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Sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts, Invisible opens in New York City in the spring of 1967 when twenty-year-old Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born, and his silent and seductive girlfriend Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden, shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life. Three different narrators tell the story, as it travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from New York to Paris and to a remote Caribbean island in a story of unbridled sexual hunger and a relentless quest for justice. With uncompromising insight, Auster takes us to the shadowy borderland between truth and memory, authorship and identity to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as one of America's most spectacularly inventive writers.… (more)
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Whilst the trademark
It’s still a “tricksy” novel though, but it’s not a full blown “Philip K Dickian” “mind-f**k”. There’s the usual blurring of boundaries – Adam Walker is a Columbia student (guess where Paul Auster went), George Perec gets a mention – no one reads airport thrillers in an Auster novel, and as you’d expect it abounds with references and allusions (I think!). I’m fairly sure I didn’t get one half of them but I’m convinced Rudolf Born bears more than a passing resemblance to Kurtz although, naturally, it’s the Marlon Brando reincarnation that features. Sadly I can’t mention any others without a spoiler warning (or maybe that’s my own get out of jail card?)
So Although “Invisible” is firmly within the Auster fold it’s also his most readable to date. With previous novels it’s hard not to avoid the feeling that they are read in the main by cognoscenti ticking off or nodding to each reference in smug satisfaction. It’s still an option here but more than any of his previous work it’s also possible to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
This may make the novel sound complicated, but it is certainly not that. It is more or less a linear story told in four parts. Adam Walker writes in the first person in part I concerning an incident that happened 38 years ago when he was a student. A chance meeting at a party got him involved with a political lecturer Rudolf Born and his enigmatic lover Margot. Born takes a liking to Adam as does Margot and they offer to fund him in setting up a new literary magazine, an enterprise that Adam; a student of literature and would-be poet would almost give his right arm to do. Adam is seduced by Margot, but still seems to be on good terms with Born, however a violent incident occurs one evening when he is walking home with Born in a New York (not really New York) side street. A young black man is murdered and Adam is certain that Born committed the act. Born threatens Adam to keep quiet and while Adam wrestles with his conscience Born flees to Paris. What Adam did next is written in part II in the form of a manuscript which he sends to an old college friend 38 years later and is written in the second person. Adam reveals that he has only a short time to live as he is suffering from leukaemia and he begs his friend John (who is now a successful novelist) to read his story with a view to possible publication. John is intrigued and he travels to Adams home to meet him for dinner, but he is too late Adam has died 6 days earlier, but has left a series of notes as to how he wants his story to continue. John rewrites these in part III in the third person and part IV is his own investigation where he tracks down the surviving characters to discover what had happened to Adam.
The story Adam tells in his manuscript also reveals an intense incestual relationship with his sister, which she denies and so although his carefully written manuscript seems to be telling a true story almost a confessional, it could be partly or wholly a fantasy. A plausible tale written by and witnessed by different people but it is the story unfolding that makes this book such a page turner. Paul Auster is noted for his ability to turn stories on their head, to make them seem real, confessional, but just a little disorientating, so the reader cannot quite believe them. Invisible has all the hallmarks of an Auster novel; it is his fifteenth, but as well written as it is, it brings nothing new to the table. An entertainment with the usual dollops of sex and intrigue and of course the twin themes of writing and being a novelist takes another turn round the block. I enjoyed the read, but it felt like Paul Auster was writing well within himself, but still I rate it at 3.5 stars.
Part I is narrated in the first person by Adam Walker. It is the spring of 1967 and he is a student at Columbia when he meets
In Part II, we learn that Adam has sent the first-person narrative set forth in Part I to his former college roommate Jim, who is now a successful writer. As the novel continues, the framing device for the remainder of the book becomes one in which Jim pieces together in various ways the remainder of Adam's story. Adam wrote Jim that he wanted to continue with his story, but feels blocked and seeks advice. Jim advises that Adam consider telling the story in something other than the first person. We then read the continuation of Adam's story, ostensibly, as with Part I, written by Adam. The story narrated in Part II takes place over the summer of 1967 and is narrated in the second person ("You"). In this section, Adam bides time in New York sharing an apartment (and possibly more) with his sister Gwynn, as he awaits traveling to Paris in the fall for his junior year abroad.
Part III details what happened while Adam was in Paris in the fall of 1967. This section is narrated in the third person, and is ostensibly written by Jim from detailed notes Adam left for him.
The final part takes place forty years after the events which occurred in 1967. Jim has travelled to Paris, and while there seeks out some of the people with whom Adam had interacted in the fall of 1967. Adam's story (and Born's) is finally completed by the diary entries of one of those people, originally written in French and translated.
Throughout, beyond the story Adam wanted to tell about the life-changing events of 1967, questions are being raised about whether a story in a novel can be "true," what makes it true, does it make a difference who tells the story or how it is told? All sorts of issues are raised about the art of writing. I suppose this can be considered meta fiction, which I usually like.
In fact, I liked this one a lot (but then, I've liked most books by Auster that I've read), and I definitely think it deserves a place on the 1001 list. I realize that maybe I haven't made it sound that interesting in that I've kept the plot details rather vague, but I've always found Auster's plots to be imaginative and engaging, and this one was no exception.
Recommended.
4 stars
Invisible is one of his multi-layered best - I loved it. The key character is a young man, Adam, who has a defining moment in his life which has big consequences, and he looks back on what happened that spring in his memoirs.
Written in four parts, we start off in the first person, hearing the story through Adam himself. In the second we move onto a second person narrative, then the story is taken over in the third person by a friend from Adam's student days. In the final part, Adam is all but invisible, but the consequences of what happened back then still resonate as the tale is drawn to its conclusion
One of Auster's favourite devices is to embed a book within a book and using an author as a central character as he does here. There is always a strong psychological element to his books and in this novel, truth and memory are intertwined in the memoir with shocking events and tender moments but which are real and which imagined?
Invisible is up there with his best, and I highly recommend it. (Book supplied by Librarything Early Reviewers).
I found this novel quite unlike many of the other Paul Auster novels I've read in the past. It still has a few of the qualities of experimental fiction, though the main character one can't trust is definitely not as obvious or at the forefront as his other works. There are also a couple of other
Without saying too much, I really like any works of art whether it be films or literature that call me to question and really think about everything I've thus far read that I took for granted and consider it with a different light. This novel recalled the novel I read not too long ago by Julian Barnes entitled The Sense of an Ending...it's actually quite difficult to figure out the truth and one can't fail to consider that each reader might sense a bit of her or his own sense of the story based upon her/his own life experiences and how she/he has come to understand the world...this may have been Paul Auster's own intent (and that of Julian Barnes as well) but I'm not sure.
In any case, it is an interesting read and will probably benefit from a second or third read in the future. It involves a whole host of interesting subjects from civil rights, murder, literature translations all the way to incest and death. Only Auster could really tackle these heavy topics in a way that makes us consider them in this specific way in the narrative of a complex character. The novel is an easy read but don't read it too fast or you may not catch the way Auster commands his language and challenges the reader. It may not be a perfect work but it is well worth reading.
pg.84 "For the sad fact remains: there is far more poetry in the world than justice."
pg. 132-133 "She is the only person you can talk to, the only person who makes you feel alive. And yet, happy as you are to be with her again, you know that you mustn't overburden her with your troubles, that you can't expect her to transform herself into the divine surgeon who will cut open your chest and mend your ailing heart. You must help yourself. If something inside you is broken, you must put it back together with your own two hands."
pg. 216 "Books should be treated with respect, even the ones that make us ill."
pg. 293 "I sometimes confuse my thoughts about the world with the world itself. I'm sorry if I offended you."
Thoughtfully structured, Invisible is just the kind of brain candy that a true reader craves.
The Rest of It:
The story itself is simple. Adam Walker is dying. Before doing so, he decides to share his life story with an acquaintance from his years at Columbia. Jim, who has agreed to
The first part is innocent enough. It’s where Adam meets Rudolf Barn and Rudolf’s mysterious girlfriend, Margot. The couple takes an immediate liking to Adam. The relationship is complicated in that Rudolf has offered Adam a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…to start-up a magazine. This is an offer that Adam cannot refuse, but wait… there is an attraction to Margot. That’s where it gets complicated.
As Adam’s story is delivered in parts, Jim is not sure what to think. The story centers around a violent act, incest and these rather eccentric characters. What at first appears to be Adam’s life story, sort of morphs into what Jim thinks might be fiction or fantasy, but he can’t be sure, so he does a bit of his own research to find out.
Invisible is complicated in structure…there are multiple narrators, passages told in flashbacks, etc. However, it’s not a difficult read. In fact, it’s quite short for a novel and goes quite quickly, but there’s something about it that piques the senses. Auster’s use of language is admirable, but his ability to keep you slightly on the edge of your seat is what I enjoyed the most. This is not a mystery or thriller by any means but when he touches on incest I was like, “What? Did he just go there?” Yes, he goes there and gives you just enough to be utterly creeped out and disturbed and then pulls back to allow you a moment of reprieve.
It’s that delicate use of tension that pulls you in. I found myself hanging on every word. At times, it reminded me of The Talented Mr. Ripley. There’s the larger than life Born, the sexual tension, the lure of adventure. It’s packed with ambiguity, yet when you finish the novel, you somehow know how things turn out. When I finished it, I immediately wanted to read it again. Not because things were not clear, but because it’s just that kind of novel. It’s multi-layered and complex but in the best possible way.
You should know that there are some sex scenes that could be considered graphic. However, it’s the incest that will most likely disturb you the most, if you happen to be sensitive to that sort of thing. I am usually not, but there was one point where I remember squirming a bit in my seat. That said, I quickly got over it and felt that Auster’s handling of that particular scene was quite well done. If you enjoy sophisticated fiction and complex structure, you will definitely enjoy Invisible. It is one of my favorites for 2010.
My book club meets in September to discuss this book, but I won’t be able to attend due to back-to-school night. I think it is going to be a lively discussion as there is a lot to discuss
Some of those who have read the Trilogy might have been left wondering, like me, if it was actually intended as a real novel
If so, relax, for Invisible is a different animal entirely. Yes, it is told by various narrators from various different viewpoints, and moves between the past and the present, but on this occasion it all works, and the reader feels challenged but never downright bewildered.
Auster uses the device of an author struggling to finish a book, and enlisting the help of a third party in order to do so. Death, natural and otherwise, a detective style investigation, and sex make up the mix. It is difficult to say much more about the plot without spoiling the ending.
In fairness I should point out that I have never read any of Auster's other books (which many admire and respect), but on the evidence of the Trilogy, which frankly I did not enjoy, Invisible came as a very pleasant surprise. It is well written and well crafted, each of the three main characters coming across with their own voice. I would happily recommend this book to anyone
This story is told primarily through a memoir being written by Walker in the present day, where he is dying of cancer. He sends two chapters of his manuscript to an old college buddy he had not been in contact with since those days. Some other details of the story are told by two other players in Walker's story.
What we are presented with raises questions about the borderline between memoir and fiction. How much can we trust what each of the characters in this story says about their life and motives? The story itself is an interesting one, and the book is a very quick read. At just over 300 pages it was easily completed on the quiet weekend that devoted to it.
Not terrible by any means, just sort of average.
A promising start failed to amount to any significance or poignancy.
In my opinion, a truly great book has to do something different- conjure fantastic imagery, describe things and people in a thoughtful, insightful and original way, have self-propelling narrative or
A classic does all three.
Unforunatley, 'Invisible' does none of these adequately, which casts it into the realm of literary mediocrity in my opinion. However, it's easy to read and flows nicely, so I can see how people would enjoy it.
While in Paris, Walker rekindles his affair with Margot and decides to exact his revenge on Born by telling Born's new partner Helene the truth about her future husband. Walker's friendship with Helene's daughter suffers as a result of this revelation.
The story is picked up 40 years later as a memoir written by the dying Walker and sent to his old college friend Jim Freeman. In this memoir, we learn more about Walker and his relationship with his sister. The last section of the novel is told by Cecile, Helene's daughter, who visited Born years later on the island of Quillia.
As with much of Auster's work, the novel conceals more than it reveals but is never less than fascinating and is a very good rerad.