felipealvares

After a plane crash takes wife and two boys from college professor David Zimmer, his life is consumed by grief and guilt. In time he becomes interested in the silent movies of Hector Mann, an Argentinian movie star in the early 20th century who disappeared suddenly under mysterious circumstances. He turns his attention to filling his days with writing a book about Mann - his writing becomes a form of therapy for him (later he turns his attention to translating Chateaubriand's behemoth of an autobiography, Memoirs d'outre-tombe. When Zimmer begins to receive letters from someone claiming to be Mann's wife inviting him to travel west to meet Mann and see movies he made after he went into "hiding", his suspicions and his interest are piqued. Not only is Zimmer's story told here, but also that of Mann himself. Auster spends several chapters detailing almost entire Mann films which grew tedious at times, though nowhere near as obnoxious as Melville's history of the whale in Moby Dick. The title of the book is evident in each facet of the book as the characters either all are objects or subjects of illusion. I read Auster's Hand to Mouth years ago and swore myself off of his writing ever again. This title was on a reading list from someone I trust, and I can say that I was not let down and in fact was quite pleasantly surprised. It's a smooth read, filled with literature and film, all of which made it a personally fun and interesting read as well. Auster may have redeemed himself in my eyes, though I will be wary until I read something else.

2022-11-14 17:20