# What is a good place to start with Paul Auster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118 "2002-08-29T16:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMC)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/1 "2002-08-29T16:33:38Z")
That’s the question. I tried to hijack a thread and ask. But alas, I am overwhelmed with guilt. I am a huge Siri Husvedt fan and have read that the two’s work has some style similarities. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/2 "2002-08-29T16:47:02Z")
Try starting with “the music of chance” and if you like it, just keep going and get “the NY trilogy”, very very good! I hope you enjoy it! Try to see the movie “smoke” too!!! He wrote it I believe, i liked it (although a litte odd!) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/3 "2002-08-29T16:57:25Z")
Definitely the New York trilogy. Last time I checked, all three novels were being published together into one single book. Bonus: Siri actually makes an appearance in one of the books. “The Country of Last Things” is also great post-apocalyptic literature, if you’re interested in that. Paul Auster, how I love thee! ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/4 "2002-08-29T17:15:17Z")
A favourite of mine is _Mr. Vertigo_. Also, I highly recommend the movie _Smoke_ of wich Auster is the screenwriter. There are some beautiful stories in the movie, including one about a camera theif, that are apparently based on Auster’s short stories. William Hurt’s soliloquy on how to weigh smoke is alone worth the price of a rental. Also, ditto on the _New York Trilogy_. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/5 "2002-08-29T17:18:20Z")
Good recommendations all. Mr. Vertigo and The Music of Chance are two of my faves. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/6 "2002-08-29T18:34:25Z")
PS. In case the books in the New York Trilogy are now published separately, their titles are _City of Glass, Ghosts,_ and _The Locked Room_. ---
**Author:** ![CMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMC)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/7 "2002-08-29T22:10:53Z")
Thanks. I think I will try the trilogy. I did see Smoke, but didn’t know he had written the screenplay until later. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/8 "2002-08-29T23:35:30Z")
Timbuktu sucks. Leviathan and Moon Palace are good. That’s my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/9 "2002-08-30T05:52:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CMC \* > \*\*That’s the question. I tried to hijack a thread and ask. But alas, I am overwhelmed with guilt. I am a huge Siri Husvedt fan and have read that the two’s work has some style similarities. Any suggestions? \*\* lol! I was that thread’s originator (“Suggestions on a new author…”), and your question was/is perfectly on topic (not that I am seriously offended by hijacks in any case). I was asking for someone new to read, and if I chose Paul Auster, I too would like to know which book I should start with… Oh, by the way, my friend’s uncle’s co-worker said that Leviathan is his best novel, and that one should start there. For what it’s worth… - Wind ---
**Author:** ![Enzyme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b19c9b/32.png) [@Enzyme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enzyme)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/10 "2002-08-30T11:11:06Z")
For what its worth, I just finished ‘The Invention of Solitude’ which covers Auster’s reflections on the death of his Father and his relationship with his son amongst other things. I found it to be an insightful and touching work, if a little self indulgent in places. But I do recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-place-to-start-with-paul-auster/126118/11 "2002-08-30T12:27:57Z")
If you liked “Smoke,” find “Blue in the Face.” It’s the same actors and characters from “Smoke” doing improv with whomever else was on the studio lot.