A car accident and the death of his wife have left the retired book critic August Brill a physical and spiritual invalid. Virtually confined to his house with his recently divorced daughter and a twenty-three-year-old grandchild stricken with grief after the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Brill, an insomniac, attempts to stave off thoughts of death by telling himself bedtime stories. His tired mind weaves a tale that combines details of his life with more fantastic flights�such as the story of a man who, waking up in an alternate universe where 9/11 never happened and the 2000 election led to civil war, is sent on a mission to destroy the very person who has imagined him into existence. The narrative juxtapositions and the riddling starkness of Auster�s prose create an absorbing if mildly scattershot effect, breathing life into a meditation on the difference between the stories we want to tell and the stories we end up telling.
Copyright ©2008

Verdict? Excellent. Just excellent. Such lyricism of language, brilliantly realized characters, fast-moving plot. All the positives book reviewers use, save perhaps “epic,” because it’s only 192 pages.

I’ll post a favorite quote later, since I forgot to bring the book in with me and can’t do it now. The shame!

Rating: five pairs of sensible shoes rating (out of five) for Man in the Dark.

What will my “B” novel be? Stay tuned …