Product Description

Nathan and Tom are an uncle and nephew double-act - one in remission from lung cancer, divorced, and estranged from his only daughter, the other hiding away from his once-promising academic career. Matters change when Lucy, a little girl who refuses to speak, comes into their lives...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17973 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"'The Brooklyn Follies is Auster at the top of his game, sublimating the graft of writing into supremely effortless prose. His words are slinky and supple; his characters sing off the page.' Alastair Sooke, New Statesman 'No metaphysical writer can make you feel more like you're being read a bedtime tale by a gentle, hangdog uncle... there is still a hint of the magical in the everyday events that he chronicles.' Tom Cox, The Times"

Customer Reviews

Really enjoyable but not the usual standard

I came to 'The Brooklyn Follies' after reading 'The Book of Illusions' and 'The Music of Chance.' If you are looking for a similiar experience you have come to the wrong place. The characters while engaging and well written, especially Tom, do not have the same depth or pathos of other Auster narratives. The story is decidedly 'heart warming' and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, the solutions Nathan presents to life's problem's are, at times, a little one dimensional and contrived. I also agree with other reviewers that the use of 9/11 was a little clumsy.
Having said all this, I did still very much enjoy this book as Auster is an accomplished, interesting and engaging writer who does raise interesting questions and themes about modern life. As a stand alone book it is still good but it doesn't compare to 'The Book of Illusions' or 'The Music of Chance' for me.

brilliant
It was my third book by Auster and I absolutely loved it. It's vibrant, the language is funny and moving. I loved the literary stories within about Kafka, Poe and Thoreau and many others. It's an optimistic novel about people who want to make their lives worthwile. It shows the beauty of every day and it did make me feel great.
Read it and enjoy!

Not a bad way to pass the time of day
This was my first Paul Auster book and I did enjoy his style and the general storyline did hold my attention. It does feel a little like a soap opera, the characters are sympathetic as they battle with their modern day issues in Brooklyn. Nathan is a believable narrator with many faults as well as strengths as the storyline ambled along. I did not think there was anything outstanding about it though and the story is relatively tame and gentle except of course for the last paragraph or so. I can see what Auster was trying to do with bring Sept 11th into the book but I don't think it worked. It did show the arbitrary nature of such a dramatic event overshadowing people's lives but I think he needed to write a bit more about it. I wouldn't rush to read another Auster but find it hard to criticise this book too much.