Book Review: Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster

Photo taken from Goodreads

Book Info

   

Title:  Travels in the Scriptorium

Author:  Paul Auster
Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.

Language: English

Format:  Hardcover

Pages:  145 pages

ISBN - 10:  0805081453

ISBN - 13:  978-0805081459

Source:  Purchased, Book Sale

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Summary

From Goodreads: 

"An old man awakens, disoriented, in an unfamiliar chamber. With no memory of who he is or how he has arrived there, he pores over the relics on the desk, examining the circumstances of his confinement and searching his own hazy mind for clues. Both chilling and poignant, Travels in the Scriptorium is vintage Auster: mysterious texts, fluid identities, a hidden past, and, somewhere, an obscure tormentor. And yet, as we discover during one day in the life of the man--identified only as Mr. Blank--his world is not so different from our own."

Review

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster left me hanging, speechless, and confused.  It's a story about an old man who wakes up and finds himself in a strange room, not remembering how he even got there in the  first place.  He almost could not remember anything about himself, his past, and why he was in the room.  As he tries to work out the how, what, and why, a camera is revealed to be watching his every move.  I thought it would be something action-packed, a suspense thriller.  So how the novel turned out was pretty surprising - and that is not entirely a good thing.

Needing answers, I searched some more about this novel and found that this was a book whose characters were from Auster's other books, as well as some future works.  That was when understanding dawned on me:  This story is partly autobiographical, I wish I could say more about this concept but it would ruin the suspense.  Now, if this was not my first Auster read, I probably would have gotten it straight away.  Therefore, advice to readers:  Read this if you have already read other books by Paul Auster; if you have some on your TBR, bump them up and make sure to read them first before this book.

So confusion and subsequent enlightenment aside, the story was strangely engaging as Mr. Blank, the protagonist, struggled with his memory, read a report of a man on a mission, and pieced together said report's missing ending.  A story within a story, the characters were equally intriguing and charismatic, although they seem more caricatures than real people - which is exactly what drew me to them, because they did not seem real, and never tried to be.

The writing style was very unique as Auster approached the narration as if watching from a surveillance camera.  The reader, as if a voyeur, witnesses Mr. Blank's constant battle  with his forgetfulness, the mystery of his room, as well as the bigger mystery of the people who calls and visits him during the day.  The only knowledge that the reader is privy to without having to resort to monitoring him through the hidden camera and bugs is the old man's thoughts, which the narrator slips surreptitiously into the story.

I really regret not having read any of Auster's novels before, as he seemed to write very interesting and unique stories, and as it would help me get in on the joke way before I even finished reading this.  In a way, it was funny to read something like Travels in the Scriptorium and find some very familiar names that you were introduced to and are now haunting you in this book.

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.  

Book Review: The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Photo taken from Goodreads

 Book Info

Title:  The Angel's Game 

Author:  Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Publisher:  Orion Publishing

Language: English

Format:  Paperback

Pages:  448 pages 

ISBN - 10:  0753826445

ISBN - 13:  978-0753826447
Music Background:  Lacrymosa by Evanescence

Source:  Gift, from The Boyfriend 

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Summary

From Goodreads: 

"In the turbulent and mysterious Barcelona of the 1920s, David Martin, a young novelist obsessed with a forbidden love, receives an offer from an enigmatic publisher to write a book like no other before—a book for which "people will live and die." In return, he is promised a fortune and, perhaps, much more."

Review

It is often said that all books are beautiful in their own way - yes, even bad books.  But all the real literary masterpieces have one thing in common:  they suck in the souls of readers who make the mistake of opening their pages, trapping them within chapters of tales that may or may not be real, and might be too impossible to happen in real life that after readers have turned the final page and has gone onto a new book, the story lingers in their minds as if what they just read might come creeping its way out into their own lives.  If the story was as light and as pleasant as daylight then that its occurring in a reader's real life might be a wonderful idea.  But what if the story was as gothic and as terrifying as it was seductive, electrifying and fascinating?  Would a reader be thrilled to have it happen in his/her real life?  Would you?

And this is where The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon comes in.   A book about books, this is the story of David Martin, a writer of crime novels who was given a once in a lifetime chance to write an extraordinary book for a mysterious French publisher.  Little does he know that this would lead him to a series of mysteries and events that might take everything he holds dear, even his own life.

Set in the 1910s, this novel is both prequel and sequel to the author's first book, The Shadow of the Wind, as well as a stand-alone story of greed, mystery, friendship, love, and murder.  David's voice was as haunting and as engaging as he narrated the whole story, the underlined urgency egging the reader on to keep turning the page and fueling the curiosity for what is going to happen next.  Apart from playing the narrator, David also manages to be a very interesting character who undergoes some major changes in his personal views.  He is very imaginative, compassionate, a bit serious but has a great amount of sarcastic humor that peppers his dialogues throughout the book that would definitely catch any reader off guard by the sudden gust of witty and snarky remarks that is like a splash of cold water amidst a deluge of suspenseful and somber scenes.

However, the character I loved most was Isabella.  She was the perfect friend, sister, mother, even lover, all rolled into one.  In my opinion, she provided most of the comic relief as she traded jibe after jibe of entertaining remarks with David in their almost never-ending verbal sparring.  I even thought that she had better chemistry with David than Cristina, the latter's love interest.  But Cristina has her own unique characteristics that reveal her warmth and charm that helps her stand her ground among other equally fascinating characters.

What struck me the most was the 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books' which seemed to be one of the threads that connect The Angel's Game with The Shadow of the Wind.  A glimpse of this fantastic place would turn any book lover liquid with envy but nervous and a wee bit frightened at the same time.  I would love to tell you more about this particular place but I do not want to spoil the fun and will just have to make you read it yourself to find out what makes this place tick.

This book made me think of 'Lacrymosa' by Evanescence and this music kept playing in my head the entire time I was reading this book.  The gothic feel of this music perfectly matches the theme of the story, especially those times when the scenes got too intense and thrilling.  And like the lingering effect of music, most of this book's moments were stuck in my head even when I was not reading the book, even going so far as to look over my shoulder for fear that some mysterious person is stalking me.  Scary, yes, but shows that the story is very effective in embedding itself into my brain that it has almost blurred the lines between what is real and what is only in the book.  Which is a good indication that my soul has been sucked into its pages, as what I said about real literary masterpieces.

If that is so, I don't want my soul back.  But this book will definitely stay in my hands.

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice 

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.