I love anything by Auster, so this was mostly a joy to read. It lost a bit towards the end I felt but mostly was pretty good.

From the back:
Nashe has decided to pursue a 'life of freedom'. He meets Pozzi, an itinerant gambler, and together they go in for an extraordinary game of poker with Flower and Stone, two eccentric recluses living on a vast estate in Pennsylvania. It is a gamble that Nashe and Pozzi will regret for the rest of their lives.

Mailed to lakelady2282 as part of the Australian 1001 Books Virtual Book Box... enjoy!

Thanks Rachel. Arrived today. Looking forward to reading it. In round 2 do I put this one back in and another?

This is the first Paul Auster book I have been a little disappointed and there's two reasons. Firstly the smaller "stage" of this book - for a lot of it just two to three main characters. From reading this earlier book I have discoverd that I much prefer the interweaving of a larger cast of characters that people his later novels. The second reason is that I skipped over five early books (beginning with Moon Palace) in my reading of Paul Auster's novels. I am only now going back to reading the missing books (after having read all of his later novels) so it's hard not to notice the change in focus and narrative style. Nevertheless I intend to read the remaining four soon.
Of this book I found the meadow quite vivid (it still lingers) and I really enjoyed and believed in Pozzie. With his larrikin ways and particularly distinctive speech (at least for this Australian) he is a standout character.
Coincidence features in a lot of Auster's books and it's a subject that fascinates me too. I think that's why I love his novels - my all time favourite being Man in the Dark and second in line The Brooklyn Follies. This is a very different book from both of those - more sparse, tougher and darker (though not, mercifully, as dark as The Man in the Dark). A worthwhile read deserving of its 1001 status.