Timbuktu - Softcover

Auster, Paul

3.7

15,156 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571201040 ISBN 13: 9780571201044

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2000

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Meet Mr Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's remarkable novel. Bones is the sidekick of Willy G. Christmas, a brilliant but troubled poet-saint from Brooklyn. Together they sally forth to Baltimore, Maryland, on a last great adventure, searching for Willy's old teacher, Bea Swanson. Years have passed since Willy last saw his beloved mentor, who used to know him as William Gurevitch, son of Polish war refugees. But is Mrs Swanson still alive? And if not, what will prevent Willy from vanishing into that other world known as Timbuktu?

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Review:

"What was a poor dog to do?": This story of contemporary America--from the poet- wanderer's life on the streets to the world of "two-car garages, home-improvement loans, and neo-Renaissance shopping malls"--is told from the point of view of a "four-leg", Mr. Bones.

Following his critically acclaimed The New York Trilogy and The Invention of Solitude, Paul Auster's new novel is a sad and witty saga of a dog's life. With the imminent demise of his first master, Willy G. Christmas--on his way to "Timbuktu"--Mr Bones faces an uncertain future as a "lost" dog, an ownerless dog, a homeless dog.

Timbuktu is a tale of what happens, before and after Willy's death: the dilemmas of ethics and affection, of a man and a dog in search of love and friendship. In Mr Bones' dreams, Willy comes back, exhorting, advising, allegorising: "People get treated like dogs, too, my friend, and sometimes they have to sleep in barns and meadows because there's nowhere else for them to go." Like Mom-san, Willy's mother, "hunted ... down like a dog" in Warsaw. The connection is crucial to the novel; its sustained, but discreet, reflection on the vicissitudes of human--and canine--love and hate. --Vicky Lebeau

Review:

"["Timbuktu" is] held aloft with audacity and brilliant, idiosyncratic language. . . . It's risk-taking and brazen energy suggest a writer on the verge of an even more rewarding leap into the air of his own uncharted territory."--Philip Graham, "Chicago Tribune
""A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic."--Oscar Villalon, "San Francisco Chronicle
""A modern parable that invites readers to probe below its deceptively simple surface for deeper truths . . . Auster demonstrates a well-honed talent for illuminating secluded facets of the soul."--Michael Hopkins, "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"
"Lovely . . . Paul Auster is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors."--Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post Book World"

"Over the past twenty-five years, Paul Auster has established one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature."--Michael Dirda, "The New York Review of Books"
"["Timbuktu" is] held aloft with audacity and brilliant, idiosyncratic language. . . . It's risk-taking and brazen energy suggest a writer on the verge of an even more rewarding leap into the air of his own uncharted territory."--Philip Graham, "Chicago Tribune
""A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic."--Oscar Villalon, "San Francisco Chronicle
""A modern parable that invites readers to probe below its deceptively simple surface for deeper truths . . . Auster demonstrates a well-honed talent for illuminating secluded facets of the soul."--Michael Hopkins, "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"
"Lovely . . . Paul Auster is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors."--Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post Book World"

Over the past twenty-five years, Paul Auster has established one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature. "Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books"

["Timbuktu" is] held aloft with audacity and brilliant, idiosyncratic language. . . . It's risk-taking and brazen energy suggest a writer on the verge of an even more rewarding leap into the air of his own uncharted territory. "Philip Graham, Chicago Tribune"

A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic. "Oscar Villalon, San Francisco Chronicle"

A modern parable that invites readers to probe below its deceptively simple surface for deeper truths . . . Auster demonstrates a well-honed talent for illuminating secluded facets of the soul. "Michael Hopkins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"

Lovely . . . Paul Auster is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors. "Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World""

Over the past twenty-five years, Paul Auster has established one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature. Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books

[Timbuktu is] held aloft with audacity and brilliant, idiosyncratic language. . . . It's risk-taking and brazen energy suggest a writer on the verge of an even more rewarding leap into the air of his own uncharted territory. Philip Graham, Chicago Tribune

A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic. Oscar Villalon, San Francisco Chronicle

Lovely . . . Paul Auster is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors. Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

"Over the past twenty-five years, Paul Auster has established one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature." --Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books

"[Timbuktu is] held aloft with audacity and brilliant, idiosyncratic language. . . . It's risk-taking and brazen energy suggest a writer on the verge of an even more rewarding leap into the air of his own uncharted territory." --Philip Graham, Chicago Tribune

"A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic." --Oscar Villalon, San Francisco Chronicle

"A modern parable that invites readers to probe below its deceptively simple surface for deeper truths . . . Auster demonstrates a well-honed talent for illuminating secluded facets of the soul." --Michael Hopkins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Lovely . . . Paul Auster is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

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