Book Review: Paul Auster - Travels in the Scriptorium

Finished 2 November 2006

I don't remember, Mr. Blank.
Are you saying that you didn't read your husband's novel?
No, I read it. But it was such a long time ago, and I haven't looked at it since.

Mr. Blank sits alone in a room. He does not remember his name, where he is and why he is there. Objects around him are labelled - so maybe he does not even remember the names of everyday things.
He is visited and attended to by various people from his past - and it becomes clear that these have been lifted from the pages of Auster's previous works.

By re-visiting these old characters Auster parades all the old favourites of post-modernism: self-reference, semiotics, the role of author, reader and subject, the tale within a tale, circular structures, etc.

Reading this reminded me why all that was exciting and stimulating when I first encountered it - highly enjoyable

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