City of Glass (The New York Trilogy, Vol 1) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end..." (more)
Key Phrases: red notebook, Virginia Stillman, Peter Stillman, Paul Auster (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When a stranger calls on Daniel Quinn's phone asking to speak to Paul Auster (supposedly a detective), Quinn claims to be Auster and soon is drawn into a case involving a man who fears his father is trying to kill him. "An impressive if not major work," PW concluded.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Daniel Quinn, author of a series of de tective pot-boilers, accepts an assign ment as a real private investigator from a man who dials his phone number by mistake. His mission: to keep an eye on the man's father, a former linguistics professor who has spent time in jail for bizarre childrearing experiments. Quinn quickly loses track of both his client and the suspect, as well as his own apartment and belongings, and fi nally his identity. This metafictional mystery, reminiscent of Robbe-Gril let's anti-novel The Erasers, challenges conventional notions of character and plot. However, unless the remaining volumes of this projected trilogy pro vide more depth and substance, Aus ter's previous book, The Invention of Solitude, will probably remain the best introduction to his work. Edward B. St. John, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 1st THUS edition (April 7, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140097317
• ISBN-13: 978-0140097313
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,276 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The definition of thought provoking, October 10, 2002

By	Elia (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

After reading several of the reviews on City of Glass, I felt a need to give my own opinion. This is a book of perception. One person could perceive it as some sort of [messed] up mystery novel, though if they read it expecting a detective story they will be sorely dissapointed. Another could perceive it as a book about morality, but even that seems cheap and weak. I believe that this is a book about perception and identity.

The main character is Daniel Quinn, who writes under the name William Wilson, about the charcter Max Work. At the beggining of the novel he identifies more with Max that with either of the other aspects of himself. Quinn receives a phone call from Peter Stillman for Detective Paul Auster (look familiar?) and chooses to claim his identity as well.

Then he interacts with Peter Stillman , son of Peter Stillman (who coincidently(?) has the name of Quinn's dead son). This is the gentleman whose case he is supposed to be working on, under the name of Paul Auster. Damaged as a result of a freakish childhood Peter Stillman is an anomolous character. He refers to himself as Peter Nobody, Anything, and Not Here. He claims that he is learning how to be Peter Stillman. Another case of identity confusion.

Quinn is sent on a mission to track Peter Stillman, father of Peter Stillman, an old man who, regardless of the number of times he meets Quinn can never recognize him. Thus Quinn pretends to be a different person each time they encounter eachother.

City of Glass is strange and disturbing and thought provoking. I haven't even meantioned Daniel Quinn the writer, pretending to be Paul Auster the detective, meeting Paul Auster the writer, and his son Daniel. Or how Don Quixote and Cervantes and Quinn and Paul Auster are all the same person!

So if your ready for something to screw with your mind, and make you wonder about the nature of life and literature, read the City of Glass. If you want to read a mystery novel pick up something by Sue Grafton.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I didn't get it at first, December 18, 2002

By	C. D. Murphy (Natick, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I put the book down and had thought well of it, but not worthy of a review let alone a good one, but as I went to sleep that night, it hit me. At the point that I understood what the main character represented, which was a Campbellian march through the four phases of life, I became quite impressed with what Auster had done. I need to read it again to see all the details that I missed not understanding the parallels with life, but look for this as you read it: from his birth as Auster, to understanding language with Stillman, the identity crisis with the father, the mid-life crisis after meeting his namesake, the question of paths during this, the isolation of late life and finally the fading away. On this level, the story is absolutely stunning.

I think there are other levels that smarter people than myself have figured out and maybe with the next reading I will see some of them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars trying to keep the reader confused, May 3, 2004

By	"alexstorm" (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews

"City of Glass" is Austers first book of his "New York Trilogy". He keeps his themes so it is also about poverty, hunger and chance. "City of Glass" is about the writer Daniel Quinn who pretends to be the detective Paul Auster. Quinn observes a man who locked in his son for years in the dark in order to teach him god's language. Quinns client fears his father who will be set free from jail. Daniel Quinn is like the other protagonists by Paul Auster. At the beginning "City of Glass" is a very trilling novel. If you read something else by Auster before you read this book you may know what will happen. In the end your expectations won't be fullfilled. For me it is too strange because I don't like Austers theories of chance.