tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post8002273804895680775..comments2024-03-18T16:41:34.785+00:00Comments on Vapour Trails: Travels in the ScriptoriumSéamus Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-17771600586411957092012-04-23T15:50:12.485+01:002012-04-23T15:50:12.485+01:00Must get around to The Book of Illusions soon.Must get around to <b>The Book of Illusions</b> soon.Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-27614891809550524402012-04-23T10:45:04.766+01:002012-04-23T10:45:04.766+01:00I'm with Trev - i'm more of a sucker for t...I'm with Trev - i'm more of a sucker for the stories although some of the more conceptual books are interesting if a tad frustrating reads. The fact he is so prolific helps i think as if you are disappointed by one then you know another will be along next year!<br /><br />Book of illisions is fantasticAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-58035081648559011702012-04-02T16:14:41.253+01:002012-04-02T16:14:41.253+01:00I've read The Music of Chance and Moon Palace ...I've read <b>The Music of Chance</b> and <b>Moon Palace</b> (which I got signed at a reading) and have <b>Leviathan</b> and <b>The Book of Illusions</b> on my shelves so now that I have come back to Auster I may tackle some more in the near future.<br />I have to admit to a weakness for existential conceits, though.Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-80583771684759068222012-04-02T15:06:01.340+01:002012-04-02T15:06:01.340+01:00Provocative and lyrical, Auster can be a frustrati...Provocative and lyrical, Auster can be a frustrating yet challenging writer; the existentialist conceits can be wearying. I prefer his narrative based novels: particularly Moon Palace, The Music of Chance, Leviathan and The Book of Illusions. His protagonists are invariably lonesome elders, on the edge of, or recovering from, disaster. These wounded souls often face familiar abandonments, but invariably endure (not always intact) with grace and humour; his finales are often severe, startling and, oftentimes, profoundly moving... he writes about what is is to be human, to suffer bad luck and about (in his wife's words) "the strangeness of being alive.' I'm reaching for 'Sunset Park'...Hissyfithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06865300919319235353noreply@blogger.com