Report From the Interior
by
Paul Auster
Order:
USA
Can
Henry Holt, 2013 (2013)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book
Reviewed by Carrol Wolverton
D
efinitely an original,
Report from the Interior
details in depth this author's earliest memories and ends with early adulthood memories – what formed him and what made him an author. It's of interest because the era that spawned him was the 50's through the 60's, an era that witnessed great changes in the world and in the United States.
A
lonesome child, certain movies left indelible impressions, and there were always the books. Yet the movies seemed most influential. Family and friends appear not to be nearly as important to him as they were to such authors as Stephen King. No, this is a lonely soul deeply affected by unjust events in the world such as wars, civil rights issues, and prejudice against Jews – invisible people in his view who '
had no part to play in American life.
'
T
oo much of what is included seems irrelevant introspection. Auster admired squirrels as a child and worried about the death of Peter Rabbit. He became '
manifestly himself
' by age twenty four. Who cares? What matters is the writing and how it came about. The reader doesn't get this. Instead, the author relates through choppy journal-like letters, spotty memories, and detailed movie accounts the development of a muddled literate mind with periodic lightening flashes of literary excellence.
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