Fiction

Invisible

Invisible

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-25 09:55:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Paul Auster
  • ISBN：0571249515
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Summary

The coming-of-age story dazzlingly reinvented by one of America's greatest novelists， in his most passionate and surprising book to date。 Sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts， Invisible opens in New York City in the spring of 1967 when twenty-year-old Adam Walker， an aspiring poet and studen at Columbia University meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born， and his silent and seductive girlfriend Margot。 Before long， Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden， shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life。 Three different narrators tell the story， as it travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from New York to Paris and to a remote Caribbean island in a story of unbridled sexual hunger and a relentless quest for justice。 With uncompromising insight， Auster takes us to the shadowy borderland between truth and memory， authorship and identity to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as one of America's most spectacularly inventive writers。

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Reviews

Stefan Gugler ，

James Wood didn't like it， so I thought I give it a try: quelle surprise， I like it， lol。 It felt like peak 'bland' literary fiction pieced together with postmodern glue。 But I was drawn in like it was a thriller！ It didn't blow me away， so it's only 4*， but at that it's very solid。Spoilers ahead。 The book is written in 4 acts about the life of the main protagonist。 But instead of coming out of his mouth， they are increasingly unreliable as he dies halfway through the novel。 What we get is secon James Wood didn't like it， so I thought I give it a try: quelle surprise， I like it， lol。 It felt like peak 'bland' literary fiction pieced together with postmodern glue。 But I was drawn in like it was a thriller！ It didn't blow me away， so it's only 4*， but at that it's very solid。Spoilers ahead。 The book is written in 4 acts about the life of the main protagonist。 But instead of coming out of his mouth， they are increasingly unreliable as he dies halfway through the novel。 What we get is second and third hand accounts， written and rewritten， so we would not expect it to give a coherent picture。 And in fact it is not coherent， as we have many conflicting statements in the end of what happened， especially about the murder and about the incestuous relationship （which was described as calmly as it might be possible， by the way， given how controversial the topic is）。 In a way it felt a bit like Kurosawa's Rashomon minus the epilogue where the 'truth' is revealed。Again， it wasn't earth shattering， but Auster tells the story extremely well given that it is just regular people doing regular things （no superman action etc。） I think I can generally recommend it， definitely not the last Auster I hope to read。 。。。more

Gladys Perez ，

Entretenido。

Laura Moles ，

Esperaba mucho mas de este libro。 Despues de leer que se trata de una de las obras maestras de Auster no dudé en leerlo。 En mi opinión， es como si el autor no hubiese sabido hacia donde ir y la historia de Adam Walker no me pareció tan cautivadora como esperaba。 Obviamente destaca el misterio de sus personajes y la historia de cada uno de ellos pero sin seguir un hilo argumental y sin llegar a profundizar todo lo que el lector esperaría。 Parte de mi falta de interés fue esperar un gran final per Esperaba mucho mas de este libro。 Despues de leer que se trata de una de las obras maestras de Auster no dudé en leerlo。 En mi opinión， es como si el autor no hubiese sabido hacia donde ir y la historia de Adam Walker no me pareció tan cautivadora como esperaba。 Obviamente destaca el misterio de sus personajes y la historia de cada uno de ellos pero sin seguir un hilo argumental y sin llegar a profundizar todo lo que el lector esperaría。 Parte de mi falta de interés fue esperar un gran final pero no me resultó nada sorprendente， mas bien precipitado。 。。。more

Dave Thomas ，

http://electrichalibut。blogspot。co。uk。。。 http://electrichalibut。blogspot。co。uk。。。 。。。more

Doug ，

My first Paul Auster novel and it’s a remarkable read。 The story is labyrinthine， involving murder， sexual intrigue， revenge， and more。 It would be an awfully contrived bit of storytelling in someone else’s hands but Auster makes it all completely believable。 More than that， it dazzles。 It’s such a compelling read I finished the whole thing in a day， mostly in one sitting。 There’s a Rashomon element to it all， the story broken up into four parts， the point of view ever-shifting so that we can ne My first Paul Auster novel and it’s a remarkable read。 The story is labyrinthine， involving murder， sexual intrigue， revenge， and more。 It would be an awfully contrived bit of storytelling in someone else’s hands but Auster makes it all completely believable。 More than that， it dazzles。 It’s such a compelling read I finished the whole thing in a day， mostly in one sitting。 There’s a Rashomon element to it all， the story broken up into four parts， the point of view ever-shifting so that we can never be truly certain which events are true and which aren’t。 We think we know， but we never really can。 It’s almost an impression of a story， but what an impression it makes！ The vagaries are downright thrilling， and I enjoy looking back and wondering what was what， how it all could have， might have， been。Brilliant， except… for that final scene that comes out of left-field， involving poor people splitting rocks。 Though clearly Auster is a master novelist and must have some reason for including this bizarre final image， I can’t make heads or tails of it。 It’s like driving some beautiful part of the world， Big Sur， say， or the Black Hills of South Dakota， and just as you’re nearing the end of the tour， your tires blow out， you skid to a stop， and are left stranded on a highway in the middle of nowhere。 It’s only a moment following an otherwise fantastic trip， but it has ruined the whole adventure for you。Likewise， that final scene， just an image really， shouldn’t bother me so much， but it does。 I’ve always believed the last few pages of a book should be the best pages – a strong opening， a strong ending。 But the last pages here are pure pretentious symbolism and offer no resonance or meaning， nor have anything to do with what has come before。 If you’re unlike me and a misfire of a final scene doesn’t derail a whole book for you， then there’s nothing not to like here。 Auster even takes some tired， unsavory plot lines – plots that are usually exploitative drivel – and makes them shine。The prose is terrific。 Auster， from what I understand， is a poet-turned-novelist – several characters in this novel are poets， too – but his way with words hardly slows down the story as it does with so many other writers。 In fact， his prose is often （perhaps deceptively） simple and straight-forward。 While he’s perfectly capable of crafting a beautiful phrase when he needs to， he otherwise restrains himself， understands his primary goal is story， not verbiage。 Deeply appreciated。I fully intend to read a lot more Auster。 I’d have given Invisible the full five-star treatment if not for that last incongruous image。 。。。more

Erin ，

Weer eens een oud boek herlezen en hoewel ik nu meer op 4 sterren zit， blijf ik bij m’n eerste indruk （5）。 Auster kan heel goed en meeslepend schrijven。 Een mysterieus， onbetrouwbaar boek。 Gaaf dat de schrijver met verschillende perspectieven experimenteert （1e， 2e en 3e persoon enkelvoud） waardoor je het verhaal gaandeweg anders gaat lezen。

Blair ，

2。5 starsAuster is always on my list， but I never seem to read him。 When I saw this on the library shelves， I snapped it up。 The first part was amazing; fast plot， definitely wanted to figure out what was going to happen with these characters。 Second part took an unexpected and off-putting turn。 I will hand it to Auster though; by that point he hooked me and I wanted to see what he would do。 And then he well and truly lost me with the third part。 For me， this felt like a literary experiment gone 2。5 starsAuster is always on my list， but I never seem to read him。 When I saw this on the library shelves， I snapped it up。 The first part was amazing; fast plot， definitely wanted to figure out what was going to happen with these characters。 Second part took an unexpected and off-putting turn。 I will hand it to Auster though; by that point he hooked me and I wanted to see what he would do。 And then he well and truly lost me with the third part。 For me， this felt like a literary experiment gone wrong。 It fell flat and the he said/she said just seemed lazy to me。 Not glad I spent my time with this， but at least it was a quick read。 。。。more

Silvia_l4 ，

in realtà il mio voto è 4，5。 la scrittura e il modo di raccontare di Auster sono sempre geniali ed affascinanti。 Il cambio di punto di vista e di modo di esprimersi li ho trovati “accattivanti” e mai noiosi o ripetitivi。Onestante ho preferito “La trilogia di New York”， ma nulla da togliere a questo romanzo meraviglioso

Gijs Hollebosch ，

I had this book on my shelves for too long and finally decided it was time for another book by one of my favorite authors。 Sadly， the book was not a super great read even if there were a few clever twists and turns。 After having read 4321， this book seems like a very distant prelude， Auster honing his considerable skills。The book is divided into 4 parts of which parts 1 and 4 couldn't quite convince me。 Part 1 is where Adam Walker tells his story of how he meets a French professor in 1967， narra I had this book on my shelves for too long and finally decided it was time for another book by one of my favorite authors。 Sadly， the book was not a super great read even if there were a few clever twists and turns。 After having read 4321， this book seems like a very distant prelude， Auster honing his considerable skills。The book is divided into 4 parts of which parts 1 and 4 couldn't quite convince me。 Part 1 is where Adam Walker tells his story of how he meets a French professor in 1967， narrated by himself at the end of his life。 It is not particularly well-written because you wait for something to happen。 Only after about 60 pages does the story take off。 （view spoiler）[We learn Born is quite violent and coldly murders a young black attacker， leaving him to die in a park and disappearing to France。 Part 2 is clever because it turns out part 1 is the beginning of an autobiography。 （hide spoiler）] Auster continues and tells you how to interpret the first part， and sure it works in a way。 How do I describe my response？ Fascination， amusement， a growing sense of dread， and then horror。 （p79） Part 4 consists of the diary entries of Cécile Juin， ending rather abruptly with the focus on that character。The book is for me a quite typical example of postmodern writing， what is truth and what is fiction？ The narrator can be quite unpredictable， unreliable at times。 （view spoiler）[Did Walker have sex with his older sister， living together in New York as adults before he went to France？ （hide spoiler）] Not gripping， not his best book， but an interesting read nonetheless。 。。。more

Ana Nehan ，

I'm not quite sure what to say except that this was an oddly satisfying and unexpected experience。 I'm not quite sure what to say except that this was an oddly satisfying and unexpected experience。 。。。more

Carotta ，

Ich habe noch nie ein so unvorhersehbares Buch gelesen。

Diego Quiroz ，

Solo hay flores para Auster。 Magnífico libro que tiene como grandes atributos las distintas maneras en que se narra la historia y aquellos personajes tan bien escritos。

Madrileña Reader ，

DNF two thirds in。 It is simply boring， with none of that eerie charm I enjoyed in so many other Auster books。 It makes me think I might have outgrown Auster。。。

Mrym ，

ولا نجمة ولا زفت 。أسوء ماقرأت عيني 。

Milda Aw ，

لم تكن رحلة اعتيادية مع أوستر الذي فاجئني باختراع العزلة ليفاجئني بغير مرئي كانت محاولات تحليلية لأغرب المشاعر البشرية و تناقدها لم يكن بوسعي ألا أجد بعض هذه التحليلات مريضة إلا أنها تستحق الأخذ بعين الاعتبار، أعرب أوستر عن ميل الاشخاص التي تحاول أن تقوم بشيء ما إلى جلد ذات مستمر و كيف من الممكن أن يصل المرء لانهيارات كاملة بحياته ثم يقف مجددا ليستمر

Mer ，

Definitivamente me ha gustado。 Una vez finalizada su lectura te quedas rumiando qué era verdad y qué no lo era， pero a mí me ha parecido una vez más una lectura muy interesante。Con Auster uno siempre se topa con historias dentro de la historia principal， a mí siempre consigue sorprenderme con algún giro incapaz de prever， como lo que ocurre la noche que Adam y Born van andando hacia un restaurante y ya no digamos lo que se “supone” que ocurre aquel verano entre Adam y su compañera de piso。Me gus Definitivamente me ha gustado。 Una vez finalizada su lectura te quedas rumiando qué era verdad y qué no lo era， pero a mí me ha parecido una vez más una lectura muy interesante。Con Auster uno siempre se topa con historias dentro de la historia principal， a mí siempre consigue sorprenderme con algún giro incapaz de prever， como lo que ocurre la noche que Adam y Born van andando hacia un restaurante y ya no digamos lo que se “supone” que ocurre aquel verano entre Adam y su compañera de piso。Me gustado mucho la forma en que están narradas las tres primeras partes de la novela， la primera escrita en primera persona， la segunda， donde Adam encuentra más problemas y siguiendo el consejo de Jim va en 2ª persona y por último la tercera redactada en 3ª persona。Hay una última y cuarta parte， pero no diré por quién está escrita que es la que más sorprendida me ha dejado。No soy una forofa de Auster， pero en general me gusta bastante。Más en:http://bitacorademislecturas。blogspot。。。 。。。more

Carla Fs ，

Paul Auster's writing is magnificent and ， in my opinion， keeps the story going。 The ending is great and I really liked the different points of view regarding Adam or Jim。 The characters are interesting and unexpected （ actions ， the truth， decisions ） ， they are all together quite unique。 I found the character of Rudolf Born very upsetting : he depicts horrors of human kind while many "heroes" ，if you will， of the novel such as Adam， Jim and Cécile lighten the whole mood of the book or make it Paul Auster's writing is magnificent and ， in my opinion， keeps the story going。 The ending is great and I really liked the different points of view regarding Adam or Jim。 The characters are interesting and unexpected （ actions ， the truth， decisions ） ， they are all together quite unique。 I found the character of Rudolf Born very upsetting : he depicts horrors of human kind while many "heroes" ，if you will， of the novel such as Adam， Jim and Cécile lighten the whole mood of the book or make it better in some way or another。 I didn't really get attached with characters like Hélène and Margot but I believe they are important to the novel as they also bring a sense of hope。 This book resulted to be one of my favorites and I hope to read in the future more books by Paul Auster。 。。。more

Jose Iñigo ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I needed a break from the usual brutal， fictional， crime books I read and was lucky enough to come across Paul Auster's Invisible。 My very first for the author。 And I have to say， Paul Auster writes really inventively and artsy， and I actually quite fell in love with the way he writes descriptions and narration。 There's a fragility and maturity to it， especially with the way he writes romance。 It isn't sappy， it's the type enough to intrigue the certain crop of romance that I like。 On top of tha I needed a break from the usual brutal， fictional， crime books I read and was lucky enough to come across Paul Auster's Invisible。 My very first for the author。 And I have to say， Paul Auster writes really inventively and artsy， and I actually quite fell in love with the way he writes descriptions and narration。 There's a fragility and maturity to it， especially with the way he writes romance。 It isn't sappy， it's the type enough to intrigue the certain crop of romance that I like。 On top of that， it's tremendously paced that I could have easily devoured the whole thing in a day; and the characters， especially Walker who kept me emotionally invested， are an interesting， peculiar and complex set。 Really liked Margot as well。 Really liked the few moments where Margot was included。 She's enigmatic， beautifully written， and I wish Auster included more of her。 However， when the pages turn and the perspective shifts to Celine in the end， it kind of took me out of it。 Simply because I was never invested in her character in the first place。 Her taking the final reigns felt somewhat incoherent to the main story。 I have a pitch: I'd rather it ended with Jim meeting Margot's cousin， or someone else， and giving him a diary delineating her final days after Walker， the only man she genuinely loved， left Paris and before she committed suicide。 It'll take a very depressing note， but it's a perfect conclusion， in my opinion。 Yet， one can only dream。 。。。more

MM ，

I'm embarrassed by my lack of acquaintanceship with this American author。 This novel is captivating， entertaining and slightly distasteful。Definitely a page turner。 I'm embarrassed by my lack of acquaintanceship with this American author。 This novel is captivating， entertaining and slightly distasteful。Definitely a page turner。 。。。more

Anna Pérez Carreño ，

Es un libro que me gusta， como todos lo de Auster， porque me hace reflexionar。 Tiene frases célebres que se introducen en mi interior haciéndome sentir y pensar。 No es cualquier libro， es un libro con vida y su historia dice mucho。

Frank ，

This is my second Paul Auster， and although I have to say that he's talented and writes well， this book just wasn't for me。 The connections made in the book are rather expected once you get more familiar with the writing， but the story itself was pretty interesting。 For me， i think it was just they way the story beats were connected that made it a little hard to like。 This is my second Paul Auster， and although I have to say that he's talented and writes well， this book just wasn't for me。 The connections made in the book are rather expected once you get more familiar with the writing， but the story itself was pretty interesting。 For me， i think it was just they way the story beats were connected that made it a little hard to like。 。。。more

Jen ，

Parts of this made me uncomfortable and absolutely disgusted me。。。 yet i couldn't put it down and i sort of enjoyed it Parts of this made me uncomfortable and absolutely disgusted me。。。 yet i couldn't put it down and i sort of enjoyed it 。。。more

Lasse ，

Another well written novel by Paul Auster， but after an engaging beginning， the second half of ‚Invisible‘s story left me more than a little underwhelmed。

Ellen ，

Paul Auster writes beautifully， as always， but I didn't find the story gripping。 I was also （view spoiler）[really put off by the incest scenes （hide spoiler）]。 I found myself wanting to finish it for the sake of being done， and that's never a good thing when reading （or listening to） a book。 Paul Auster writes beautifully， as always， but I didn't find the story gripping。 I was also （view spoiler）[really put off by the incest scenes （hide spoiler）]。 I found myself wanting to finish it for the sake of being done， and that's never a good thing when reading （or listening to） a book。 。。。more

Juliette ，

3，5

Silvia ，

Una delle letture migliori della mia vita

Ferdos ，

This was my first Paul Auster novel and I practically read it one sitting。 Compelling and beautiful writing that meant I desperately wanted to know how it ended。 Who’s the liar in the story？ The ending was not satisfying in the slightest but I’m not mad about it， I enjoyed the structure and prose so much that this truly reflected a “it’s about the journey not the destination” type of novel。 Certain sections were very challenging to read， and others were extremely heartfelt， especially in relatio This was my first Paul Auster novel and I practically read it one sitting。 Compelling and beautiful writing that meant I desperately wanted to know how it ended。 Who’s the liar in the story？ The ending was not satisfying in the slightest but I’m not mad about it， I enjoyed the structure and prose so much that this truly reflected a “it’s about the journey not the destination” type of novel。 Certain sections were very challenging to read， and others were extremely heartfelt， especially in relation to grief — Auster has such a way with words that made the sadness palpable。 Looking forward to reading all the books he’s ever written。 。。。more

Iris ，

A really good page turner。 Although the ending isn’t as clear cut as desired it nevertheless didn’t take away from the overall experience。 Again， Auster does not disappoint。

Giu ，

Non c’è ancora nessuno in grado di farmi avere voglia di voltare una pagina dopo l’altra， ancora una， un’altra e un’altra ancora come sa fare Auster。

Elyas ，

چی یود این؟ حتی نمی‌دونم خوب بود یا بد。امتیازش هم نمی‌دونم。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Invisible

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Invisible&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Invisible&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0