quei momenti rari e inaspettati in cui la voce dentro la tua testa tace e ti senti tutt’uno con il mondo”.
Ogni personaggio del libro pare essere in balia del caso; ma proprio quando la vita sembra non abbia più nulla da dare ecco che eventi inattesi rimettono tutto in gioco. Il romanzo è un invito alla curiosità e alla vitalità, probabilmente vuole ricordarci che nella vita c’è posto per ognuno di noi.
“La tua pelle è sempre la tua pelle e quando una persona che ti piace ti abbraccia, puoi sdilinquirti ancora esattamente come ti succedeva quando credevi che saresti vissuto per sempre”.
Nathan, sessantenne in pensione con un tumore in via di guarigione decide di tornare a Brooklyn, città dove è nato, lontano da tutte le persone che conosce, per morire.
“Quando un uomo arriva alla nostra età è poco più che una serie di ex.”
Le cose però non vanno esattamente come previsto. Nathan non rimane solo per molto; l’incontro con il nipote che non vedeva da anni e tante avventure improbabili ben incastrate tra loro rendono l’esistenza di Nathan decisamente varia e tutt’altro che monotona. Nathan decide inoltre di raccogliere in un “Libro della follia umana” (da qui il titolo) tutti gli avvenimenti e i comportamenti assurdi o divertenti che gli sono successi nel corso della sua esistenza.
La scrittura è una presenza costante nel romanzo. I libri e la letteratura sono il passatempo preferito di Nathan, ma sono anche al centro della vita di molti dei personaggi del libro.
“Leggere era per me evasione e conforto, era la mia consolazione, il mio stimolante preferito: leggere per il puro gusto della lettura, per il meraviglioso silenzio che ti circonda quando ascolti le parole di un autore riverberate dentro la tua testa.”
Auster scrive con uno stile pacato storie semplici, scorrevoli, divertenti ma ricche di dettagli e di aneddoti, piene di riflessioni sulla vita, la morte e l’amicizia.
“Desidero parlare della felicità e del benessere, di quei momenti rari e inaspettati in cui la voce dentro la tua testa tace e ti senti tutt’uno con il mondo”.
Ogni personaggio del libro pare essere in balia del caso; ma proprio quando la vita sembra non abbia più nulla da dare ecco che eventi inattesi rimettono tutto in gioco. Il romanzo è un invito alla curiosità e alla vitalità, probabilmente vuole ricordarci che nella vita c’è posto per ognuno di noi.
“La tua pelle è sempre la tua pelle e quando una persona che ti piace ti abbraccia, puoi sdilinquirti ancora esattamente come ti succedeva quando credevi che saresti vissuto per sempre”.
December 11, 2017
لا تتمادي يا جويس، حاولي أن تجاري. ابقي رأسك مرفوعاً. لا تقبلي الزيف. صوتي بديموقراطية كلما انتخبتِ. امتطي دراجتك في الحديقة العرمة. احلمي بجسد مثالي. تناولي فيتاميناتك. اشربي ثمانية كؤوس من الماء يومياً. شجعي فريق الميتز. شاهدي الكثير من الأفلام السينمائية. لا ترهقي نفسك في العمل. قومي برحلة معي إلى باريس. نظفي أسنانك بالفرشاة بعد كل وجبة. لا تجتازي الشارع و الإشارة الحمراء مضاءة. دافعي عن الضعيف. و دافعي عن نفسك. تذكري كم أنتِ جميلة. تذكري كم أحبك. اشربي كأسا من الريسكي مع قطع الثلج يومياً. تنفسي بعمق. أبقي عينيك مفتوحتين. تجنبي الأطعمة الدسمة. نامي نوم المنصفين. تذكري كم أحبك.
November 29, 2021
3.5 stelle.
Leggere Paul Auster per me è un porto sicuro, anche in questo caso, malgrado le tante forzature della trama e un po’ di noia di già visto e sentito qua e là. Il risultato di questa commedia umana dallo stile brillante e sicuro, è simile, per le sensazioni che dà, a quei film che si guardano da anni in periodo natalizio, che danno conforto perché se ne conoscono già gli sviluppi e che il finale sarà lieto per tutti. Ma non troppo.
Leggere Paul Auster per me è un porto sicuro, anche in questo caso, malgrado le tante forzature della trama e un po’ di noia di già visto e sentito qua e là. Il risultato di questa commedia umana dallo stile brillante e sicuro, è simile, per le sensazioni che dà, a quei film che si guardano da anni in periodo natalizio, che danno conforto perché se ne conoscono già gli sviluppi e che il finale sarà lieto per tutti. Ma non troppo.
November 14, 2020
"ينبغي عدم الاستخفاف أبداً بقوة الكتب."
رواية أخرى يُبهرني فيها بول أوستر العبقري.
تحكي الرواية عن رجل متقاعد في الستين من عمره، ناثان غلاس، مر بتجربة زواج فاشلة وابنة لا تريد التواصل معه. وحين يتقاعد من عمله في شركة للتأمين، يظن بأن حياته ستنتهي خصوصاً وأنه كان يعاني من سرطان في الرئة. لكن ما يحدث لناثان غلاس أبعد ما يكون عن –الجلوس انتظاراً للموت-، فيقرر أن يكتب كتاباً عن الحماقات البشرية، ويمر بالكثير من الأحداث التي تغيّر مسير حياته وتضعه في مواقف عجيبة، ويتعرّف على أشخاص مثيرين للاهتمام، أشخاص من عائلته وآخرين غرباء تجمعهم به دروب الحياة.
بول أوستر عبقري في السرد، فهو يجعلنا نندمج بأحداث الرواية من أول سطر فيها وحتى النهاية، نعيش مع شخصياته ونتفاعل معهم. وفي روايته هذه يصوّر لنا الحياة الأمريكية في مدينة نيويورك وتحديداً في بروكلين، وأوضاع الناس والمجتمع والأحوال السياسية للبلاد، وتنتهي القصة بحادثة انفجار برج التجارة العالمية عام 2001.
رواية رائعة تستحق القراءة بكل تأكيد.
...
May 1, 2024
"ينبغي عدم الاستخفاف أبداً بقوة الكتب ."
رواية بدايتها كانت مملة بالنسبالي وفكرت اسيبها لكن بعد كام صفحة قدر بول اوستر يسحبني جوه الرواية ويدمجني فيها.
"في نهاية المطاف، كلنا سنموت، وعندما تُحمل جثثنا وتدفن في الأرض، لن يعرف برحيلنا الا اصدقاؤنا وأسرنا. لن يُعلن عن موتنا في الإذاعة والتلفزيون. لن يُنشر نعيينا في النيويورك تايمز. لن تؤلف كتب عنا. فهذا شرف لذوى السلطان والشهرة، لذوي المواهب الخارقة، ولكن من سيزعج نفسه بنشر سيرة حياة الناس العاديين ، المغموريين ، الكادحين، الذين نمر بهم في الشارع ونكاد لا نلاحظ وجودهم؟
ممكن نقول ان الرواية دي عن مثال للشخصيات دي، عن حياة إنسان، عن بشر عاديين ، بمشاكلهم ،بمشاعرهم ،بمخاوفهم ، بعلاقاتهم . بس متقدمة ومكتوبة بأسلوب حلو.
اقدر اقول ان بول اوستر حكاء رائع .
وان الرواية كانت رحلة ممتعة وخفيفة .
٢٤ / ١٠ / ٢٠٢٣
رواية بدايتها كانت مملة بالنسبالي وفكرت اسيبها لكن بعد كام صفحة قدر بول اوستر يسحبني جوه الرواية ويدمجني فيها.
"في نهاية المطاف، كلنا سنموت، وعندما تُحمل جثثنا وتدفن في الأرض، لن يعرف برحيلنا الا اصدقاؤنا وأسرنا. لن يُعلن عن موتنا في الإذاعة والتلفزيون. لن يُنشر نعيينا في النيويورك تايمز. لن تؤلف كتب عنا. فهذا شرف لذوى السلطان والشهرة، لذوي المواهب الخارقة، ولكن من سيزعج نفسه بنشر سيرة حياة الناس العاديين ، المغموريين ، الكادحين، الذين نمر بهم في الشارع ونكاد لا نلاحظ وجودهم؟
ممكن نقول ان الرواية دي عن مثال للشخصيات دي، عن حياة إنسان، عن بشر عاديين ، بمشاكلهم ،بمشاعرهم ،بمخاوفهم ، بعلاقاتهم . بس متقدمة ومكتوبة بأسلوب حلو.
اقدر اقول ان بول اوستر حكاء رائع .
وان الرواية كانت رحلة ممتعة وخفيفة .
٢٤ / ١٠ / ٢٠٢٣
September 25, 2021
CRITIQUE:
The Home of Human Folly
This is another one of Paul Auster's high concept novels.
The narrator, 59 year old Nathan Glass, is a retired insurance salesman. Not long after separating from his wife of 33 years, he discovered that he had lung cancer (even though it's now in remission, "I had given myself up for dead"). At the beginning of the novel, he has moved back to Brooklyn (where he was born and spent only three years with his parents) from Westchester County, "looking for a quiet place to die." He craved "a silent end to [his] sad and ridiculous life."
His married 29 year old daughter, Rachel, suggests that "I needed to get involved in something, to invent a project for myself." He offends her when he responds "I couldn't give a flying fuck about projects." He no longer values or feels there is any purpose to (his) life.
Nevertheless, he stumbles upon a project, "the little hobbyhorse I'd been looking for to carry me away from the indolence of my soporific routine", which he labels "The Book of Human Folly".
He is "planning to set down in the simplest, clearest language possible an account of every blunder, every pratfall, every embarrassment, every idiocy, every foible, and every inane act I had committed during my long and checkered career as a man."
He plans to tell stories about himself, about the people he knew, historical events, and the follies of "my fellow human beings down through the ages":
This is Auster's high concept, and more or less describes the book that we read, except to the extent that it becomes Auster's novel, in the telling.
June and Tom and Rory and Lucy and Marina and Nancy and Joyce
When it comes to documenting human folly, Nathan finds that the most productive place to look is close to home.
So, he starts with his sister June's son, Tom, a former postgraduate literature student, who seems to have more in common with Auster than Nathan does, and therefore constitutes the "Hero". Aurora/Rory's daughter, Lucy, could equally be a Hero, to the extent that she's not just a Heroine.
Nathan finds himself in an extended family that consists of "three generations of girls, with Joyce at the top, Nancy and Aurora in the middle, and the ten-year old Lucy...at the bottom":
Paul Auster in his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn
I'm Harry Brightman (the "Flamboyant Homosexual")
The numerous interactions between these characters (and others) are best left to you to read for yourself.
However, it's worth mentioning a used bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn called Brightman's Attic. It's owned by a "flamboyant homosexual" called Harry Brightman, and in many ways he's both Anti-hero and Hero.
Tom, Rufus and Tina
Nathan soon encounters the bookstore when he first moves to Brooklyn. Several months later, he is surprised to find his nephew, Tom, working there. Later, he meets the other assistant, Rufus, a tall, light-skinned Jamaican, who is also one of the best drag queens in the city: "He works on the weekends under the name of Tina Hott."
By book end, Nathan witnesses a performance by Tina:
Fake Art, Let's Dance
Harry Brightman is also a larger than life character. It turns out his real name is Harry Dunkel (which is German for dark, the opposite of light or bright). In his previous (darker) life, he was an art dealer who was convicted and sentenced to prison for master-minding the forgery and sale of over twenty paintings by a deceased artist represented by his gallery. When Harry's original accomplice finds him in Brooklyn, it turns out he hasn't got counterfeiting totally out of his system. They intend to forge and sell the lost manuscript of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter".
This part of the novel seems to allude to William Gaddis' "The Recognitions". Gaddis is certainly present in the novel. In his second floor office, Harry stores first editions and rare copies of works "ranging from the quite old (Dickens and Thackeray) to the relatively new (Faulkner and Gaddis)." Perhaps, this is a tongue-in-cheek piece of post-modern intertextuality? (Later on, in the same vein, Nathan observes Tom reading a play by Don DeLillo.)
Ensemble Performance
What I enjoyed most about the novel was the manner in which, no sooner is this cast of characters assembled (around Nathan, Tom and Harry), than they seem to start an ensemble performance, almost of their own accord.
The last chapters celebrate the invention, diversity, persistence, resilience and survival of these characters and neighbourhoods, despite their intrinsic mortality. Nathan regains his love of life.
First published in 2005, the novel becomes a tribute to New York and Brooklyn, in particular, in a time of post-9/11 distress. It's far from sad and ridiculous. It's both light and light-hearted, if not exactly farcical. I'm fortunate to have read it soon after watching Spike Lee's documentary "NYC Epicenters" on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Celebrate the spirit!
SOUNDTRACK [CELEBRATE THE SPIRIT]:
The Home of Human Folly
This is another one of Paul Auster's high concept novels.
The narrator, 59 year old Nathan Glass, is a retired insurance salesman. Not long after separating from his wife of 33 years, he discovered that he had lung cancer (even though it's now in remission, "I had given myself up for dead"). At the beginning of the novel, he has moved back to Brooklyn (where he was born and spent only three years with his parents) from Westchester County, "looking for a quiet place to die." He craved "a silent end to [his] sad and ridiculous life."
His married 29 year old daughter, Rachel, suggests that "I needed to get involved in something, to invent a project for myself." He offends her when he responds "I couldn't give a flying fuck about projects." He no longer values or feels there is any purpose to (his) life.
Nevertheless, he stumbles upon a project, "the little hobbyhorse I'd been looking for to carry me away from the indolence of my soporific routine", which he labels "The Book of Human Folly".
He is "planning to set down in the simplest, clearest language possible an account of every blunder, every pratfall, every embarrassment, every idiocy, every foible, and every inane act I had committed during my long and checkered career as a man."
He plans to tell stories about himself, about the people he knew, historical events, and the follies of "my fellow human beings down through the ages":
"The tone would be light and farcical throughout, and my only purpose was to keep myself entertained while using up as many hours of the day as I could."
This is Auster's high concept, and more or less describes the book that we read, except to the extent that it becomes Auster's novel, in the telling.
June and Tom and Rory and Lucy and Marina and Nancy and Joyce
When it comes to documenting human folly, Nathan finds that the most productive place to look is close to home.
So, he starts with his sister June's son, Tom, a former postgraduate literature student, who seems to have more in common with Auster than Nathan does, and therefore constitutes the "Hero". Aurora/Rory's daughter, Lucy, could equally be a Hero, to the extent that she's not just a Heroine.
Nathan finds himself in an extended family that consists of "three generations of girls, with Joyce at the top, Nancy and Aurora in the middle, and the ten-year old Lucy...at the bottom":
"The interior of the brownstone was a living museum of female artifacts...To go there was like visiting a foreign country..."
Paul Auster in his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn
I'm Harry Brightman (the "Flamboyant Homosexual")
The numerous interactions between these characters (and others) are best left to you to read for yourself.
However, it's worth mentioning a used bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn called Brightman's Attic. It's owned by a "flamboyant homosexual" called Harry Brightman, and in many ways he's both Anti-hero and Hero.
Tom, Rufus and Tina
Nathan soon encounters the bookstore when he first moves to Brooklyn. Several months later, he is surprised to find his nephew, Tom, working there. Later, he meets the other assistant, Rufus, a tall, light-skinned Jamaican, who is also one of the best drag queens in the city: "He works on the weekends under the name of Tina Hott."
By book end, Nathan witnesses a performance by Tina:
"Tina Hott performed...not as a singer, but as a faux-singer, mouthing the words of show tunes and jazz standards as sung by legendary female vocalists [including Lena Horne]. It was magnificent and absurd. It was funny and heartbreaking. It was moving and comical. It was everything it was and everything it wasn't.
"And there was Tina, gesturing with her arms as she pretended to belt out the words of the song. Her face was all tendermess and love. Her eyes were met with tears, and we all stood there transfixed, not knowing whether to cry with her or to laugh. As far as I'm concerned, it was one of the strangest, most transcendent moments of my life."
Fake Art, Let's Dance
Harry Brightman is also a larger than life character. It turns out his real name is Harry Dunkel (which is German for dark, the opposite of light or bright). In his previous (darker) life, he was an art dealer who was convicted and sentenced to prison for master-minding the forgery and sale of over twenty paintings by a deceased artist represented by his gallery. When Harry's original accomplice finds him in Brooklyn, it turns out he hasn't got counterfeiting totally out of his system. They intend to forge and sell the lost manuscript of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter".
This part of the novel seems to allude to William Gaddis' "The Recognitions". Gaddis is certainly present in the novel. In his second floor office, Harry stores first editions and rare copies of works "ranging from the quite old (Dickens and Thackeray) to the relatively new (Faulkner and Gaddis)." Perhaps, this is a tongue-in-cheek piece of post-modern intertextuality? (Later on, in the same vein, Nathan observes Tom reading a play by Don DeLillo.)
Ensemble Performance
What I enjoyed most about the novel was the manner in which, no sooner is this cast of characters assembled (around Nathan, Tom and Harry), than they seem to start an ensemble performance, almost of their own accord.
The last chapters celebrate the invention, diversity, persistence, resilience and survival of these characters and neighbourhoods, despite their intrinsic mortality. Nathan regains his love of life.
First published in 2005, the novel becomes a tribute to New York and Brooklyn, in particular, in a time of post-9/11 distress. It's far from sad and ridiculous. It's both light and light-hearted, if not exactly farcical. I'm fortunate to have read it soon after watching Spike Lee's documentary "NYC Epicenters" on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Celebrate the spirit!
SOUNDTRACK [CELEBRATE THE SPIRIT]:
February 18, 2019
Le piccole e le grandi follie di ogni giorno
Nathan fa ritorno a Brooklyn,dopo molti anni, cercando un posto tranquillo in cui morire
e invece...
lì ,inaspettatamente,troverà un buon posto in cui ricominciare a vivere.
Tanti accadimenti si susseguiranno,velocemente,a trasformare la solitaria e stanca esistenza
di "zio Nat"
Innanzitutto l'incontro inatteso con suo nipote Tom,che si trova a lavorare proprio nella libreria del quartiere, poi quello con l'eccentrico e sagace Harry (il loro ritrovato legame di stima ed affetto ha effetti positivi per entrambi)e poi l'improvviso e misterioso arrivo della piccola e taciturna Lucy,figlia della sorella di Tom- Rory- che non si sa bene che fine abbia fatto.
(la ribelle e un po'squinternata Rory, ex-pornostar,ex cantante blues,ex-drogata e cristiana rinata )
Infine il viaggio, tutti insieme verso nord,su una Oldsmobile Cutlass verde lime,la deviazione (emenomale!) ,l'astuto sabotaggio con la coca-cola , la conoscenza di un'energica maestra,dalle idee molto chiare,Honey [etc etc.. NO Spoiler!]
E così,a poco a poco,c'è una riscoperta dell'amore per la vita ,attraverso le piccole e grandi follie di ogni giorno
ps:ben caratterizzati anche i personaggi minori,come la procace cameriera Marina,con un energumeno per marito,
Rufus ,l'esile ragazzo giamaicano commesso in libreria e di sera drag-queen,o la BPM,bellissima e perfetta madre,la dolce creatrice di gioielli
pps:molto suggestiva la Storia della bambola di Kafka
3/4 stelline
Nathan fa ritorno a Brooklyn,dopo molti anni, cercando un posto tranquillo in cui morire
e invece...
lì ,inaspettatamente,troverà un buon posto in cui ricominciare a vivere.
Tanti accadimenti si susseguiranno,velocemente,a trasformare la solitaria e stanca esistenza
di "zio Nat"
Innanzitutto l'incontro inatteso con suo nipote Tom,che si trova a lavorare proprio nella libreria del quartiere, poi quello con l'eccentrico e sagace Harry (il loro ritrovato legame di stima ed affetto ha effetti positivi per entrambi)e poi l'improvviso e misterioso arrivo della piccola e taciturna Lucy,figlia della sorella di Tom- Rory- che non si sa bene che fine abbia fatto.
(la ribelle e un po'squinternata Rory, ex-pornostar,ex cantante blues,ex-drogata e cristiana rinata )
Infine il viaggio, tutti insieme verso nord,su una Oldsmobile Cutlass verde lime,la deviazione (emenomale!) ,l'astuto sabotaggio con la coca-cola , la conoscenza di un'energica maestra,dalle idee molto chiare,Honey [etc etc.. NO Spoiler!]
E così,a poco a poco,c'è una riscoperta dell'amore per la vita ,attraverso le piccole e grandi follie di ogni giorno
ps:ben caratterizzati anche i personaggi minori,come la procace cameriera Marina,con un energumeno per marito,
Rufus ,l'esile ragazzo giamaicano commesso in libreria e di sera drag-queen,o la BPM,bellissima e perfetta madre,la dolce creatrice di gioielli
pps:molto suggestiva la Storia della bambola di Kafka
3/4 stelline
June 23, 2017
بول أوستر قدر، في الرواية دي، يصنع من مجموعة أحداث خالية من التشويق ولا تمثل أى أهمية في الحياة إلى رواية عظيمة تقرأها من أولها لآخرها باستمتاع شديد.
رجل عجوز بلا إنجازات يكتشف نفسه ويجد لذة الحياة في نهاية العمر ويعيد إحياء شاب ترك فرصة النجاح والأحلام وراءه.
رجل عجوز بلا إنجازات يكتشف نفسه ويجد لذة الحياة في نهاية العمر ويعيد إحياء شاب ترك فرصة النجاح والأحلام وراءه.
September 12, 2011
This was one lousy book. Now I've never read this guy before but this book had all the ingredients of good story.Here:
The narrator starts off miserable- which is great.
He's neurotic - which is also great.
His family is dysfunctional- which is marvelous.
His ex wife hates him.Wonderful.
He hates her.
Wonderful again.
And here he is in Brooklyn- Perfect. We're cooking.
So what went wrong?
Everything.
The book just sunk from there.
In fact if it hadn't been for those ingredients I would've stopped reading after the first 3 pages.As it was I was fascinated as to why this was such a lousy book.
And boy- was it lousy..
I think the problem was the narrator was a deadly bore, the characters were useless and the plot was about as believable as a 3 dollar bill.
One of the reviews here said that the author was writing for his editors- in other words- FOR THE MONEY.
There ain't nothing wrong with that. Some of my best friends...
It's just that maybe he should've added some life to the mix-
something believable.
As it was this book was just so bland, and glib and waste of time.
Kind of like trying to swim in a vat of pea soup. Thick,thick and no taste at all.
Dull, self important, and one more time- just plain dull.
Don't read it.
JM
The narrator starts off miserable- which is great.
He's neurotic - which is also great.
His family is dysfunctional- which is marvelous.
His ex wife hates him.Wonderful.
He hates her.
Wonderful again.
And here he is in Brooklyn- Perfect. We're cooking.
So what went wrong?
Everything.
The book just sunk from there.
In fact if it hadn't been for those ingredients I would've stopped reading after the first 3 pages.As it was I was fascinated as to why this was such a lousy book.
And boy- was it lousy..
I think the problem was the narrator was a deadly bore, the characters were useless and the plot was about as believable as a 3 dollar bill.
One of the reviews here said that the author was writing for his editors- in other words- FOR THE MONEY.
There ain't nothing wrong with that. Some of my best friends...
It's just that maybe he should've added some life to the mix-
something believable.
As it was this book was just so bland, and glib and waste of time.
Kind of like trying to swim in a vat of pea soup. Thick,thick and no taste at all.
Dull, self important, and one more time- just plain dull.
Don't read it.
JM
November 3, 2018
Há já algum tempo que não lia um livro de tamanho médio como este (aproximadamente 300 páginas) em tão pouco tempo. E também há já algum tempo que não lia nada de Paul Auster, um autor cujos livros ora me encantam (O Caderno Vermelho, A Música do Acaso, Timbuktu), ora me desapontam (Triologia de Nova Iorque, Da mão para a boca, Viagens no Scriptorium).
Felizmente, este pertence ao grupo dos que me encantaram: a prosa simples mas fluida, o cruzar de histórias do quotidiano, pontuadas por pormenores bizarros, mas verosímeis, as coincidências e a sempre presente fixação com o acaso, organizaram-se numa história com princípio, meio e fim (como eu gosto). As reflexões filosóficas acerca da brevidade e do sentido (ou não) da vida, e as inúmeras referências à literatura tornaram tudo mais interessante.
Felizmente, este pertence ao grupo dos que me encantaram: a prosa simples mas fluida, o cruzar de histórias do quotidiano, pontuadas por pormenores bizarros, mas verosímeis, as coincidências e a sempre presente fixação com o acaso, organizaram-se numa história com princípio, meio e fim (como eu gosto). As reflexões filosóficas acerca da brevidade e do sentido (ou não) da vida, e as inúmeras referências à literatura tornaram tudo mais interessante.
August 18, 2019
Great story about Nathan, his nephew, a little girls and a bookshop. Read while in Switzerland.
December 30, 2010
I'd like to give this book 4.5 stars, but goodreads.com fails to strive for precision.
I really, really, really enjoyed this book. The voice and tone of it is so warm and an inviting. I loved every character in the book, not so much for their personalities, but rather that Auster portrays each one with so much sensitivity and kindness. There is no judgement or scorn in his approach to these people, despite their "follies."
There isn't much of a "story" here. Really, for me, the "story" occurs on the last page, when the events of the book are placed in a context larger than the book itself. It makes everything one just read seem less important and more important at the same time. Lately, I have been wondering how I should approach life. I mean should one take life seriously, or should we just coast- do what's good in the moment? And, if I take life seriously, does that cover investing in human beings or does it just mean "being an adult," being responsible, learning to stand alone. I don't know what the answer is, but this book made me think about it more. It would seem that Auster falls on the side of investing in human beings and not taking life too seriously.
I feel as if he is asking us to put a strong value on retreat, giving in, the victory in flat-out survival. Every character in the novel is raising some kind of white flag. The characters are dashed; ephemeral hopes dissolved into concrete daily grinds, and the beauty Auster is trying to portray for us is the gentle pleasure of being ok with defeat. It is almost as if he wants us to revel in surrender. He shows us that there are rich intimate spaces and deeper connections, perhaps, in a world that is constructed around commiseration than the one we are used to, the one in which we lie about our aspirations, hide our failures, and strive to make something of ourselves. I wonder how plausible this world is; it does sound and feel very rich and comforting.
Everyone fails, and when those around us fail, we somehow tend to love them more. The old adage that flaws and imperfections are what make each person unique and beautiful in his or her own ways, is reflected wonderfully in this book. Somehow, Auster is asking us to skip that whole part in between failure and others loving us, where we feel shame, embarrassment, and pain in the face of our missteps. We have so much to learn from our wrong turns and so much to take in during each fall that we might as well get over ourselves and open up to the world and people around us.
There is a place that is referred to often in the book, called the "hotel existence" a place where one can escape the bullshit and miserable aspects of the world we live in, a place where one can retreat to a life less entangled in the morass of the planet. The people in the book never get there in a physical sense, but it becomes clear to me that Auster means to say that the "hotel existence" is bullshit in and of itself. There is no true escape from the bullshit. Life is fucked. It just is. There isn't escape there is only the white flag.
It was an awesome book.
I really, really, really enjoyed this book. The voice and tone of it is so warm and an inviting. I loved every character in the book, not so much for their personalities, but rather that Auster portrays each one with so much sensitivity and kindness. There is no judgement or scorn in his approach to these people, despite their "follies."
There isn't much of a "story" here. Really, for me, the "story" occurs on the last page, when the events of the book are placed in a context larger than the book itself. It makes everything one just read seem less important and more important at the same time. Lately, I have been wondering how I should approach life. I mean should one take life seriously, or should we just coast- do what's good in the moment? And, if I take life seriously, does that cover investing in human beings or does it just mean "being an adult," being responsible, learning to stand alone. I don't know what the answer is, but this book made me think about it more. It would seem that Auster falls on the side of investing in human beings and not taking life too seriously.
I feel as if he is asking us to put a strong value on retreat, giving in, the victory in flat-out survival. Every character in the novel is raising some kind of white flag. The characters are dashed; ephemeral hopes dissolved into concrete daily grinds, and the beauty Auster is trying to portray for us is the gentle pleasure of being ok with defeat. It is almost as if he wants us to revel in surrender. He shows us that there are rich intimate spaces and deeper connections, perhaps, in a world that is constructed around commiseration than the one we are used to, the one in which we lie about our aspirations, hide our failures, and strive to make something of ourselves. I wonder how plausible this world is; it does sound and feel very rich and comforting.
Everyone fails, and when those around us fail, we somehow tend to love them more. The old adage that flaws and imperfections are what make each person unique and beautiful in his or her own ways, is reflected wonderfully in this book. Somehow, Auster is asking us to skip that whole part in between failure and others loving us, where we feel shame, embarrassment, and pain in the face of our missteps. We have so much to learn from our wrong turns and so much to take in during each fall that we might as well get over ourselves and open up to the world and people around us.
There is a place that is referred to often in the book, called the "hotel existence" a place where one can escape the bullshit and miserable aspects of the world we live in, a place where one can retreat to a life less entangled in the morass of the planet. The people in the book never get there in a physical sense, but it becomes clear to me that Auster means to say that the "hotel existence" is bullshit in and of itself. There is no true escape from the bullshit. Life is fucked. It just is. There isn't escape there is only the white flag.
It was an awesome book.
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