'Leviathan' by Paul Auster is a novel that delves into the events leading up to the explosive demise of the protagonist, Benjamin Sachs. The narrative unfolds in a non-linear fashion, with multiple layers of storytelling that keep the reader engaged and questioning the reliability of the narrator. Auster's writing style is described as mesmerizing, drawing readers into the lives of the characters and exploring themes of identity, friendship, and the unknowability of truth.

Characters:

The characters are intricately crafted, each contributing to the exploration of identity and the dynamics of friendship.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is engaging yet sparse, emphasizing clarity over flowery language while still allowing for rich character development.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative follows a writer discovering the life and mysterious circumstances surrounding his friend’s tragic death, intertwining various characters and layers of truth.

Setting:

The setting provides a rich backdrop that enhances the narrative's exploration of personal and national themes.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with deep character analysis sometimes slowing the plot, but it generally maintains reader interest.

Six days ago, a man blew himself up by the side of a road in northern Wisconsin. There were no witnesses, but it appears that he was sitting on the grass next to his parked car when the bomb he was bu...

Notes:

Leviathan is considered a minor novel by many Auster fans.

The writing style is very literal and utilitarian, often lacking in metaphors.

The protagonist dies in the first sentence of the book.

The story raises questions about truth and identity.

Peter Aaron, the narrator, is a writer like Auster himself.

The book features themes of friendship, isolation, and the influence of chance in life.

It alternates between two main narratives that can't be reconciled.

There is a strong sense of an overpowering urge to keep the reader's attention.

The book contains a character, Maria Turner, who conducts intriguing observational art projects.

Critics noted that the book has elements of metafiction and explores the act of writing.

The structure of the novel is tightly constructed with consistent chapter lengths.

Readers often comment on the complexity of the characters and the depth of their development.

The book contains rich details that reveal the intricacies of the characters' lives.

Many readers find Auster's prose captivating and compelling despite its unconventional narrative style.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of violence, death, and existential uncertainty.

From The Publisher:

'Six days ago, a man blew himself up by the side of a road in northern Wisconsin . . .'The explosion that detonates the narrative of Paul Auster's remarkable novel also ends the life of its hero, Benjamin Sachs, and brings two FBI agents to the home of one of Sachs's oldest friends, the writer Peter Aaron. What follows is Aaron's story, an intricate, subtle and gripping investigation of another man's life in all its richness and complexity.Combining an investigation of freedom and terrorism with all the tension, mystery and allusive richness familiar from Auster's The New York Trilogy or Sunset Park, Leviathan is an unmissable addition to the canon of 'one of America's most spectacularly inventive writers.' (Times Literary Supplement)'[A] Brownian motion experiment of a plot - chock-a-block with identity-swaps, sideways sweeps and lateral leaps.' Observer

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About the Author:

Paul Auster is the best-selling author of Winter Journal, Sunset Park, Man in the Dark, The Brooklyn Follies, The Book of Illusions, The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature and inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Among his other honours are the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke and the Prix Medicis Etranger for Leviathan. He has also been short-listed for both the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions) and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (The Music of Chance). His work has been translated into more than thirty languages.He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Leviathan

Paul Auster