This is the story of Paul Auster's typewriter. The typewriter is a manual Olympia, more than 25 years old, and has been the agent of transmission for the novels, stories, collaborations, and other writings Auster has produced since the 1970s, a body of work that stands as one of the most varied, creative, and critcally acclaimed in recent American letters. It is also the story of a relationship. A relationship between Auster, his typewriter, and the artist Sam Messer, who, as Auster writes, "has turned an inanimate object into a being with a personality and a presence in the world." This is also a collaboration: Auster's story of his typewriter, and of Messer's welcome, though somewhat unsettling, intervention into that story, illustrated with Messer's muscular, obsessive drawings and paintings of both author and machine. This is, finally, a beautiful object; one that will be irresistible to lovers of Auster's writing, Messer's painting, and fine books in general.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Aspiring writers are often fascinated by the processes and the tools of the professional; in this elegant art book collaboration between writer Auster and painter Messer, they can get a detailed, expressionistic perspective on the old-fashioned machine Auster uses to get the words out of his head and onto the page: a vintage manual Olympia typewriter. "Since... 1974, every word I have written has been typed out on that machine," writes Auster in the essay that accompanies the drawings and paintings reproduced in this lovely volume. Though very short, the text is revealing of the author's unique sensibility: "Like it or not, I realized we [Auster and the Olympia] had the same past. As time went on, I came to understand we had the same future." The starring attraction here is the art. Primarily done in oils, the works reveal Messer's obsession with Auster's typewriter. Most of the depictions are head-on, sometimes with backgrounds that reflect the writer and his New York milieu. One version is backed by a shelf of Auster's works, another by the Brooklyn Bridge, and one haunting image shows the lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Brooklyn, with the still-standing towers of the World Trade Center prominently featured. The novelist himself is portrayed in several works, the best of which (Maestro) shows Auster conjuring the keys off of the machine and into a swirl of floating letters. This is an undeniably odd but captivating book, in which Messer, in Auster's words, turns "an inanimate object into a being with personality and a presence in the world."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Paul Auster is the author of many novels, among them "Leviathan, Moon Palace, Mr. Vertigo," and "Timbuktu". He has also written a memoir, "Invention of Solitude", and translated several books from French. His most recent collaboration with an artist was his project with Sophie Calle, entitled "Double Game". He lives in Brooklyn.
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More About the Author
Paul Auster is the bestselling author of Travels in the Scriptorium, The Brooklyn Follies, and Oracle Night. I Thought My Father Was God, the NPR National Story Project anthology, which he edited, was also a national bestseller. His work has been translated into thirty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a visual treat,
By
This review is from: The Story of My Typewriter (Hardcover)
I was really looking forward to this book. And, I have to admit it was not quite what I was expecting. I truly enjoyed the paintings and reading about Paul Auster and his strange and interesting typewriter. But, I expected more in the way of reading. I took the book to the gym, expecting a nice long read. Sadly, I was finished with the book before I even broke a sweat, and that was a dissapointment. The writer is such a creative and imaginative storyteller, full of surprises. I wanted him to reveal more, to tell more and weave this story into something I could really sink my teeth into. But, the real star of this book is Sam Messer and his wonderful paintings. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if it were presented like a *big* art book, with large pictures, and plenty more of 'em. Really, I shouldn't complain. Ihe book is super cool, and definately worth the small amount of money I parted with to enjoy its company.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing Coffeetable Book, Not Much More,
This review is from: The Story of My Typewriter (Hardcover)
If you're a typewriter fetishist or Paul Auster devotee, this book is definitely worth it. I am a bit of both, so the book is quite an endearing eyecandy for me. This slim volume is really the work of Sam Messer, an artist who became enamored with Auster's Olympia portable (I think SM 8 or 9) and decided to paint it everytime he visited. The paintings are quite good, as a matter of fact. Auster provides a quick, anecdotal history of his typewriter, and if you are a writer, you will empathize how he or anyone can grow so enamored with a writing tool. Is this a book worth adding to your collection with paid money? Yes, if you are into Auster and you believe in the superstitious mythical powers that all rational and intelligent writers place in their writing machines. In my personal opinion, this piece belonged in a nice art magazine. If you want to get a book that Auster's work intersects with art, check out "Double Game", a collaborative effort by Sophie Calle and Paul Auster. There is no finer blending of fact/fiction, art/literature in contemporary literature.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing Coffeetable Book, Not Much More,
This review is from: The Story of My Typewriter (Hardcover)
If you're a typewriter fetishist or Paul Auster devotee, this book is definitely worth it. I am a bit of both, so the book is quite an endearing eyecandy for me. This slim volume is really the work of Sam Messer, an artist who became enamored with Auster's Olympia portable (I think SM 8 or 9) and decided to paint it everytime he visited. The paintings are quite good, as a matter of fact. Auster provides a quick, anecdotal history of his typewriter, and if you are a writer, you will empathize how he or anyone can grow so enamored with a writing tool. Is this a book worth adding to your collection with paid money? Yes, if you are into Auster and you believe in the superstitious mythical powers that all rational and intelligent writers place in their writing machines. In my personal opinion, this piece belonged in a nice art magazine. If you want to get a book that Auster's work intersects with art, check out "Double Game", a collaborative effort by Sophie Calle and Paul Auster. There is no finer blending of fact/fiction, art/literature in contemporary literature.
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