Moon Palace
Paul Auster
I really enjoyed this book, but I can’t put my finger on
why. It’s very depressing and the first section concerns itself with a young
man determined to abandon himself to fate and not search for a job. He ends up
starving, living in Central Park. So why was I hooked?
It must be the storytelling. Auster takes
us through so many wild stories. The young man, Fogg/Philias/MS, moves in with
an old man as a live-in companion/assistant, and the old man’s stories take us
out West to the Grand Canyon. These tall tales of lead us into a hard tale of
survival in the face of extreme circumstances. Later we hear a similar story
written by a teenage boy involving aliens…
I couldn’t help but enjoy myself – it’s just ridiculous,
funny and incredibly engaging despite the bizarre coincidences. (Include in all
of those the far too gorgeous girlfriend of the young man who apparently falls
for him after one meeting.) The picture of an apartment furnished with boxes of
books, gradually being depleted by the man’s need for money for food. We’ve all
done that, made furniture out of random objects in the face of necessity, but
I’m pretty sure my furniture didn’t then disperse as I ate my way through an
inheritance!
The plot gets crazier and more twisted up in itself as Fogg
heads out West to follow those original footsteps. It almost felt like
something out of that great gem of black humour, Six
Feet Under. And yes he does also walk off into the sunset in a
depressing ending. I was left feeling surprisingly upbeat though…Auster
just doesn’t take it seriously at all – it’s like one big joke!
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