Collected Prose: Autobiographical Writings, True Stories, Critical Essays, Prefaces, and Collaborations with Artists

by Paul Auster

An essential collection from one of the finest thinkers and stylists in contemporary letters.

The celebrated author of The New York Trilogy , The Book of Illusions, and Oracle Night presents here a highly personal collection of essays, prefaces, true stories, autobiographical writings, and collaborations with artists, as well as occasional pieces written for magazines and newspapers, including The Invention of Solitud e his "breathtaking memoir." ( Financial Times Magazine London )

Ranging in subject from Sir Walter Raleigh to Kafka, Nathaniel Hawthorne to the high-wire artist Philippe Petit, conceptual artist Sophie Calle to Auster's own typewriter, the World Trade Center catastrophe to his beloved New York City itself, Collected Prose records the passions and insights of a writer who "will be remembered as one of the great writers of our time" ( San Francisco Chronicle ).

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, American, Biography, Literature, Collections, Memoir

528 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2003

About the author

Paul Auster was the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Bloodbath Nation, Baumgartner, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He was also a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). Auster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He died at age seventy-seven in 2024.

Reviews

[Roula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είναι δυο τρεις συγγραφείς που μέσα μου γιαυτους ισχύει ότι κ τη λίστα του σούπερ μάρκετ να εξέδιδαν ,θα με ενδιέφερε να τη διαβάσω . Ο Ουελμπέκ είναι ένας από αυτούς . Ο Ώστερ ένας ακόμη . Και εφόσον δυστυχώς ο Πολ μας άφησε πια,είναι πολύ λίγα τα έργα του που μου μένουν αδιαβαστα . Νομίζω πως πλέον μου μένει μόνο ο Λεβιάθαν. Το κόκκινο σημειωματάριο ήταν ένα βιβλίο που λόγω της δομής του και της θεματολογίας του ,ήταν πιο απλό να το διαβάσω παραληλλα με το μεγάλο πρότζεκτ #ΜαρσελΠρουστΑΤΧΧ . Είναι ένα βιβλίο που συγκεντρώνει σκέψεις ,κριτικές ,εισαγωγές του ώστερ σε βιβλία άλλων . Από ένα σημείο κ μετά ,άνοιγα κάθε πρωί πχ τυχαία σε ένα κεφάλαιο και διάβαζα μια σκέψη του για τη νέα -τοτε- χιλιετία πχ και τους άστεγους της Νέας Υόρκης ,για το τρομοκρατικό χτύπημα της 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου και άλλα κοινωνικά ζητήματα .
Στο πρώτο κομμάτι μιλα για τον παράγοντα τύχη που τόσο απασχόλησε τα έργα του και πως ένα τυχαίο γεγονός μπορεί να επηρεάσει όλη τη ζωή μας .αυτό φαίνεται πως ήταν ένα επαναλαμβανόμενο μοτίβο στη ζωή του ώστερ,μιας και αναφέρει πολλές ιστορίες της ζωής του που πραγματικά του συνέβησαν απίστευτα (και όμως αληθινά) πραγματα ,με αγαπημένη μου την ιστορία που περιγράφει πώς συνάντησε στο γήπεδο που πήγε να δει τους Giants ,έναν από τους αγαπημένους του παίκτες από τον οποίο ζήτησε αυτόγραφο και όταν εκείνος του ζήτησε μολύβι για να υπογράψει ,έντρομος ανακάλυψε ότι δεν είχε πάνω του ,όπως και κανείς από τους γύρω του,χάνοντας έτσι μια ευκαιρία ζωής ,κερδίζοντας όμως ένα μάθημα ,αφού από τότε κουβαλούσε παντού μαζί ένα μολύβι ,κάτι που τελικά τον έκανε να αποκτησει το ερέθισμα ώστε να γίνει συγγραφέας !!!
Σε ένα άλλο σημείο ,ο ώστερ δίνει' οδηγίες επιβίωσης " στη Νέα Υόρκη ,όπως για παράδειγμα να χαμογελάς στους περαστικούς κρατώντας λογαριασμό για το πόσοι θα ανταποδώσουν αυτό το χαμόγελο ..
Κάπου αλλού ,για τη γραφομηχανή του και τη μετάβαση (η δική του δεν έγινε ποτέ ) σε υπολογιστές και λαπτοπς .
Ήταν ένα βιβλίο πιο ευαίσθητο ,πιο προσωπικό ,μια ανοιχτή πόρτα στο μυαλό ενός συγγραφέα που όσοι τον έχουν διαβάσει ,σίγουρα θα ήθελαν να διεισδύσουν στη σκέψη του .
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 αστέρια

[Thint Myat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth my time.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

was surprised to find out how "normal-sounding" that Gothic dreamboat Auster is, if not in his mystery-noir-cityscape serials, at least in his memoirs. his observations on memory, family, all the "staples," are boring, but reassuring to read nonetheless: it's comforting to know that the more specific one gets, the more universal one becomes. basic memoir stuff here: 9/11, life abroad in Paris, life in Brooklyn, his odd, non-emotional father. there's no subtext here.

[Michael Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Worth your time.

[Mitchell McInnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good to revisit Auster, especially now that he's looking back on his career in some of his own work. He's such an engaging and compelling essayist, and his contribution to American and world letters is utterly unique. He's so uniquely New York and old-school Brooklyn (when no novelists dare live in Brooklyn) which makes him both American and non-American in such an elegant way, like the old Steinberg drawings. Gorgeous.

[Mike Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt more like a cash grab than a collection. There were a few stand-out pieces, such as the opening mini-memoir and the section on true stories, but the rest were just filler. This could have worked had there been some introductions or anecdotal input from the author to go with them, but they were just lazily stuffed in there as is. Paul Auster is on my Rushmore of authors, but this book was not what got him there

[Obetta Maurice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wide-ranging achievement, brilliantly written. Highly recommend.

[Tony Goriainoff]

Bought in Barcelona, Spain
73 Fira Del Llibre D'Ocasió, Antic i Modern
September 23, 2024

[Arturo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Funny, tender, and sometimes heartbreaking, knowing how cruel life was with him at the end.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auster is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers of our time. I particularly love his novels, and though his other writings are incredible good, I lost interest in many of the topics in this collection. For instance, the section of prefaces without their accompanying works, in addition to some of the essays on specific writers, really bored me, and I skipped some of them after the first paragraph. But even so, Auster's craft outshined many of the topics I found uninteresting. My favorite in this collection was "The Death of Sir Walter Raleigh." Some really great standout quotes in this one, too.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm marking this down slightly as it contains two books I'd already read separately (in their own volumes): The Invention of Solitude and Hand to Mouth. That wasn't at all clear to me from the publisher description and I might have thought twice before buying it if I'd realised. That said, if I hadn't already read and enjoyed those separately it would be a solid four stars because those are good reads (no pun intended).

It also contains The Red Notebook - which, again, has been published separately in its own right - and that apart from the books mentioned above is arguably the best part of it. The rest is honestly a little nugatory - prefaces, without the books that ought to follow them are not especially useful.

One of the longer pieces, on French poetry, I found hard to get into as regrettably I'm not especially interested in poetry, French or otherwise (thought it did contain some sentiments on the commonality of French and English as languages which I found interesting as a Francophile and Francophone).

If you don't already own the books collected here I would recommend it unhesitatingly; if not then it really is only for the dedicated Auster completist.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auster has been a published writer since the 70s, known more for his fiction than his non-fiction, translations, and poetry—though he was a translator and poet first. This comprehensive collection brings together a diversity of prose across thirty years of work—longish memoir pieces, book prefaces, editorials, reviews, and observational pieces. I liked them all and my list of to-be-read books increased by reading this one (Jabes, Hawthorne, Reznikoff, Beckett’s novels). Auster is smart and persuasive and has that rare ability to make intellectual curiosity seem like any other kind of curiosity, exciting and open to all, not snobby or exclusive. He is humble and thoughtful and a very good writer.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

not sure how i feel about auster. i remember reading approximately one page of one of his novels and thought it was ridiculous, despite being so highly recommended. after a couple years, i figured it was time to give him another shot. i'll tell you man, it's slow going. every once in a while he'll hit on something insightful, but i think i might have to abandon him. keep inventing that solitude, p.a.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Auster is just a fantastic writer and I highly recommmend this book. I am not normally a fan of "collections," but there are several great pieces in here that are worth checking out, especially the essay about his father. Because he writes in so many genres - fiction, personal nonfiction, literary critique - this is a good book to start with if you want to explore more of his writing but don't know where to start.

[Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those dudes I'd been meaning to check out for years and I'm glad I finally did as this is an on-going favorite (haven't finished it). I love how effortless his writing is and I can't wait to read all of his other stuff. There's little better than finding an author you like who's got a hefty back catalogue just waiting for you; I'm getting ready to dive-in.

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man Paul Auster is mostly awfully good at writing, so it is sort of reassuring that when it comes to talking about himself and his life it turns out he has the same problem as most of us and can't tell what is interesting and what is like 30 pages of every concidence or lucky occurrence he has experienced or heard about. THAT IS BORING MR. PAUL AUSTER.

[Malini Sridharan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this about four years ago, and the Invention of Solitude impressed me very much, more so than the new york trilogy. Just as thoughtful, but more sincere. I can hardly remember anything else from the collection, hence only 3 stars.

[Jacek Sterczewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wziąłem na warsztat cały zestaw "życiowych" kawałków Austera, którego styl uwielbiam. Tutaj wraca do czasów dojrzewania do męskości i odpowiedzialności w dorosłym życiu. Takie też bywa życie, a samo "The invention of solitude" - idealne na czas pandemii xD

[rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

this man is so, so smart.

[Jenna]

Auster's essay about his father is very powerful; at this point, I think I prefer his nonfiction but want to read more.

[Ben Stroup · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a layabout of any sort, read Hand To Mouth.

[José I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Auster <<<3

[Mundivagant]

could have slashed the number of
grandiloquent critical essays, but an enjoyable
overstuffed sandwich all the same

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh, stick with his novels. He must've owed some publisher a book and slapped together whatever was laying around. I've never seen a collection sans this one that has a collection of prefaces?

[Luísa Freitas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authographed random reading

[Deb]

a big collection to read from now and again.