Because better late than never, you have to read Paul Auster

Each of the multiple epitaphs dedicated to Paul Auster (1947-2024), who died last Tuesday at the age of 77, highlights him as the writer of chance, whatever that means. But you only have to read the first chapter of “Baumgartner”, his final novel, to realize it; In a few pages it shows its protagonist, Sy Baumgartner, go from one circumstance to another, being aware of how each decision brings a consequence and this, in turn, unleashes something else. A dance of events that, however, is linked more to the character of the old professor, widowed and compassionate to those around him, than to the mess of chance. The peak of an author with 34 signed books.

“The Auster who stays with me is the author of his wonderful autobiographical non-fiction,” Peruvian writer Jeremías Gamboa tells El Comercio, highlighting the American’s work beyond novels. He highlighted works such as “Informe del interior” (2013) about his childhood, “A Salto de Mata” (1997), about his literary beginnings, and “Diario de Invierno” (2012), where he talks about the old age of him. “Auster has left a close and suggestive, honest and sensitive autobiographical work, in which that masterpiece ‘The Invention of Solitude’ (1982) stands out, one of the most beautiful books written about a father and a son,” he maintains. .

Born in New Jersey, he adopted New York as his city and dedicated much of his work to it. He also wrote poetry and films, which he also directed, such as “Blue in the Face” (1995) and “Lulu on the Bridge” (1998). The writer Dante Trujillo mentions that the first work he read by him was “Crystal City” (1985), which he finished in one night, and which he combined with the next two works of the “New York Trilogy”; “Ghosts” (1986) and “The Locked Room” (1986).

“His books abound with metatexts, fascinating digressions, Brooklyn and New York, fatherhood, identity, the materials of writing, eccentrics, obsession, grief, love for family, loneliness, the persistence of past and nostalgia (which are not the same), the dazzles, the powerful presence of chance. In Auster, grace wins, a formal and illuminated simplicity to narrate deeply human issues; In other words, he is a writer who works with complexity through captivating stories, wrapping them in the purest language possible. With humor, with compassion for his characters, with a very delicate sensitivity,” Trujillo told this newspaper. How to start with Auster? The author mentions his favorite novels, such as “The Moon Palace” (1989), “Leviathan” (1992), “The Land of Last Things” (1987), “Brooklyn Follies” (2005). And of course, the ‘trilogy’.

In tune with the atmosphere of loss Elena Ramírez, the director of Seix Barral, which published “Baumgartner” in Spain and Latin America, said she had spoken with Auster, who confided in her that he had written his last novel “in a strange state of contemplation while experiencing the mourning the tragic loss of his son and granddaughter”, which occurred only in 2022 and separated by a couple of weeks. Death that, even in the case of the 10-month-old baby, was related to drug use. Auster never publicly commented on the tragedy. Auster is survived by his wife, the novelist Siri Hustvedt, and his daughter, the singer and actress Sophie Auster.