City of Glass (The New York Trilogy, Vol 1)

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Summary: Character disintegration and the harmony of chance
Review: Th characters in these stories dont so much develop as disintegrate. Auster is the true master of the anti-climax, a technique which, when used in the mystery novel can be a powerful tool. The story however, opens with a classical mystery formula, using chance as its master it casts a spell over us which holds us till the book eventually dies.

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Summary: Through the glass lies your city.
Review: The interchangability of subject-detective and fiction inside the fiction, makes you fall into the inertia of the story. Auster pictures the struggle of personalities that lie inside of us, each one tring to be the leading one. This fantastic noble touches references as diverce as the Tower of Babel and the New York Mets, touches the wide span of cities that lie beyond the windows of our being

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Summary: What on earth was the point to this inane book?!!
Review: The only mystery in this book is where the plot jaunted off to. It started off as a mystery, a pretty good one at that, and then all of a sudden it was about a man who had totally lost his grip on reality. Intelligent writer on one page, human with no reason on next. Who in their right mind would train themselves to live like a homeless person for months, disregarding his own responsibilities, and then being surprised to find his life is not as he left it. The first half of the book had nothing to do with the second half of the book. What message was the author trying to convey with the second half of the story? This was the worst book I have read in years.

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Summary: An intriguing and engrossing post-modern whodunnit
Review: The wonderful thing about "City of Glass" is that as a post-modern work, it is open to a number of different interpretations. While many read it as a fictional detective story, I found that it could also be read as Auster's autobiography.

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Summary: Artistic integrity takes dedication.
Review: This book is not as well written as other Auster books I've read, but it's message is powerful nonetheless. "Paul Auster" actually appears in this book as a charachter who sometimes pays attention to his higher self. Consequently "Auster" is able to write a few decent books and essays. One level down from Auster is the detective, capable of better work, who for years has only written mystery books, as an expediency. But what happens if one is distracted (by any chance of life) from achieving even that lowly level of artistic integrity? In such a case the artist invoves himself in meaningless pursuit of his own invention. Unfortunately, that's what most of us do with our lives, perhaps not to the extreme of the detective, but at least to some major extent. This book is about the many possible selves that one could potentially employ, and it is also about the self most of us ultimately tend toward enacting in our life dramas.

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Summary: I stayed up all night reading this artfully written book.
Review: This book makes you think, but it is so skillfully and beautifully written that it is without pretention. It asks questions about writing and literature and art and life, but it is above all a page-turning mystery set in New York City. I always wanted to know what would happen next, but the language was so beautiful that I was content no matter how much or how little of the actions were actually explained. I recommend this to all mystery-lovers, all New Yorkers, and anyone who loves to read. This book may turn you into a bit of an existentialist, but it will do so with a great sense of humor.

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Summary: The Nameless City
Review: Unlike a certain simpleton above, any serious reader will appreciate Paul Auster's delicate shadings. If you're looking for a straight detective book, don't even go here. "City of Glass" is a metaphoric journey that explores many issues in life, not only big city life. Duality of persona, how words can masquerade as reality, transparent self-absorption and casual destruction are all touched on with a dreamlike hand. The only work of fiction I've read that is almost metaphysical in nature. You must be adventuresome to tackle this short read (and open minded). If not, the John Grisham section is up in front---same story, different character names. But you'll never come close to another book as enigmatic and intriguing as "City of Glass". It will stay with you for days.

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Summary: not a real detective story
Review: We were suposed to read "City of Glass" out of Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY in our English advanced class. I believe the mystery of chance and the multiple personalities of the protagonist are crucial for Austers first detective story. The well chosen setting fits perfectly into the plot. Auster writes about an isolated , lonely writer at the mid-thirty, who has pleasant success in writing detective stories. Just by accident the protagonist gets the opportunity to solve an obscure case as an pseudo-detetective. It is easy to follow the plot, but somehow the reader happens to mix up the charachters. But you will never be bored while reading it, even though there are parts of the story wiht not much suspense.

Rating:
Summary: not a real detective story
Review: We were suposed to read "City of Glass" out of Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY in our English advanced class. I believe the mystery of chance and the multiple personalities of the protagonist are crucial for Austers first detective story. The well chosen setting fits perfectly into the plot. Auster writes about an isolated , lonely writer at the mid-thirty, who has pleasant success in writing detective stories. Just by accident the protagonist gets the opportunity to solve an obscure case as an pseudo-detetective. It is easy to follow the plot, but somehow the reader happens to mix up the charachters. But you will never be bored while reading it, even though there are parts of the story wiht not much suspense.

Rating:
Summary: The Red Notebook
Review: When Peter Stillman met Quinn. Imagine you keep a Red Notebook as a person and start to use it as Quinn did... This is only one little thing that made me thinking after reading this book. It's so beautifully closed but it leaves so many place for yourself to think... brilliant!