'Oracle Night' by Paul Auster tells the story of a New York writer, Sidney Orr, who is recovering from a near-fatal illness. He buys a blue notebook from a mysterious stationery store and starts writing, which leads to two intertwining storylines. The novel delves into themes of life's randomness, unexpected events, and the impact of writing on reality, all presented in a complex narrative style with multiple layers of storytelling.
Auster's precise writing and storytelling keep the reader engaged as they navigate through various plots and metaphysical coincidences within the book. The use of footnotes adds depth to the narrative, providing background details and enhancing the reader's experience of the story within a story format. Despite the jumbled plot and lack of a conclusive ending, the book offers a compelling exploration of life's uncertainties and the power of writing to uncover hidden truths.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of violence, drug addiction, mental health issues, miscarriage, and existential despair that may not be suitable for all readers.
Has Romance?
While romance is not the central focus of Oracle Night, it features significant romantic elements in the relationship between Sidney and his wife Grace, as well as themes of love intertwined with tragedy.
From The Publisher:
Several months into his recovery from a near-fatal illness, thirty-four-year-old novelist Sidney Orr enters a stationery shop in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn and buys a blue notebook. It is September 18, 1982, and for the next nine days Orr will live under the spell of this blank book, trapped inside a world of eerie premonitions and bewildering events that threaten to destroy his marriage and undermine his faith in reality.
A novel that expands to fill volumes in the reader's mind, Oracle Night is a beautifully constructed meditation on time, love, storytelling, and the imagination by "one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle).
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About the Author:
PAUL AUSTER is the bestselling author of Travels in the Scriptorium, The Brooklyn Follies, and Man in the Dark. I Thought My Father Was God, the NPR National Story Project anthology, which he edited, was a national bestseller. His work has been translated into thirty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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