This article offers an overview of the literary career of Paul Auster, a contemporary American writer whose prolific output commands a remarkably loyal following. Furthermore, it outlines the reasons for the polarized critical reception met by his novels, which continue to attract – by Auster’s own admission –‘the best reviews and the worst reviews of any writer I know’ (Burns, Carole. The Washington Post 16 Dec., 2003). Famous for his concern with the plight of the artist, and for his meditations on the power and the limitations of language, Auster has been typically analysed from a (largely a‐political) postmodern perspective. This article will therefore also consider the shift in recent Auster scholarship towards a re‐evaluation of the political charge of his fiction, especially in the light of his response to George W. Bush’s ‘war on terror’ in the wake of 9/11.