The Book of Illusions

By: Paul Auster

Narrated by: Paul Auster

After losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he sees a clip from a lost film by the silent comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to study the works of this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929.

Presumed dead for sixty years, Hector Mann was a comic genius who had flashed briefly across American movie screens, tantalizing the public with the promise of a brilliant future. Then, just as the silent era came to an end, he walked out of his house one January morning and was never heard from again.

Zimmer's research leads him to write the first full-length study of Hector's films. Upon publication the following year, a letter turns up bearing a return address from New Mexico -- supposedly written by Hector's wife. ""Hector has read your book and would like to meet you. Are you interested in paying us a visit?"" Is the letter a hoax, or is Hector Mann still alive? Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision from him, changing his life forever.

©2002 Paul Auster; (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Odd but compelling

This is the second Auster work I've been through. I didn't feel the anger of the primary character, nor the sadness. I just wasn't sold.

The plot, however, is so completely unique that I think you will listen hour after hour to see where it is all headed.

My personal favorite

It is a long winding journey but certainly worth all the effort. I've listened to it twice and we'll probably listen to It again and again.

The book is amazing and I love to hear Paul Auster reading it.

I love to hear Paul Auster reading his own work. He does so in a perfect way. I recommend this audiobook 100%.

Compelling Narrative, ending is hard to take

Without giving too much away, I will say that although the story is compelling and Auster's reading is perfect, it's an extremely nihilistic work. Auster is essentially telling us that life itself is a waste of time!

Excellent writing, extraordinarily depressing

First, the good: the author is a superb writer. He is so good that even his descriptions of mundane actions and scenes are fascinating to read. Also, the concept behind the book is unique, and being a lover of old silent movies, I was hypnotized by the first few chapters. Now, the bad: this is the most depressing book I have ever read. The book tells you almost from page one that the narrator's wife and children were killed in a plane accident, the rest of the book occuring after that fact. So you'd think things would get better from that point, but they actually manage to get worse. There's an endless spiral of bleakness and crushed hopes in this book. In the last few paragraphs of the final chapter, the narrator calls the book his "compilation of sorrows." That it is. Do not entertain any hopes once you start this book. All hope is lost here.