Kája Veselá Honzík Kletenský

Contemporary American literature  John Irving – The Cider House Rules (1985/99)  John Updike – Terrorist (2006)  Joyce Carol Oates – I´ll Take You There (2002)  Annie Proulx – The Shipping News (1993)  E. L. Doctorow – The Waterworks (1994)

Our choice  Auster is quite famous but we didn’t know any of his books  When we had a quick look into Travels in the Scriptorium, the style of Auster’s writing seemed to be impressive  The cover of the book and the blurb were catchy

Paul Benjamin Auster  *1947 in New Jersey  Graduated from Columbia University in 1970, then he moved to Paris where he spent 4 years by translating works of French authors  Since returning to the USA, he has published many poems, essays, novels etc.  Is the Vice-President of PEN American Center  Lives in Brooklyn with his second wife and is still publishing

Quotation  "It will never end. For Mr. Blank is one of us now, and struggle though he might to understand his predicament, he will always be lost. I believe I speak for all his charges when I say he is getting what he deserves- no more, no less. Not as a form of punishment, but as an act of supreme justice and compassion. Without him, we are nothing, but the paradox is that we, the figments of another mind, will outlive the mind that made us, for once we are thrown into the world, we continue to exist forever, and our stories go on being told, even after we are dead." (page 129)

What we want to tell you about Travels in the Scriptorium  This novel details a day in the life of Mr. Blank, an old man who wakes up in a room not knowing who he is or why he is there  Elements from most past Auster’s novels all combine in this book

 All the characters – except the main one – appeared in previous Auster’s novels  Over-description and strange slang are often used

What we didn’t know before we read Travels in the Scriptorium  Auster uses the same characters in his novels quite frequently  Auster has an unmistakable style of writing  We didn’t know much about his biography, which is shameful

Conclusion  The themes and characters reappear in Auster’s novels  Everybody should read the book on his own because otherwise it’s not comprehensible very well  It is very enriching to absorb Auster’s style and language

Resources  Paul Auster: Travels in the Scriptorium, Faber & Faber 2006  php   2/07/auster/  ture:_Prose  all websites accessed 08/12/08