The Book of Illusions, (Paperback)

from PilgrimJess

"What matters is not how well you can avoid trouble, but how you cope with trouble when it comes." "Everyone thought he was dead." is the opening sentence of this book and refers to Hector Mann, a 1920's silent film actor who had mysteriously disappeared in 1929. Nearly sixty years later Professo...

from twomoredays

he Book of Illusions by Paul Auster is a strange book in a few ways. It was definitely and enjoyable and quick read, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. The story itself doesn't sound so literary or engaging. A widowed man finds himself wrapped up in the life of a supposedly missing di...

from Smiler69

Professor David Zimmer is a broken man following a plane crash that killed his wife and two young sons. Overcome with grief, he drowns his sorrows in booze until one night, as he watches a tv documentary, he bursts out laughing at the sight of Hector Mann acting in a silent comedy from the 1920's...

from bcquinnsmom

Eeeeyaaahhhh! Another great read! I so didn't want this book to be over when it was. Drawing obvious parallels between the character of Hector Mann and the character of David Zimmer, Auster explores redefinition of the self. In his own circumstance, Zimmer, a professor at a college in Vermont, ge...

from Lman

I come to this author late: this is his sixteenth or-so work, but the first I have read. I write this as a prelude, in that this review comes from a total ignorance of Paul Auster's oeuvre, and, as such, this lack of knowledge may colour my perception; or not. Regardless, after reading this novel...