The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
Paul Auster’s Brooklyn Follies starts off being about Nathan Glass, a divorced recovering cancer patient who goes to Brooklyn to die, but quickly turns into an oddly touching story about Nathan’s nephew Tom and as the title reflects, the amusing follies that follow their reunion with one another. Auster’s love of Brooklyn has been well-documented and the book is one great homage to the history-laden borough. From a fake manuscript of The Scarlet Letter to a religious sect that swears of technology and embraces silence, Auster fills his book with so much absurdity that you cannot help but laugh. But no matter how many twists and turns the story takes, both believable and unbelievable, at no point do you question the fabric of Auster’s tale. In many ways, this is the most heart-felt, most touching of Auster’s many books, and I think it may end up being the most accessible and most well-received of his books. Although not his most original tale, it may be my favorite, if only because it has such a rich emotional core.
Some Great Quotes:
“I am not a heavy drinker, but there are moments in a man’s life when alcohol is more nourishing than food.”
“Intellectuals suck, Nathan. They’re the most boring people in the world.”
“Idleness breeds thought, and thoughts can be dangerous, as anyone who lives alone will readily understand.”
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