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Invisible (A Mace Bauer Mystery) Review

This is my first Paul Auster book, and it will not be my last. Somehow he manages to tell the story of a man through the man's own voice, and the voice of others who become part of his life, in a way that flawlessly shifts through time and place between a modern-day New York and Paris, and a 1960's New York and Paris. He even manages to take us on a brief jaunt through a Caribbean jungle.

The book jacket mentions a "sudden, shocking act of violence". Indeed, it was a violent act, but the one problem I experienced with the story development was the feeling of a nagging inconsistency between the actions taken by the main character--allegedly done out of disgust with the perpetrator of the "shocking" act-- and the feeling somehow created (intentionally?) by Auster that the main character really didn't have any vengeful feelings at all. That was the once piece that didn't seem to fit, and yet the proverbial "quest for justice" was weaved throughout the book.

As for his torrid love affairs--well, there are two. And the one I became jealous of is likely the one we are supposed to find morally repugnant. But somehow Auster creates romance and intrigue where many would expect to find oppression and indecency.

All in all, Invisible is a colorful, enjoyable, character piece, which you'll find yourself reading in one or two sittings.

Invisible (A Mace Bauer Mystery) Feature

ISBN13: 9781410419842
Condition: New
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Invisible (A Mace Bauer Mystery) Overview

Sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts, Paul Auster’s fifteenth novel opens in New York City in the spring of 1967, when twenty-year-old Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University, meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born and his silent and seductive girfriend, Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden, shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life.

Three different narrators tell the story of Invisible, a novel that travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from Morningside Heights to the Left Bank of Paris to a remote island in the Caribbean. It is a book of youthful rage, unbridled sexual hunger, and a relentless quest for justice. With uncompromising insight, Auster takes us into the shadowy borderland between truth and memory, between authorship and identity, to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as “one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers.”

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Customer Reviews

The best since "Invention of Solitude" by far... - readernyc - New York City, NY USA
I read James Wood's negative review of Auster and in many ways i had to agree. I bought "Invisible" anyway and unlike many Auster novels I either did not love, or did not half-way finish, I found this book engaging, fascinating, more straight forward and less "post modern" or silly than many others.

There is a flow of narrative that had little duplicity in it, though of course Auster being Auster, he switches narrators and brings the story through other characters since the main character is dying, then dead.

I didn't find one single Part 1,2,3,4 in the least boring and in fact for me, the plot held together as few of Auster's books do. I cannot quite get James Wood's parody of a review out of my mind. Why is this? Because his review of Auster's work in The New Yorker starts with "Invisible" which now strikes me as quite unfair. To the other novels, maybe this negativity can apply but not here.

My absolute favorite of Auster's book is the utterly beautiful "Invention of Solitude" which I've read many times. "Invisble is not up there with his non-fiction, but it is all plausible to me and I do not regret having spent 12 hours reading it. Never boring. Not cliched. A book Auster should rightly be proud of composing. Five stars.

Another good novel from Paul Auster - J. W. - Irvine, CA
I am a fan of Paul Auster and it's another good novel. Story could be little uncomfortable but he did it well once again. Charming and attractive story. Definitely worth to read if you like Paul Auster.

Auster's Inertia - Fenster - VA, USA
I've read all of Paul Auster's novels. The first few, with the exception of In the Country of Last Things, were very good, and the NY3 and Moon Palace were even great. Those books meant a lot to me. Auster had style; his books were cool. The themes, the plots, the characters were interesting; and he created his own sensibility as a writer. Leviathan was his last good novel. I put up with Mr. Vertigo. And then it was all down hill from there. He has not done a new thing since. It's the same book over and over again, a sad inertia of mannered writing that achieves nothing but a poor repackageing of the old (good) stuff, with the characters all now parodies of the early protagonists. How many times are we going to read about Columbia students from the sixties and/or existential avatars, living ghosts, men pushed against the wall of despair, etc.? With Auster, you get two characters, one like Quinn from City of Glass, or one like Fogg from Moon Palace, and then the same types of one-dimensional love interests or antagonists. Worse than that is that the last eight novels have all been devoid of profundity too. There's nothing new in them. Auster has nothing to say anymore. The only enjoyment I get out of these later novels (and I'll keep reading them) is to see how shamelessly he tries to rewrite the old stuff. Granted, Invisible wasn't as awful as some of the others (Man in the Dark and Travels in the Scriptorium were wretched), and thus I'll give it 2 stars, for it is a swift and engaging read. But seriously, if you've read the early novels I don't see how you can praise this book. It's just another Quinn/Fogg dealing with the same existential crisis in a less cool and less convincing and nourishing way--with some (rather hotly written) incest thrown in for insalubrious thrills. Come on, Paul, write us (your true fans) something new next time!

Of Invisible itself, a lot is made of the multiple narrators. Mutliple narrators? Really. Hmm, they all have the same voice ... how are they different. Oh, yeah, he uses first, second and third person for one of them. But, still, Adam, Jim and Cecile all have the same voice, the same tone. And of course the incest gets a lot of attention. Is it real or a fantasy? It's all fiction, so what does it matter? Ultimately, truth is what's invisible. Is there such a thing as a reliable narrator? Again, not a new literaty concept. Regardless, read the book, make up your own mind. This is only one man's opinion.

Invisible Irony - Ben Thinkin -
I have enjoyed several of Auster's past novels. I am fan of the unexpected. I love the ironic. Don't look for those literary devices in this book. Yes, the narrative is presented from different points of view but that's not enough for me. And what about the gratuitous sex? What does it add to the story? Auster's novel is postmodern
only in that he has provided a pastiche that avoids the subject of truth. But, alas, not in a very interesting way. I giv it a two rather than one because in fairness, I read it to the end.

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Thursday, September 9, 2010