One man's obsession with the mysterious life of a silent film star takes him on a journey into a shadow-world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love. After losing his wife and young sons in a plane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in grief. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann, and remembers how to laugh . . . Mann was a comic genius, in trademark white suit and fluttering black moustache. But one morning in 1929 he walked out of his house and was never heard from again. Zimmer's obsession with Mann drives him to publish a study of his work; whereupon he receives a letter postmarked New Mexico, supposedly written by Mann's wife, and inviting him to visit the great Mann himself. Can Hector Mann be alive? Zimmer cannot decide - until a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever. Written with breath-taking urgency and precision, this stunning novel plunges the reader into a universe in which the comic and the tragic, the real and the imagined, the violent and the tender dissolve into one another.

I found this to be an utterly absorbing account of loss and obsession. Recommended.

For another to enjoy, as I did.

Received as part of a swap. Many thanks I look forward to reading it.

This then is a Gothic detective story where the dead have all the best lines, "when our backs are right up against the wall. You have to die first to know how to live." There is a crime, there is love, loss and guilt, along with many of the usual Gothic elements ( murderer, prostitute, deceived wench, hidden body and a secret book). Both men hit rock bottom and been raised up again; both feel guilt and the need to do penance.

On a couple of occasions the prose felt a little forced but generally I found this a powerfully written tale. I loved the depiction of Mann's films, I could almost view them in my mind's eye but I felt the image of Zimmer playing with his sons' Lego and burying his face in his wife's clothes that still smell of her perfume was particularly powerful and poignant. Each man's life has echoes in the other's and sometimes I wondered whether the author had overdone this element but all the same I found myself unwilling to put the book down, always wanting to read the next chapter. A very enjoyable read.

Spotted this on a wishlist so travelling off to hopefully make a new friend. Enjoy!

It's been a while since I read anything bu Paul Auster so looking forward to getting round to this one

28 Aug 2020 - I’ve read a few Auster, although not since 2011 and some I’ve really enjoyed and some not quite so much.

To quote the Jerry Maguire film, this book had me at hello! Or at least from that opening line of Everyone thought he was dead. I was completely drawn in by the story, so much so that I didn’t want to rush it and read it pretty slowly for such a relatively small book. The story line was intriguing and like nothing I’ve read before, which actually does seem to be a theme with Auster. So why not full marks? It was a bit unbelievable at times, and a couple of scenes felt a little uncomfortable, and also what a sad story! Also I’m quite stingy with my full star marks 🤣 although the more I think about this book the more I wonder if I might change my mind 🤔

There were no takers for this book on the forums, so I’ve left it in a telephone box library for someone else to enjoy