Collected Prose: Autobiographical Writings, True Stories, Critical Essays, Prefaces, and Collaborations with Artists (Paperback)

by Paul Auster (Author)
Key Phrases: little bunny, New York, The Book of Memory, Laura Riding (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Auster's mind-bending fiction is shaped by his fascination with coincidence and chance, and with how the most banal appearances conceal untold bizarreness. Any reader curious about how such a sensibility coalesces will find Auster's nonfiction full of clues. Following his Collected Poems [BKL F 1 04], this gathering of autobiographical writings, essays, and critical works illuminates key moments in Auster's life and traces the evolution of his imagination. The volume begins with "The Invention of Solitude," a staggering portrait of his father; next up is "Hand to Mouth," an arresting account of his wildly improvised efforts at survival while attempting to make it as a writer; followed by the resounding "Why Write?" and the surprising "True Stories." As a critic, Auster fully enters the works of the writers he discusses, including Kafka, Knut Hamsun, Laura Riding, Samuel Beckett, and Paul Celan, and pulls off feats of masterful concision in his prefaces and op-ed pieces. All told, this is a delectable and invaluable addition to the Auster collection, a unique facet of American letters. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Auster's Collected Prose provides a fascinating long-exposure snapshot of a writer's private and abiding obsessions and touchstones as he oscillates between the worlds of his life and art."--The Times (London)

"He is a remarkable writer whose work needs to be read in totality."--The Sunday Herald (Scotland)

"One of America's leading novelists...The literary essays and prefaces in this collection are elegant and accessible.... Much of what is offered here displays his warmth, democratic instincts, and human concerns."--The Daily Telegraph (London)

"Auster's informed enthusiasms, especially for European modernism and aspects of the avant-garde, make him a passionate, intelligent, and stimulating commentator. He writes acutely about the dilemmas which inform serious artistic decisions. The hospitable, generous pieces make one want to go immediately to the writers he discusses."--The Observer (London)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Picador (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031242468X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312424688
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #452,337 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compliments him work well, April 20, 2005

By	R. King (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Prior to the publication of this book, I had read most of Auster's non-fiction work. However, it had been spaced out over many years. Now, having read all of it again over the course of a week or two, one gets an even clearer sense of the common themes and symbols that reappear through out Auster's fiction and non-fiction alike. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak at Pace University a few months ago, and he is always insistent that his fiction is strictly fiction, but regardless, the reader is able to see where certain ideas in his work had their beginnings in his life. Any true Auster fan will take great pleasure in this work as a companion to his other novels, and it will give you a deeper appreciation for his work. The first book, The Invention of Solitude, deals with the death of his father, and how, after his father's death, he struggled to have a sense of the man no one really knew during his own life. "If it is true that we can ever come to know another human being, even to a small degree, it is only to the extent that he is willing to make himself known." The next book, Hand to Mouth, deals with his struggles early in life to become a writer. Then there are critical essays, true stories, prefaces, and random writings that he has amassed over the years. You get to see him grow over time, as a writer. The works are different enough, stylistically and content wise, that one doesn't get bored, even though the book is over five hundred pages. I'm glad that these works have finally been collected, and hopefully, more people will now dive into the unique world of Paul Auster.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth it..., February 26, 2005

By	Raindog 1972 "http://raindog.jasonarena.com" (New York) - See all my reviews

...provides an unfiltered perspective, regardless of how similar it is to the common themes and philosophies embedded in much of Auster's work. If you enjoy his work, this collection will only complement your appreciation.

5.0 out of 5 stars "I could not muster a single ennobling thought.", January 11, 2009

By	C. Gilbert "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Auster is a writer of whose work I have read a fair amount. Over the years I've picked up one after another of his books, mostly his novels and I always really like them. I think that Moon Palace (Contemporary American Fiction) and The Brooklyn Follies have been my favorites to date. (I realize that this automatically disqualifies me as a serious fan, since his serious fans don't much like The Brooklyn Follies, but I think that it's both underrated and brilliant. So there.)

What do I like about him? The sense of context and history that he places around the personal moment is one big thing that I admire. He's better at that than nearly anyone. Whether that's the moment of joy with looming 9/11 as a backdrop, or whether its his characters' continual urge/effort (ultimately doomed) to separate and isolate themselves-- whatever the situation, he's somehow the writer who insists on the whole page. (Please note that this is different than using history as backdrop, something that I tend to dislike very much.) Other things that I like about him include his interest in coincidence and his love of mundane details, used appropriately.

Reading a selected prose collection of any author has its challenges-- depending on the author then what they decide to collect can range from the wonderful to the nearly unreadable. When I bought this volume, I was very curious exactly what would be included. Auster has done so much in his writing life-- criticism, translation, memoirs. They had, it seemed to me, a lot of material from which to choose.

And it is an interesting selection. The first part of the book was, for me, truly wonderful to read. The first 240 pages are taken up by the two memoir pieces, "The Invention of Solitude" and "Hand to Mouth". It is worth the money to buy this book simply to have both of these collected in one place.

It follows on with a series of True Stories, collaboration and essays of which my favorites were probably "The Death of Sir Walter Raleigh" and "Northern Lights". The True Stories are interesting as his interest in coincidence is put front and center.

The rest of the book is Critical Essays, Prefaces and Occasions. I enjoyed the critical essays, but found that I was really only able to get something out of the ones where I knew the writer or work in question. From the rest, I got good suggestions for further reading, which is a pretty good thing to get as well. I personally found the prefaces difficult to read, and I probably would not have chosen to collect them. It's too bad, because it meant that I was impatient and tired by the time that we got around to the Occasions, and many of them are really lovely-- full of sharp observations, well worth making. If I had to read it again, I would probably have skipped the Prefaces and gone straight to the Occasions. (Obviously, much depends on why you are reading the book.)

In short, I would think that any reader would get a lot from this collection. I suppose that it would add more depth if you were already familiar with Auster as a writer, but I think that a piece like "The Invention of Solitude" can easily stand on its own as a first reading experience.

Well bought and well read.