About the Author

Paul Auster is the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Sunset Park, The Book of Illusions, Moon Palace, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature.  His other honors include the Prix Médicis étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Burning Boy, and the Carlos Fuentes Prize for his body of work.  His most recent novel, 4 3 2 1, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

“Remarkable. . .the book is a pleasure to read, full of suspense and action. . .[A] strange and powerful adventure in Paul Auster’s art.”
– The New York Times Book Review
 
“Exhilarating. . .A brilliant investigation of the storyteller’s art, guided by a writer-detective who’s never satisfied with just the facts.”
– The Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“A wondrous whodunit for metaphysicians, an intricate detective story and many-layered romance.”
– Russell Banks

Praise for Paul Auster:

“One of the great American prose stylists of our time.”—New York Times

“Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter.”—New York Review of Books

“One of the great writers of our time.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Contemporary American writing at its best.”—New York Times Book Review, on Invisible

“A literary original who is perfecting a hybrid genre of his own.”—Wall Street Journal

This is a masterly adaptation by Karasik and Mazzucchelli (nominated for both Eisner and Harvey Awards upon its original 1994 release) of Auster's 1985 novel of the same title. After the death of his wife and son, poet and playwright Daniel Quinn lives a life of quiet desolation. When a mysterious voice repeatedly calls him asking for Paul Auster, private eye, Quinn takes on the persona of Auster and becomes involved in the case of a man who as a child was shut in a dark room for nine years. Auster's novel of ideas isn't exactly tailor-made for a graphic representation. But Karasik and Mazzucchelli bring ingenuity and a deep understanding of the possibilities of the comics medium to the challenge. A new introduction by Art Spiegelman outlines the genesis of the project. Mature themes and a bit of nudity make this for adult collections, for which it's strongly recommended. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

We don't know much about Daniel Quinn. We do know that he is 35, and that at one time he had a wife and son, who are now dead. He writes mysteries under the pseudonym of William Wilson, and when a stranger phones asking to speak to Paul Auster, Quinn decides to answer to that name too. The caller is Peter Stillman, a man with a most unusual past, who fears that he will be killed by his father, recently released from an institution. Quinn (as Auster) agrees to trail the elder Stillman, who spends his days wandering the streets of New York. How Quinn gradually becmes drawn intoand finally obsessed byStillman's life and psyche makes for a labyrinthine, intriguing story. An impressive if not major work by the author of The Invention of Solitude.October 14

"Remarkable. . .the book is a pleasure to read, full of suspense and action. . .[A] strange and powerful adventure in Paul Auster's art."
- The New York Times Book Review

"Exhilarating. . .A brilliant investigation of the storyteller's art, guided by a writer-detective who's never satisfied with just the facts."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A wondrous whodunit for metaphysicians, an intricate detective story and many-layered romance."
- Russell Banks