 First edition | |
| Author | Paul Auster |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Henry Holt |
Publication date | 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 232 pp (hardback edition) |
| ISBN | 0-8050-5408-1 |
| OCLC | 52640380 |
| Preceded by | Timbuktu |
| Followed by | Oracle Night |
The Book of Illusions is a novel by American writer Paul Auster, published in 2002. It was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2004.
Set in the late 1980s, the story is written from the perspective of David Zimmer, a university professor who, after losing his wife and children in a plane crash, falls into a routine of depression and isolation. After seeing one of the silent comedies of Hector Mann, an actor missing since the 1920s, he decides to occupy himself by watching all of Mann's films and writing a book about them. The publishing of the book, however, triggers another series of events that draw Zimmer even deeper into the actor's past.
The middle of the story is largely dedicated to telling the life story of Hector Mann, involving his self-imposed exile from his past life and career, which serves as a form of penance for his role in the death of a woman who loved him. In his last days, Mann's wife sends a letter to Zimmer, requesting him to come to their New Mexico home to bear witness to Mann's final legacy of films. The events that ensue form the overarching story of Zimmer's rehabilitation from his reclusive state, and his coming to terms with the manner in which his family was killed.
The book makes many direct references to the autobiography of François-René de Chateaubriand, Mémoires d'outre-tombe ; one of Zimmer's ongoing projects is producing a new translation of the book.
David Zimmer appears in Auster's earlier novel Moon Palace .
The Book of Illusions revisits a number of plot elements seen in Auster's first major work, The New York Trilogy . These include:
In addition, the book also bears the stylistic distinction of not using quotation marks; Auster has previously used this in Ghosts, the second book of The New York Trilogy and Travels in the Scriptorium . He also does this in his later book, Invisible .
The Silent World of Hector Mann is an album by Duke Special inspired by the character Hector Mann with each song themselves based on a film each written by a different songwriter.
James Wood, a critic of Auster's work, nevertheless named it as 'probably his best novel.' He praised Auster's 'painstaking and vivid fictional re-creation of the career of a silent-movie actor of the nineteen twenties.' However, he says the novel 'soon hurtles into absurdity.' [1]
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American writer and film director. His notable works include The New York Trilogy (1987), Moon Palace (1989), The Music of Chance (1990), The Book of Illusions (2002), The Brooklyn Follies (2005), Invisible (2009), Sunset Park (2010), Winter Journal (2012), and 4 3 2 1 (2017). His books have been translated into more than forty languages.
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The Silent World of Hector Mann is a 2010 album by Duke Special, featuring songs inspired by the fictional silent film star Hector Mann from Paul Auster's 2002 novel The Book of Illusions, who starred in twelve films before disappearing. Special wrote "Mister Nobody", inspired by the title of one of Mann's films, and sent the novel to eleven songwriters of his acquaintance, asking them each to write a song based on one of the twelve films in a pre-rock and roll style.
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