Paul Auster's<i>The Invention of Solitude:</i>Glimmers in a Reach to Authenticity

Dow, William

doi:10.1080/00111619809599535

Cited by 4 publications

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“…(The Independent, 14 November 2010). 4 See William Dow (1998) for a lucid analysis of the simultaneous enactment and subversion of postmodern paradigms in Solitude; this paradox, recast in terms of a permanent, unstoppable yearning or 'hunger', is also discussed by Derek Rubin (1995) as a trait that links Auster to his Jewish cultural heritage. 5 Given the emphasis of this perspective on identifying generic invariants and illustrating Auster's metaphysical preoccupations, the Trilogy's potential for social critique (see its account of the dehumanizing urban environment) and its gender and racial politics have been mostly overlooked; in fact, critics like Jarvis and Millard have made a point of remarking on the lack of an overtly political dimension in this text, and in Auster's overall production.…”

Section: A Political Auster For the Post-postmodern Age?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Career and Critical Reception of Paul Auster

Ciocia¹

2012

Literature Compass

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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.

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Section: A Political Auster For the Post-postmodern Age?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 4 See William Dow (1998) for a lucid analysis of the simultaneous enactment and subversion of postmodern paradigms in Solitude; this paradox, recast in terms of a permanent, unstoppable yearning or ‘hunger’, is also discussed by Derek Rubin (1995) as a trait that links Auster to his Jewish cultural heritage. …”

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confidence: 99%

The Career and Critical Reception of Paul Auster

Ciocia¹

2012

Literature Compass

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Skepticism and Responsibility: Paul Auster’sThe Book of Illusions

Carstensen

2017

Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction

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The Death of the Other: A Levinasian Reading of Paul Auster's Moon Palace

Uchiyama¹

2008

mfs

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Paul Auster's ethical concerns have never been fully discussed because it is problematic to discuss concurrently his characters' unstable identities as a postmodern feature and their pursuit of responsibility for the other. Introducing the thought of Emmanuel Levinas that postmodern thought and ethics can be compatible, this paper explores Auster's ethical motif from the perspective of alterity, but not from the dialectical choice between the loss or the unity of identity. With specific attention to Levinas's ideas on certain physical dimensions and language, it first argues that the body's passivity constitutes ethical subjectivity in Auster's Moon Palace and finally suggests that "incredible narrative" as a testimony works as an ethical demand in the novel.

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Paul Auster'sThe Invention of Solitude:Glimmers in a Reach to Authenticity

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

The Career and Critical Reception of Paul Auster

The Career and Critical Reception of Paul Auster

Skepticism and Responsibility: Paul Auster’sThe Book of Illusions

The Death of the Other: A Levinasian Reading of Paul Auster's Moon Palace

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