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[(review date 1 September 2002) In the following review, the critic considers The Book of Illusions a showcase for Auster's unique talents.]
Paul Auster's last two novels, Mr. Vertigo and Timbuktu, introduced admirers of the New York Trilogy to some hitherto unexplored subjects and unlikely heroes, proving that Auster's imagination can stretch far beyond what has become known as "Austerian." While Auster found writing those works to be a liberating experience, The Book of Illusions, his tenth novel to date, was a different story. "I stumbled all the way through while writing it," he says. "It was like being locked in a dark room, groping my way toward the switch to turn on the light." In it,...