Rating: 
Summary: Endearing Narrative of a Dog
Review: I am not surprised by the negative reviews of this book. Not nearly as arresting as City of Glass (or the other novels in the New York Trilogy), Timbuktu took the form of a simpler story. Thank goodness that there are books as lucid as this one. It is always a fear of mine that Contemporary American Fiction becomes too alienated from the reader, when the author interjects his or her opinion into the story (i.e. Don Delillo, most of the time). Timbuktu is a pleasure to read and offers a sentimental experience rarely found in Auster's books (I have read the New York Trilogy, The Music of Chance, Mr. Vertigo (Ugh) and have begun Moon Palace). The writing is spectacular and rich and makes the book worth reading independent of the plot. One of the enjoyable aspects of reading Auster is his ability to change his writing style between books. He did an excellent job describing the streets of Baltimore. While the story is not as philosophical and dense as his other works, he is not selling out. Few people see this as Auster dealing with the death of his father and have little patience for this story. I think that when it comes to fans of Auster, intellectual snobbery plays a part in there reviewing process, not that it come without warrant. After reading so many stories that are philosophically changing, this is a bit of a no-brainer. Still, it can be a great read for someone who can enjoy simplicity in life. I read Timbuktu in one sitting. A friend of mine once gave me a dirty look when I was bad mouthing Gallagher, the comedian. When I asked him why he liked him, he explained it like this: "Something about a guy smashing fruit with a big mallet, just brings a smile to my face." I guess I get the filling about a dog that thinks.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting from Auster. A compelling read.
Review: This book is an interesting departure for acclaimed novelist Paul Auster, an author who has moved far in his literary career. Beginning with Kafkaesque tales of New York landscapes and dark futures in "The New York Trilogy" and "In the Country of Last Things", Auster's darker earlier career peaked with "The Music Of Chance"-- an excellent book of (once again) Kafka-like opression, mixed in with chaos theory and a compelling tale of servitude, depression and love. After this period, and his amazing screenplay "Smoke", Auster seems to have begun his great-American-allegory phase. The book "Leviathan" works as a bridge into his greatest work (And farthest departure) "Mr. Vertigo"-- a book about flight, the American spirit, the early twentieth century and the state of humanity that is like a Huckleberry Finn for the twentieth century. Within this phase falls his latest wor, "Timbuktu", a work that, while not as satisfying as "Mr. Vertigo" works on the same premise of taking what appears on its face to be cliched and ridiculous (learning to fly, a dog for a narrator etc.) and making an immensely serious, beautifully written book. While this book is not nearly the meisterwerk that Mr. Vertigo was, it is still entertaining, refreshing, inventive and delicate. A story told with immense care and beauty.
Rating: 
Summary: Kim D.
Review: The book I read was Timbuktu written by Paul Auster. This book was a wonderful fictional story about a homeless man and his canine companion of many years. The story is through the dog's perspective, which is what made the book so interesting. William Gurevitch who later in the book changed his name to William G. Christmas was a brilliant yet crazy man who lived in Brooklyn. He changed his name because of his obsession with Santa Claus after a weird experience one night. William was terminally ill and wanted to find his loyal dog, Mr. Bones, a good home. In order to do this, William and Mr. Bones venture off for Baltimore where William's old English teacher lived. She always believed in Willy, and Willy thought that she would take good care of his one and only friend. Mr. Bones is a very brilliant dog (just like his owner) that has a certain connection to people. Mr. Bones faces many problems throughout the story, but his strong spirit can pull him through. In the end Mr. Bones makes a very important decision. This book was very interesting, entertaining, and amusing. It was so interesting because unlike so many other books, Timbuktu was told through Mr. Bone's eyes. Also, this book was very entertaining because although very smart, Mr. Christmas was quite hilarious with his crazy hallucinations. This book has definitely affected me because it has taught me many things. It has shown me how precious family is because William had no family and lived out his days just with his dog. I always though Willy was lonely and when he needed someone to take care of Mr. Bones, no one was there for him. Also this book has affected me because it shows how you should follow your heart. In the end, Mr. Bones does something that I think took a lot of courage even if it was not what Willy wanted him to do. I really enjoyed reading this book. I never wanted to put it down. Sometimes the wrong thing to do is the right thing and this book is evidence of that. This book would be a great read for animal lovers, but I would recommend it to anyone!
Rating: 
Summary: The Voice and the Cliches
Review: As a fan of Auster's works (I liked NY Trilogy, In the Country of Last Things, Moon Palace, Invention of Solitude, Hand to Mouth), I went into this book fearing the worst. A couple of friends told me it wasn't very good, and they were unfortunately correct. The two most detrimental factors that contributed to the failure of this book are as follows: 1) The fairy-tale-esque narrator voice. Mostly it's condescending, and very quickly it becomes annoying. I don't know what Auster was thinking, choosing this particular narrative style. It just doesn't work. 2) Cliches. There's so much lazy writing in this novel -- just start counting the number of cliches Auster uses. It's criminal.
Rating:
Summary: Really disappointing
Review: I received this book as a gift for my birthday, and I was thinking of going to the book store and change it immediately. I was interested in reading some Carver and Cheever. But I had read Leviathan and The music of chance and I liked both of them, so I read some pages of this book to see what it was about. I have to say that I liked the first 20 pages of the book so that kept me reading it. I thought it might get better near the end, like in Leviathan. I had some hopes. But by the middle of the book I felt disappointed, and I finished the reading without any pleasure. I think Auster was either very relaxed during the writing of this book, or he was trying to have access to a wider public. I don't know. But I see this book as a version of Leviathan for kids. Mr Bones and Willy both represent characters Auster made before (like Peter Aaron/Benjamin Sachs), but in a very light version. The characters are so poorly described and developed and the story never reaches a peak. I would recommend Music of chance, Leviathan or Mr Vertigo instead of this one. Really forgetable. It might be good for a kid. But if you're looking for something serious, don't expect anything coming out of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Insight!
Review: Mr. Auster must has a dog of his own to have written such a moving and entertaining book. Auster's observation of dogs, their behavior, and their relationships with humans is what makes this powerful story work.
Mr. Bones truly has a voice and it's heard loud and clear! Timbuktu is a sad but beautiful love story not to be missed by anyone who loves their canine countepart.
Rating:
Summary: Word salad
Review: Paul Auster writes from the inside, in this instance from the inside of the head of a dog. The dog has three names because he has three masters in the course of the book. His first master is schizophrenic and homeless. He talks endlessly to the dog and the dog talks to us. Unfortunately he dies in Baltimore where the pair traveled to see a teacher. Symbolically he collapses on the steps of a house formerly associated with Edgar Allan Poe before being taken to the charity ward of a hospital. The dog runs off and finds himself in the company of a boy whose family runs an Asian restaurant. In the fall when the boy returns to school, the dog runs again to become part of an upscale suburban family in northern Virginia. He finally dies, a victim of death by auto. The book amply and creatively explores loneliness in all of its guises. It is a step beyond TRAVELS WITH LIZBETH by Lars Eigner because fiction allows a broadening of the range of the writer.
Rating:
Summary: This dog thing didn't work.
Review: This reads as little more than a rough draft from start to finish. The stakes are low as can be. Don't get me wrong - I think Paul Auster's work can be so interesting, particularly The Invention Of Solitude, and his writing can be unsettling [not 'scary' unsettling, but 'I don't know up from down' unsettling].
But this dog thing is wack. If this is your first time taking a peek at Paul Auster, skip that dog on the cover and go for the New York Trilogy or Invention Of Solitude. Dogs are cool, and dog interior monologues are cool, dog humor is cool, dogs who chill out with bums are cool - Timbuktu just isn't written very good.
Rating:
Summary: Timbuktu
Review: I think that many people might enjoy this book, but I did not. I think part of the reason that I didn't like this book was because of the fact that it was an immaginary fiction, and I am not really in to ficticious books. The book was about a man named William Christmans and his dog Mr. Bones. Mr. Bones was his sidekick and best friend, he had been with Willy from when he had first lived in Brooklyn and was homeless. William had dicided to pick up his life one day and get off the streets for good. There was only one reason that he had decited to do this though. It was because his English teacher had inspired him by believing in him. What he had not know back then was that her believing in him would later make him alot more successful. Now he and his dog are on a mission to find Bea Swanson in Baltimore, Maryland to thank her for beleving in him.
Now the main reason that this book if so ficticious is because the dog is not just an average dog. He knows whats going on around him, just like a human being. The only difference between him and a human would be that Mr. Bones can not talk, he does however narate the entire novel. He lets you in on what is going on from his point. Telling you what Willy Christmas would have never done.
I know many of you are wandering why this novel is called Timbuktu, and the anwser is that it is Mr. Bone's happy place. He it is where ever he wants when ever he wants. He says that it can be there when he walks into the road, or when he's just sitting there.
Now once again we are brought to weather or not I think this book is good or not. The simple anwser is yes, I think this is a very well written book. Also I feel that many people would enjoy this book. But it was just not the book for me. So I recomend this book to you, as long as you are not liek me and don't like the types of books with talking animals and make beleave worlds. Other than that, go out to your local library and pick this book up.
Rating:
Summary: I hope there really is a Timbuktu
Review: I sobbed for 5 whole minutes at the end of this book. Not the sort of crying that somtimes sneaks up in sad movies and novels - but deep sobs and a heart aching so much that I could hardly breathe. Then I remembered Timbuktu. I saw Willie and Mr. Bones sitting on that warm beach watching a golden sunset. I saw many other lost souls who were no longer lost but comforted as they never had been in life, together on that same warm sand. And I try to remember to hug my dog and love all others in the same perfect way that my dog loves me and Mr. Bones loved poor, crazy Willie.
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