Rating: 
Summary: trying to keep the reader confused
Review: "City of Glass" is Austers first book of his "New York Trilogy". He keeps his themes so it is also about poverty, hunger and chance. "City of Glass" is about the writer Daniel Quinn who pretends to be the detective Paul Auster. Quinn observes a man who locked in his son for years in the dark in order to teach him god's language. Quinns client fears his father who will be set free from jail. Daniel Quinn is like the other protagonists by Paul Auster. At the beginning "City of Glass" is a very trilling novel. If you read something else by Auster before you read this book you may know what will happen. In the end your expectations won't be fullfilled. For me it is too strange because I don't like Austers theories of chance.
Rating:
Summary: trying to keep the reader confused
Review: "City of Glass" is Austers first book of his "New York Trilogy". He keeps his themes so it is also about poverty, hunger and chance. "City of Glass" is about the writer Daniel Quinn who pretends to be the detective Paul Auster. Quinn observes a man who locked in his son for years in the dark in order to teach him god's language. Quinns client fears his father who will be set free from jail. Daniel Quinn is like the other protagonists by Paul Auster. At the beginning "City of Glass" is a very trilling novel. If you read something else by Auster before you read this book you may know what will happen. In the end your expectations won't be fullfilled. For me it is too strange because I don't like Austers theories of chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Chandler on acid
Review: "City of Glass", at the very least, will leave you breathless. For most, however, you won't look at reality the same way again. Imagine a Raymond Chandler novel where both the author and the main character are on LSD. In "City of Glass", the author IS the detective, and the detective's reality begins to get stranger and stranger..
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive narrative skills, but...
Review: ...the point is not astounding enough, i think.
IMHO, books like "the neglected spring" (Hans Scherfig) does a much better job in showing the fatal flaws in humans and the decisions they must take.
In short, the book is not as scary as it could have been, but on the other hand, that is hardly important. The important part is that it is an excellent study in existentialism, moreso than any other book I have encountered before, and the point of the book, that there is no solution, no "right" answer to the question of the human existance, is presented with such strength that this sole point, if nothing else, will stick with the reader for a long time.
Conclusion? Well, if you're looking for a good detective novel, go look somewhere else, if you're looking forward to critisism of society, you can find better than this, but if you're looking for something concerned with the reason we're here, this is the book you're looking for. In that sole aspect, it is as good as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Kafka...Auster's BEST!
Review: A writer, through an odd phone call, investigates a possible future murder, meets doubles, investigates the origins of language and the tower of Babel, and meets an eccentric former language professor who may or may not be the future killer. A surreal tour through NYC, with jigsaw puzzle maps that may simply be this fledging detective's imagination, Oh, and the detective becomes "Paul Auster" too. Empty high rise apartments, and clues to nowhere infiltrate the scene until Auster (original name "Quinn") has a serious identity crisis...Good stuff that would make a mesmorizing movie!!
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Kafka...Auster's BEST!
Review: A writer, through an odd phone call, investigates a possible future murder, meets doubles, investigates the origins of language and the tower of Babel, and meets an eccentric former language professor who may or may not be the future killer. A surreal tour through NYC, with jigsaw puzzle maps that may simply be this fledging detective's imagination, Oh, and the detective becomes "Paul Auster" too. Empty high rise apartments, and clues to nowhere infiltrate the scene until Auster (original name "Quinn") has a serious identity crisis...Good stuff that would make a mesmorizing movie!!
Rating:
Summary: The definition of thought provoking
Review: After reading several of the reviews on City of Glass, I felt a need to give my own opinion. This is a book of perception. One person could perceive it as some sort of [messed] up mystery novel, though if they read it expecting a detective story they will be sorely dissapointed. Another could perceive it as a book about morality, but even that seems cheap and weak. I believe that this is a book about perception and identity. The main character is Daniel Quinn, who writes under the name William Wilson, about the charcter Max Work. At the beggining of the novel he identifies more with Max that with either of the other aspects of himself. Quinn receives a phone call from Peter Stillman for Detective Paul Auster (look familiar?) and chooses to claim his identity as well. Then he interacts with Peter Stillman , son of Peter Stillman (who coincidently(?) has the name of Quinn's dead son). This is the gentleman whose case he is supposed to be working on, under the name of Paul Auster. Damaged as a result of a freakish childhood Peter Stillman is an anomolous character. He refers to himself as Peter Nobody, Anything, and Not Here. He claims that he is learning how to be Peter Stillman. Another case of identity confusion. Quinn is sent on a mission to track Peter Stillman, father of Peter Stillman, an old man who, regardless of the number of times he meets Quinn can never recognize him. Thus Quinn pretends to be a different person each time they encounter eachother. City of Glass is strange and disturbing and thought provoking. I haven't even meantioned Daniel Quinn the writer, pretending to be Paul Auster the detective, meeting Paul Auster the writer, and his son Daniel. Or how Don Quixote and Cervantes and Quinn and Paul Auster are all the same person! So if your ready for something to screw with your mind, and make you wonder about the nature of life and literature, read the City of Glass. If you want to read a mystery novel pick up something by Sue Grafton.
Rating:
Summary: The definition of thought provoking
Review: After reading several of the reviews on City of Glass, I felt a need to give my own opinion. This is a book of perception. One person could perceive it as some sort of [messed] up mystery novel, though if they read it expecting a detective story they will be sorely dissapointed. Another could perceive it as a book about morality, but even that seems cheap and weak. I believe that this is a book about perception and identity. The main character is Daniel Quinn, who writes under the name William Wilson, about the charcter Max Work. At the beggining of the novel he identifies more with Max that with either of the other aspects of himself. Quinn receives a phone call from Peter Stillman for Detective Paul Auster (look familiar?) and chooses to claim his identity as well. Then he interacts with Peter Stillman , son of Peter Stillman (who coincidently(?) has the name of Quinn's dead son). This is the gentleman whose case he is supposed to be working on, under the name of Paul Auster. Damaged as a result of a freakish childhood Peter Stillman is an anomolous character. He refers to himself as Peter Nobody, Anything, and Not Here. He claims that he is learning how to be Peter Stillman. Another case of identity confusion. Quinn is sent on a mission to track Peter Stillman, father of Peter Stillman, an old man who, regardless of the number of times he meets Quinn can never recognize him. Thus Quinn pretends to be a different person each time they encounter eachother. City of Glass is strange and disturbing and thought provoking. I haven't even meantioned Daniel Quinn the writer, pretending to be Paul Auster the detective, meeting Paul Auster the writer, and his son Daniel. Or how Don Quixote and Cervantes and Quinn and Paul Auster are all the same person! So if your ready for something to screw with your mind, and make you wonder about the nature of life and literature, read the City of Glass. If you want to read a mystery novel pick up something by Sue Grafton.
Rating:
Summary: Surprises abound in "City of Glass"
Review: Auster's "City of Glass" was an entertaining and awakening experience from conventional novels. Auster catches readers (like myself) snoozing from time to time, and although the plot becomes a great spiderweb of sorts, his prose lays out complexities smoothly. A fine, original piece of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Three Stars BUT What a UNIQUE read
Review: Before you get too excited from reading the other reviews, I will offer some words of caution. The ending is weak. It is that simple. (Ending defined as the last chapter or two.) Auster offers beautiful prose and the book reads quickly. It is intriguing, but when I finished it was as though Auster had written himself into a corner. All his brilliant questions could not be solved. A novel does not need to answer everything. Leaving the reader to think is good, but Auster at second glance seems to lead the reader on knowing he cannot fulfil the experience with a proper ending. Yet, in some ways that is his point. The book is worth reading if you have never encountered Auster before or read any existentialistic novels because then the book will be unique. Yes, unlike anything you have ever read before. I have read of all of Auster's novels - except Timuktu which is just out - and they all seem to have this problem except for Mr. Vertigo. Go to Auster for fancy prose. He is great at it, but do not expect a fulfilling ending.
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