Timbuktu (novella)

Last updated
Timbuktu
TimbuktuNovel.jpg
First edition
Author Paul Auster
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Henry Holt
Publication date
May 1999
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages181
ISBN 0-8050-5407-3
OCLC 62177629

Timbuktu is a 1999 novella by Paul Auster. It is about the life of a dog, Mr. Bones, who is struggling to come to terms with the fact that his homeless master is dying.

The story, set in the early 1990s, is told through the eyes of Mr Bones, who, although not anthropomorphised, has an internal monologue in English. The story centres on his last journey with his ailing master, Willy G Christmas, to Baltimore, who hopes to find his former English teacher. Much of the details of both of their early lives are told in flashback.

The title of the book comes from the concept of the afterlife as proposed by Christmas, a self-titled poet, who believed it was a beautiful place called Timbuktu. A major running theme in the book is Mr Bones' worry that dogs will not go to Timbuktu, and he won't see Willy again after death.

The novella also draws on themes of existentialism, finding purpose in one's life, and a meditation on late 20th century America. It has now been made into a play by Croatian director Borut Separovic. [1]

The novella is referenced by Fionn Regan in the song "Put a Penny in the Slot" from the album The End of History .

Adaptations

In 2009, Audible.com produced an audio version of Timbuktu, narrated by Joe Barrett, as part of its Modern Vanguard line of audiobooks.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Aldiss</span> British science fiction writer (1925–2017)

Brian Wilson Aldiss was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen King</span> American writer (born 1947)

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published over 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Nicholas</span> 4th-century Christian saint

Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas.

<i>Goodbye, Mr. Chips</i> 1934 novella by James Hilton

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two television presentations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsey Campbell</span> English author

Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awards. Three of his novels have been adapted into films.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> 1843 novella by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novella</span> Fictional prose narrative form

A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word novella derives from the Italian novella meaning a short story related to true facts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Scrooge</span> Fictional character in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Ebenezer Scrooge is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday in the English-speaking world.

Leslie Bricusse OBE was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Scrooge, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, the songs "Goldfinger", "You Only Live Twice", "Can You Read My Mind " from Superman, and "Le Jazz Hot!" with Henry Mancini from Victor/Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Kiriki Hoffman</span> American science fiction writer

Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror writer.

<i>The Chimes</i> 1844 novella by Charles Dickens

The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In, commonly referred to as The Chimes, is a novella written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1844, one year after A Christmas Carol. It is the second in his series of "Christmas books," five novellas with strong social and moral messages that he published during the 1840s. In addition to A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, the Christmas books include The Cricket on the Hearth (1845), The Battle of Life (1846), and The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1848).

<i>The Cricket on the Hearth</i> 1845 novella by Charles Dickens

The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin Henry Landseer. Dickens began writing the book around 17 October 1845 and finished it by 1 December. Like all of Dickens's Christmas books, it was published in book form, not as a serial.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (2004 film) 2004 television film based on a 1994 stage musical

A Christmas Carol: The Musical is a 2004 American musical television film based on the 1843 novella of the same name by Charles Dickens, which also inspired a 1994 stage musical by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come</span> Fictional character in A Christmas Carol by Dickens

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption.

<i>Chimera</i> (Barth novel) 1972 novel by John Barth

Chimera is a 1972 fantasy novel written by American writer John Barth, composed of three loosely connected novellas. The novellas are Dunyazadiad, Perseid and Bellerophoniad, whose titles refer eponymously to the mythical characters Dunyazad, Perseus and Bellerophon. The book is an example of postmodernism, which can be seen in its metafictional content and its incorporation of stylistic elements that go beyond the traditional novel genre. It shared the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction with Augustus by John Edward Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montažstroj</span>

Montažstroj is an art collective which creates "socially engaged projects" in theatre, dance, music, visual and audio-visual arts.

A Christmas Carol is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and book by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens. The musical is based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella of the same name. The show was presented annually at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden from December 1, 1994, to December 27, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Jill Robinson</span> Canadian writer, editor and teacher (born 1955)

Jacqueline Jill Robinson is a Canadian writer and editor. She is the author of a novel and four collections of short stories. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and literary journals including Geist, the Antigonish Review, Event, Prairie Fire and the Windsor Review. Her novel, More In Anger, published in 2012, tells the stories of three generations of mothers and daughters who bear the emotional scars of loveless marriages, corrosive anger and misogyny.

<i>Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde</i> 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde.

<i>The Book of the Damned</i> (Tanith Lee) 1988 book by Tanith Lee

The Book of the Damned is a 1988 fantasy/horror novel by World Fantasy Award winner Tanith Lee. Set in Paradys, an alternative version of Paris, it takes place in three novellas set in different periods in the city's dark history.

References