In the High Peaks
















Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Books I'm A-Waiting: Paul Auster, No Less

I can't wait for the late August publication date of Paul Auster's Winter Journal. Auster is now 65: Might the title suggest that he feels he's entering the winter of his life? I hope not, mostly because I don't want to feel that way when I'm 65!  At the time I pre-ordered the book, there was no information available about it, so my mind ran wild with the title. So, this evening, I decided it was high time to revisit the new book news.

Oh, dear, I do mind it when Amazon and other websites misstate Auster's age. Auster may have been 64 when he wrote Winter Journal, but in early February, 2012, Auster (born in 1947) turned 65.  I apologize for making such a big deal about this, but many important people in my life were born in 1947, including my Ken, my older brother, Stephen King, one of my favorite cousins, lots and lots of Vietnam vets, and many writers I admire. The error, which appears to have spread like a virus all over the web, can become so universal that it almost becomes FACT. 

And, yes, from what I have read from early reviews, Auster is referring to the later stages of life. The book is nonfiction, and I'm more than ready for it.



2 comments:

  1. I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Winter Journal. I think you'll be very pleased. It's a good book, one that his fans will enjoy. I thought he did some very inventive and orignal stuff with the memoir form, too.

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  2. C.B., What luck to get an Auster ARC!

    Thank you for your thoughts about Winter Journal. I can't wait for my copy to arrive. As you mention, I feel keenly akin to the ways in which Auster is inventive. This kinship feels strange to me sometimes because lots of times if I hear that a novel is acutely inventive, I am apt to steer clear of it.

    Please drop in again when I post about the book.

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