Customer Reviews

Mr Vertigo

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Paul Auster is usually a steadfastly metaphysical writer, procuring post-modern ideas from his books with the regularity of an oil derrick. He's usually so preoccupied with the subtext of his works that the universes he creates come off as nondescript and inconsequential, and his prose remains, well, austere. The purpose of this preamble is to prepare you for the marked departure that is "Mr. Vertigo".

The universe here is quite definite: America in the early twentieth century. The prose is decidedly un-austere. Auster attempts to authentically capture the lingo and rhythms of the 1920s and 1930s. Either that, or he has created a grand parody of the way people spoke. Either way, the dialogue here is colourful, flavourful, but sometimes peculiar. Paul may have bit off more than he can chew. Examples such referring to St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean as 'The Dizmeister' try and inject style into corners where style isn't needed. Was the name Dizzy not interesting enough? A minor quibble, that. (Dean also serves as an analogy-within-analogy; his meteoric rise and fall rivals that of our protagonist.) For the most part Auster has a grand command of the language he uses.

But all this does not deny the fact that this book is still a pretty powerful analogy. It is a picaresque, following the adventures of Walter Claireborne Rawley, a.k.a., Walt the Wonder Boy. Rescued from a scamp's life by the mysterious Master Yehudi, Walt is taught to fly. This curious skill -- the only piece of Auster-esque magic in a book that takes great pains to mimic its reality -- takes them on adventures all over the country. And herein lies the analogy. As Walt's powers and fame grows, so to do those of the young country on the verge of its own modern breakthroughs. Walt's adventures parallel the rise and fall of American culture in its infancy: from Vaudeville, to the Circus, to motion pictures; from a run in with the Ku Klux Klan, to an allegiance with Prohibition-era Chicago gangsters. Walt lives a kind of Forrest Gump-type existence. The cherry on the sundae is his love for and near ruin at the hands of that most American of pastimes, baseball. "Mr. Vertigo" is about America finding its wings, and Auster weaves its story with Walt's with near-seamless precision.

On a deeper level, it should not be overlooked that Master Yehudi is seen, several times, reading from a book of Spinoza. My elementary understanding of the man's philosophies, with thanks to Bertrand Russell, indicates that Auster intended these passing mentions to have some weight. The relationship between Master Yehudi and Walt is analogous to God's relationship to Man. This is best seen in the (evil) training Walt must undergo in order to lift-off. There are also references to bondage by outside sources, freedom stemming from self-determination, and happiness in the face of misfortune, that readers of both Spinoza and "Mr. Vertigo" will find familiar. And finally, we get a philosophical explanation of why the boy can fly: "Everything that happens is a manifestation of God's inscrutable nature, and it is logically impossible that events should be other than they are," says Spinoza. So, Master Yehudi says, "In order to lift you off the ground, we have to crack the heavens in two. We have to turn the whole bloody universe inside out." Familiarity with Spinoza is unnecessary (I only achieved mine in hindsight) but it might just enhance your experience with the novel.

Auster still manages to throw in some po-mo theorizing, this time on the nature of the book as a piece of fiction. To begin with, one of the characters, a poor black boy with designs on getting into university, is named Aesop. He writes a memoir (or is it a fable?) at one point, about which Walt says, "I laughed at some parts, I cried at others, and what more can a person want from a book than to feel the prick of such delights and sorrows?" Auster does his best to inject such sorrows and delights into his book. He also adds meta-fictional moments to the narrative: "If this were a movie, here's where the calendar pages would start flying off the wall," Walt says, just as his career is about to take off, around the time when that cinematic cliche was forming. And most tellingly of all, here's Walt (speaking words you'd expect Auster to believe) on his newly minted status: "I wasn't just a robot anymore, a wind-up baboon who did the same set of tricks for every show -- I was evolving into an artist, a true creator who performed as much for his own sake as for the sake of others." This book is Auster's most accessible work, and the above confirms that he knows exactly what he is doing.

If I've sounded like a book report at times, I apologize, but Auster's writing lends itself to this kind of reviewing. It is concerned with the ideas that surround its fictions, so why shouldn't I take a stab at cracking the codes those ideas are trying to hide? It brings me enjoyment to do so, and I suspect those of you reading this who also have a patient and curious mind will enjoy this book as well.

In his book "Mr. Vertigo" Auster once again reveals an incredible talent. A talent for painting a picture with the same clarity with which he writes. In a very real sense, this book is an alleghorical story of most all human life. To summarize his message, it seems he is telling us this:

1) You are born and childhood is mystical, magical, and all things seem possible.
2) You hit puberty, and life is turned a little upside down from what it was before.
3) You recover from the shock and go on and build a life.
4) Somewhere in the process of building this life, something happens and life itself again gets twisted on its head.
5) You rebuild your life.
6) You hope you retire in peace.

While the meaning of the alleghory is poignant, the manner that Auster paints the picture contains even more virtuosity. The story starts very whimsically, with a sense of magic. And then, as usual, there is clearly a lose of innocence, and an experiencing of multiple severe personal tragedies.

These tragedies ultimately lead his protagonist onto the next phases of his life, as they do with most people. And in each phase, he rebuilds that life. And often, because of factors that have nothing to do with his own actions or beliefs, that world is destroyed, and sometimes it is destroyed, because of his actions and beliefs, but each time, he rebuilds, he realizes that he is rebuilding a better life, than the one before.

Auster displays his usual incredible sensitivity and insight. He lays out the mental processes with great aplomb. And he takes the reader through an experience that in many ways, the reader is able to use as an analogy for their own life.

This book is one of Auster's classics and all Auster fans should not miss the opportunity to read it.

I am a little ashamed that I have not previously read any of Paul Auster's work. He is best known for Leviathan, but Mr. Vertigo has been sitting on my shelf for months, begging to be read.

I finally caved in, and discovered that I have been ignoring a fabulous book!

Fabulous? Explain, Please

Well first of all, the plot is a doozy. Our main character is Walt, soon to be known as "Walt the Wonder Boy". He is an orphan living with his aunt and uncle in Chicago. The year is 1927. He is a little rapscallion of a boy, panhandling and working the street the best way he knew how. He is coarse, uneducated, racist, and all around unpleasant.

One day, a mysterious figure named Master Yehudi walks into Walt's life. He forces him to make a choice, to follow him and learn how to fly, or to stay in Chicago where is really isn't wanted anyway. He promises that if he can't teach Walt how to fly in 2 years time, Walt can chop his head off. Now that's a deal.

So what is any self-respecting ragamuffin to do? You take a shot at the big time. Maybe we should ask Horatio Alger, just to be on the safe side. What could be more American?

Walt travels with Master Yehudi, into the great unknown.
The story progresses from there, You get the picture?

The characters of the book are remarkable in many aspects. Although Walt is such a repugnant character at first, this leaves him plenty of room to grow into a wonderful adult. Does he do this? Kind of.

Master Yehudi is a very multi-faceted individual. One one level he is very self serving. On yet another, he cares so much about the people around him, that it almost destroys him. He knows the meaning of sacrifice. He knows about love.

Ms. Witherspoon is Master Yehudi's romantic interest. She too is multilayered. Demure and proper lady, savvy businesswoman, wonderful friend. She adds more flavor to the piece.

This is a great book to relax with on a rainy day. It is entertaining at the forefront, but is also packed with adventures, developing emotions, eccentric characters, and so much more, but try it for yourself. Pick up a copy! Another book I need to recommend -- completely unrelated to Auster, but very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition," a funny, highly entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.

Magic emerges from Auster's writing in this wonderful picaresque tale of the rise to fame - and the subsequent decline - of Walt Rawley, "ragamuffin from honky-tonk row", unwanted by his charge, Uncle Slim. Walt's world is transformed beyond belief when a mysterious stranger, Master Yehudi, makes him an extraordinary offer: to teach him to fly.

Under the fierce discipline of Master Yehudi, Walt is subjected to a harsh regimen of rigorous training and gruelling endurance ordeals that test to the limit his strength of mind and body, each trial marking a progression towards his ultimate goal of mastering the art of levitation, walking on air. Technique perfected, Walt hits the road, on tour across America, with Master Yehudi organising a hectic schedule of performances. Walt dazzles audiences coast-to-coast with his amazing displays of "anti-gravitational feats" that, though implausible, are convincing in their description and detail - and are marvellously entertaining as a result! The secret of Walt's success is his mastery of the art of levitation, a mystifyihg technique Auster elucidates so smoothly and plausibly that we readily suspend our disbelief and slip easily into the world he creates. As Walt reaches the height of his powers, public acclaim turns him into a national celebrity, "Walt the Wonder Boy".

Walt's powerful narrative, recalling in old-age events that took place many decades before, takes us on a fast-paced trip through 1920's Americana - Lindbergh's solo flight, to cite an example. Walt's astounding breakthrough feat of levitating over a small pond in Kansas (at precisely the same time as Lindbergh's historic solo flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis) is a metaphor for American spirit and enterprise heralding an age where there are no limits to what may be achieved. ("It was as if the sky had suddenly opened itself up to man") On the road to stardom, Walt runs into trouble involving a Ku-Klux-Klan lynching and a kidnapping by sour, grouchy, mean and nasty Uncle Slim who, deeply resentful of Walt's astonishing success and rankled at the thought of Walt raking in the dough, hankers after what his twisted mind considers his by right - a slice of the rich pickings he thinks will accrue from Walt's new-found celebrity status.

The latter part of the novel marks a dramatic downward shift in Walt's fortunes, far removed from those heady, intoxicating days when he was "an unstoppable force" taking America by storm. Alone, moving deeper into old-age, Walt is rescued by the sudden idea of writing his story - this book. Go with the flow! Enjoy the trip! And the magic of Master Auster! Recommended.

The storyline of this novel reminds me of a possible Walt the Wonder Boy inspired aero-acrobatic feat itself - it climbs very high, very slowly, nearly divebombs - yet pulls itself up at the last minute for a perfect landing.

Caricatured Walt Rawley begins this novel as a sort of Holden Caulfield Lite, broken down over time by Master Yehudi, his mentor and father-figure. The reader really sees the progression in his character over the first two sections of the book, his brief (reading-time-wise) dip into madness (third section), and his final enlightenment (very short forth section). (For those who get bit disappointed in the middle, I think the last page wholly makes up for it.)

This book (of course as do other Auster books I've read) gives an excellent view into the trappings of an individual - internal/external conflicts, emotions, etc. I really think, however, that the clincher is the relationship between Walt and the master - definitely greater than the sum of its parts. The reader sees the relationship one-sidely through the experiences of Walt, but the effects on his personality are so pronounced.

Recommended.

"Mr. Vertigo" is sweet. It's a strong writer giving us a high brow action, romance novel and it works. It will sweep you up, make you think and really feel for its characters. He dips into youth in a very believable way that brings you back to your own.

This was the book that kicked off a Paul Auster obsession for me, and still remains to me to be the best (side by side with Music of Chance). I was surprised to find so many people, most of whom are Auster fans, disappointed. This book is the culmination of all his previous attempts. I feel sorry for those readers that did not connect to it for whatever reason, because it hit me like a ton of bricks.

A little boy is picked up by a driven carnival barker-type of man who teaches the kid to levitate - really! Or, a child is taken in hand by a smart man who knows how to raise a child to be industrious and get what he wants. He demands perfection of the kid and gets it. Along the way is a story which is a metaphor of the history of the US before, during and after the Depression. It's shocking, sweet, and inspiring. I give it a 9 only because it seemed to me to hurry at the end. I had become so attached to the kid, that I wanted DETAILS on even the years at the second half of his life. P.S. It is NOT at all a Paul Auster-type of story, and I've read them all

I have to tell you, I am more than impressed with Paul Auster. The only other work I've read of his is the collection The New York Trilogy, and I took him as essentially an experimental writer who deals more with theme than storyline.

Mr. Vertigo proved me wrong and then some. The plotline is preposterous, and every time I tell someone about the book they look at me like I'm nuts. That being said, Mr. Vertigo is about a young orphan from St. Louis who is recruited by the enigmatic Master Yehudi. Master Yehudi promises that he will teach the boy, named Walter Rawley, to walk on air. And, lo and behold, he does.

Crazy, I know.

But, Auster writes it in such a delightful, realistic fashion that never once do you doubt what you read. And his dialogue is pure joy. I love the speech patterns his characters employ.

Of course, there is much more to the novel than Walt simply learning to walk on air, but I won't ruin it for you. Let me just tell you that as fanciful as this book sounds, there are some grim realities in it, some perhaps too potent for just the casual reader.

Remarkably, as the story begins in the late 1920s, Walt's tale mirrors that of his native homeland, the USA. His ups and downs match America's in such a way that a real study of theme could be employed just as with The New York Trilogy.

You will greatly enjoy this novel, and I daresay you'll be stunned at how connected to the characters you will become.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

I'm not big on a 1-10 scale so the 10 you see is really a no answer. I'm only writing because I think this book, though clumsy at times, is widely misunderstood. If you have been a fan, read it. It is the best of the last three--more heartfelt than Leviathan, for example. The old Auster themes of boyhood and fatherhood are dealt with beautifully, and the fact that its a retelling from an insiders point of view darkens the entire novel. I think Auster really let the characters do what they wanted to do...and it has a lovely, strong ending. -D.Ziva