Paul austerS travels in the scriptorium

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Paul austerS travels in the scriptorium

• Kája Veselá
• Honzík Kletenský

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Contemporary American literature

• John Irving The Cider House Rules (1985/99)
• John Updike Terrorist (2006)
• Joyce Carol Oates Ill Take You There (2002)
• Annie Proulx The Shipping News (1993)
• E. L. Doctorow The Waterworks (1994)

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Our choice

• Auster is quite famous but we didnt know any of
  his books
• When we had a quick look into Travels in the
  Scriptorium, the style of Austers writing seemed
  to be impressive
• The cover of the book and the blurb were catchy

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Paul Benjamin Auster

• 1947 in New Jersey
• Graduated from Columbia University in 1970, then
  he moved to Paris where he spent 4 years by
  translating works of French authors
• Since returning to the USA, he has published many
  poems, essays, novels etc.
• Is the Vice-President of PEN American Center
• Lives in Brooklyn with his second wife and is
  still publishing

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Quotation

• "It will never end. For Mr. Blank is one of us
  now, and struggle though he might to understand
  his predicament, he will always be lost. I
  believe I speak for all his charges when I say he
  is getting what he deserves- no more, no less.
  Not as a form of punishment, but as an act of
  supreme justice and compassion. Without him, we
  are nothing, but the paradox is that we, the
  figments of another mind, will outlive the mind
  that made us, for once we are thrown into the
  world, we continue to exist forever, and our
  stories go on being told, even after we are
  dead."
• 
  (page 129)

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What we want to tell you about Travels in the
Scriptorium

• This novel details a day in the life of Mr.
  Blank, an old man who wakes up in a room not
  knowing who he is or why he is there
• Elements from most past Austers novels all
  combine in this book

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• All the characters except the main one
  appeared in previous Austers novels
• Over-description and strange slang are often used

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What we didnt know before we read Travels in the
Scriptorium

• Auster uses the same characters in his novels
  quite frequently
• Auster has an unmistakable style of writing
• We didnt know much about his biography, which is
  shameful ?

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Conclusion

• The themes and characters reappear in Austers
  novels
• Everybody should read the book on his own because
  otherwise its not comprehensible very well
• It is very enriching to absorb Austers style and
  language

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Resources

• Paul Auster Travels in the Scriptorium, Faber
  Faber 2006
• http//www.bookslut.com/fiction/2007_05_011070.php
  
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Auster
• http//www.salon.com/books/review/2007/02/07/auste
  r/
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Literature_
  Prose
• all websites accessed 08/12/08