"An old man awakens, disoriented, in an unfamiliar chamber. With no memory of who he is or how he has arrived there, he pores over the relics on the desk, examining the circumstances of his confinement and searching his own hazy mind for clues."
Review: I cannot begin to tell you how intrigued I am by Auster. This is the third book I have read of his in the past week and a half and I just went to the library today and picked up The Brooklyn Follies. I feel that comparing his work to Beckett, Kafka and Borges is really overdone, but I cannot get away from the uncanny influence these great masters have had on this author. The story takes place in a sterile room with a man, a bed, a desk and chair, and a small bathroom. He cannot remember who he is and ironically enough he goes by the name of Mr. Blank. He is busy reading a manuscript placed on a desk that is a work of fiction written by John Trause. Auster uses a few characters from other works: Peter Stillman, Daniel Quinn, and Sophie Fanshawe are characters from Auster's own NEW YORK TRILOGY, Benjamin Sachs is from LEVIATHAN, Fogg is from MOON PALACE, Zimmer is from THE BOOK OF ILLUSIONS, and Anna Blume and Samuel Farr from IN THE COUNTRY OF LAST THINGS. Lastly, there is John Trause a character who appeared in ORACLE NIGHT and the author of the partially completed manuscript whose story line Mr. Blank tries to complete at Samuel Farr's request. A must read for anyone who dares to be lost in the world of existentialism and questions the power of the imagination!
