Auster, Paul

Auster, Paul (ô'stur) [key], 1947–, American writer, b. Newark, N.J. After publishing four volumes of poetry, he wrote his first novel, Squeeze Play (1982). A compelling storyteller, Auster became well known for the short novels of The New York Trilogy—City of Glass (1985), Ghosts (1986), and The Locked Room (1986)—tautly surreal variations on the urban detective story. Written with great clarity and touched by symbolism, metaphysical and epistemological concerns, and a sharply contemporary sensibility, his later novels include Moon Palace (1989); The Music of Chance (1991); Leviathan (1992); Timbuktu (1999), a tale of dog and master told from the dog's point of view; The Book of Illusions (2002); Oracle Night (2003); and The Brooklyn Follies (2005). Auster is also an essayist, translator, screenwriter, and memoirist.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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