Rating: 
Summary: Timbuktu
Review: A well crafted tale of two homeless "companions" that, despite the lack of a happy ending, is compelling and poignant. Never maudlin, this dogumentary is always absorbing and yes, except for the terminally cynical, ultimately moving and memorable.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: My first exposure to Auster was a pleasant one. This is a touching, well written story of two friends. The point-of-view approach, while far from a gimmick, as some reviewers think, allows the writer to explore a wider story. I appreciate the craft and use of language that Auster is known for. Give it a try, particularly if you are a dog lover.
Rating: 
Summary: a very lame mutt
Review: many years ago, i read a kids book with an identical idea, the big difference was that it was very good for it intended audience, and far more moving. (only wish i could remember the name).
so hardly a new idea.
the first part of the book is so incredibly dull and shambolic i was tempted to stop reading it incredibly frequently. only the fact its such a thin book gave me strength.
it does improve slightly, but still remains pointless and badly written.
worst book ive read in quite some time, actually amazes me to hear from other reviews this author has wriiten some good material, i for one wouldnt be tempted again.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing concept but not up to Auster's usual standards.
Review: This book examines the issue of homelessness from the point of view of the protagonist's dog, Mr. Bones. Will G. Christmas is a mildly schizophrenic, alcoholic man who's been out on he street's for about 4 years as the book opens. Aware that he is seriously ill, Wilily is trying g to locate an old teacher of his who once tried to encourage his writing to take his collected poems and look after his dog.Willy's descent is delineated in a series of retrospective snapshots interspersed with the current adventures of Willy and Mr. Bones on the road. The concept of liking at homelessness in this way is interesting-seeing Willy's plight from the dispassionate perspective if Mr. Bones is instructive and insightful-but this takes up just over half the book. Willy expires & Mr. Bones is on his own, subsequently passes between a succession of temporary owners until the end of the book. There are two major problems with the book. One, there's only so much you can do with a mildly schizophrenic, alcoholic street person's character, a flaw Auster seems to recognize as he dispatches Willy relatively early in the book. The second is that, while the subsequent adventures of Mr. Bones post Willy may be realistic, they add nothing to the major premise of the novel. That there are a lot of lonely people in the world other than street people may be a valid observation (and that seems to be the message of the second part of the book) this narrative says nothing either about homeless or loneliness for that matter, after Willy departs the scene. I think Auster would have been better served either by creating a cast of homeless characters and providing a series of stories about the descent into loneliness & homelessness that could have supported a whole novel or simple cut this down to short story or novella format. So, while I read the book and appreciated it for what it tried to do, as a Auster fan I have to say I was pretty disappointed overall.
Rating:
Summary: If you like Paul Auster, avoid this book
Review: I'm deeply interested in Auster's books. I find them alluringly comical, inventive and deep. This particular book is (in comparison) shallow, conservative, simpleminded, goes nowhere and worst of all, does it in a way that is simply boring. I still believe in the author's ability to do terrific things, but this particular work makes one wonder if Auster is perhaps too busy doing other things and wrote this piece offhandedly in a couple of days. Or perhaps he has an 18 year old nephew who produced this work and Auster thought it would be interesting to put his name to it. Auster seems to have decided, deliberately (assuming it really is his book) to have as his heroes a lacklustre dog (whose view of the world is based so much on sight and seems to be all too human), an irritating and boring owner, and a rather grey world, the kind we see every day. That may be an interesting experiment, but the result is drab. It might still work as a short film though.
Rating:
Summary: Pass the Draino
Review: That's it. No more. Anyone ever read Ellison's 'A Boy And His
Dog'. You want cerebral (as opposed to conceptual) there are a lot of brainy writers out there doing good, unusual work. James
Sallis is a lot better with his Long-Legged Fly stuff, as far as tec-riffs go. There was a painting won the Turner Prize in London a couple of years ago. The painting was a copy of a paperback cover for a Heinlein novel. The painting was of no value as a paperback cover, but became 'art' through a change in conception. Auster's been pulling this particular conjuring trick off for so long he must believe he's a real writer by now.
A shame, when the real writers are out there, unread.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterful Look At A Sad Dog's Life
Review: Paul Auster once more demonstrates why he is one of our finest American literary stylists in this terse, yet engaging tale about the misadventures of "Mr. Bones", a dog, and his ne'er-do-well master, Willy. I never thought a tale about a dog could be as mesmerizing or as well written as Auster's "Timbuktu". Anyone interested in a brief tome that is high quality literary fiction won't be disappointed with Auster's novel.
Rating:
Summary: Timbuktu
Review: This was such a great book. I had to order it here because couldn't find it in the bookstores, and the extra trouble was worth it.. I gave it to a friend that I don't believe ever read it, think I will buy another one just to have on my shelf of "best reads"...
Rating:
Summary: A dying gasp
Review: This is a sad book, not because the characters and events in the book are sad, but because it reads like the dying gasp of great writer who has run out of things to say. There is not one idea or emotion conveyed in this novel that Auster has not already shared with his readers in his previous work. The point of view of a dog is nothing more than a cute contrivance, and hardly a page goes by without some tedious cliche being applied to the existential condition. Such a shame, really, reading this novel, after such wonderful and innovative works as the New York Trilogy, The Music of Chance, and Moon Palace. Luckily I only paid a dollar for it at a clearance counter at a used book store. Little did I know that it was there for a reason.
Rating:
Summary: A Joy For Every Dog Lover
Review: If you are a dog lover, then this book is for you. It is so enjoyable to be reading a book from a dog's perspective. Very insightful, often heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking. Kasey Hamner, author of "Whose Child?: An Adoptee's Healing Journey from Relinquishment through Reunion and Beyond."
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