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Man in the Dark

A Novel

By Paul Auster

(107)

| Others | 9780312428518

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Critics

'Man in the Dark' by Paul Auster

Paul Auster is one of those authors you either love or hate. He has a very dedicated cult following, but I have never been a member of that club. The first Auster I read was Oracle Night, charmed in part by the coverline which claimed that "If you ha ... (read full critics)

readingmatters published on Tue, 28 Sep 2010

America through the looking glass

'What's real and make believe?' asked Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry in 'Virginia Plain' in 1972. Nearly 40 years on, Paul Auster is asking the same question. There are two worlds in his latest novel, Man in the Dark. Owen Brick, a children's conjuror, and ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

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7 Reviews

as the weird world rolls on

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claudio said on Nov 3, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

Another great book by this author. He is greatly entertaining and very easy to read. I like the way he makes up the stories and then finishes them up in an apparent reckless way. In the end, there is always hope for a better life, for a better future. I will read many more books by this author as so ... (continue)

Another great book by this author. He is greatly entertaining and very easy to read. I like the way he makes up the stories and then finishes them up in an apparent reckless way. In the end, there is always hope for a better life, for a better future. I will read many more books by this author as soon as I find the time for it.

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ariadna73 said on Apr 22, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

(Originally written for my book blog at www.michelleamanda.co.uk)
This book is unusual. The style of writing, the punctuation, the points of view are very different from any other book I’ve read.
While the plot is good, all the threads of the story can become confused when there’s no clear indicat ... (continue)

(Originally written for my book blog at www.michelleamanda.co.uk)
This book is unusual. The style of writing, the punctuation, the points of view are very different from any other book I’ve read.
While the plot is good, all the threads of the story can become confused when there’s no clear indicator of when the narrator is living his real life and when he is telling himself the story.
The characters and ending didn’t really have an effect on me. The characters weren’t illustrated enough to me and I didn’t feel as if I really knew them. So although I finished the book, I wasn’t compelled to find out what was going to happen to the characters as I didn’t connect with them enough.
While it wasn’t my cup of tea, I can see that it is an enjoyable book and for its originality and topics broached, I can see that it could be a little gem.
I picked up a quote from the book that I liked:-
"The bad know they are good, but the good know nothing. They spend their lives forgiving others, but they can’t forgive themselves." [Paul Auster}

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Michelle said on Jan 22, 2011 | Add your feedback

...as the weird world rolls on...

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pinuccia said on Feb 24, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

An absolutely brilliant book. Paul Auster deserves a genre of his own. In Man in the Dark, Auster created a world within a world. The narrator created a character and put him in a situation where the character has to kill the person who created him or else he will die. The idea is so enticing that i ... (continue)

An absolutely brilliant book. Paul Auster deserves a genre of his own. In Man in the Dark, Auster created a world within a world. The narrator created a character and put him in a situation where the character has to kill the person who created him or else he will die. The idea is so enticing that it is impossible to put the book down.

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Sandy said on Dec 13, 2009 | Add your feedback

When I finished reading, I wanted to know what happened to Owen !! I don't know if you guys felt the same way, but the book left me craving to know what happens to him. But, that was the whole point of the story. We suffer because we can't ever surmise what life is going to throw our way, or take aw ... (continue)

When I finished reading, I wanted to know what happened to Owen !! I don't know if you guys felt the same way, but the book left me craving to know what happens to him. But, that was the whole point of the story. We suffer because we can't ever surmise what life is going to throw our way, or take away. The metaphor of the dark ties in nicely with the idea that we are all in the dark; we don't have a manual that tells us how to live life, or what to do if caught in bad situations. We do what our nature tells us to do, whether that is watching movies with our grandfathers, or creating fictional stories in our rooms once everyone has closed their eyes.
This book reminded me a lot of Kurt Vonnegaut's (spelling?) books. The story that August creates at night so that he can escape from painful memories was very believable. I felt like I was there, right with Owen, wondering what the hell was going on with America. The writing flowed nicely without any awkward moments in the novel.
The book is mainly about discovering ourselves when we feel that we are broken inside. The book describes the things that we hide from the public, the things we are ashamed of, like watching movies all day and then falling asleep. And it's also about learning to let go and live again. This was a very short read, but it was packed with meaning.

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April Moran said on Dec 30, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback