The New York Trilogy: City of Glass/ Ghosts/ the Locked Room (Bookray)

by Paul Auster | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0140169636 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Mrrr of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel Switzerland on 9/18/2003
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10 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Mrrr from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel Switzerland on Thursday, September 18, 2003
Good book, not his best though...

Proposed as a bookray. Already registered participants (ordered):
  • michmaarufa
  • Kanapoutz
  • Marie-Tatance
  • Lifthrasir
  • Marcenda
  • bookmaniac70
  • catrionna
  • sunisunny, France (€) Did not want to read it?
  • Zoe1971
  • Mymlan, Finland (€(W)) <= the book is here!
  • Clawdia, Spain (€(W)) <= or on its way to here!
  • Andi1203, Austria (W)
  • -ma-, France (€(W))
  • ... (ray still open PM me if you want to be added here)
  • xula, Spain (*) wishes to remain at the end of the list or to send only within own country

    ? = postal preferences unknown
    W = sends Worldwide
    € = sends Europewide
    * = sends within own country
    *(€)= preferably own country, if needed Europe

  • Journal Entry 2 by michmaarufa from Lyon, Rhône-Alpes France on Thursday, November 13, 2003
    reçu ce matin dans ma boite.
    merci mrrr.

    Journal Entry 3 by michmaarufa from Lyon, Rhône-Alpes France on Monday, December 8, 2003
    ce livre part aujourd'hui chez kanapoutz.
    je n'ai lu que les deux premières nouvelles :-(.
    je trouve qu'il y a de l'idée dans ces nouvelles et du style aussi mais je n'arrive pas vraiment à accrocher et mon esprit quitte le livre avant que je finisse une page...
    il s'était passé la même chose quand j'ai lu Moon Palace... peut être que je ne suis pas faite pour lire Paul Auster..
    merci Mrrr en tout cas !

    Journal Entry 4 by KanaPoutz from Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur France on Monday, December 15, 2003
    J'ai bien reçu le livre jeudi dernier, c'est le prochain dans ma PAL! La suite plus tard

    Journal Entry 5 by KanaPoutz from Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur France on Monday, December 29, 2003
    Well this book just confirms that I really like Paul Auster! Even though I found this 3 stories slightly disturbing...but totally fascinating!
    Thanks Mrrr!
    It goes today to Marie-Tatance.

    Journal Entry 6 by Marie-Tatance from Lyon, Rhône-Alpes France on Thursday, January 8, 2004
    Bien reçu , ce matin.
    je vais encore interrompre des fleurs pour Algernon et commencer celui là, voir même le lire en parallèle pour pas trop retarder ce ring.
    Merci Kanapoutz!

    Journal Entry 7 by Marie-Tatance from Lyon, Rhône-Alpes France on Wednesday, March 24, 2004
    Ca y est j'ai fini le livre enfin j'ai pas tout lu il faut encore que je perfectionne mon angalis mais n'ai pas trop utilisé le dictionnaire.
    J'attends l'adresse d'arvoredeperas pour le faire suivre.
    J'envoye le livre à Lifthrasir car je n'ai pas eu l'adresse d'arvoredeperas.
    Posté le 16 avril en livre-brochure.

    Journal Entry 8 by Lifthrasir on Wednesday, May 5, 2004
    i have received the book today, and i will stard reading in just a few days after i finish one of the currently reading.

    -excited- it's my first bookray/ring!

    merci Marie-Tatance :)

    Journal Entry 9 by Marcenda from Carcavelos, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Friday, September 10, 2004
    I just got it. I just hope I manage to read it before I give birth! To be read a.s.a.p.

    Journal Entry 10 by Marcenda from Carcavelos, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Wednesday, September 22, 2004
    I had never read anything by Paul Auster before, and I grew to liking the book as I read it. I sent it today to bookmaniac70. Bon voyage!

    Journal Entry 11 by bookmaniac70 from София / Sofia, Sofiya Bulgaria on Monday, September 27, 2004
    Received today.I`m intrigued and shall try to start reading ASAP.

    Journal Entry 12 by bookmaniac70 from София / Sofia, Sofiya Bulgaria on Sunday, October 3, 2004
    Finished "City of Glass" so far.As always,Auster creates a puzzle on the subject of identity and personality,and plays with submerging of reality and fantasy.This part has been an intriguing read;however,I felt at the end I was needing more clues; I expected more development on some aspects,for example,the Paradise theme of lost language,or what happened to Peter Stillman.

    Journal Entry 13 by bookmaniac70 from София / Sofia, Sofiya Bulgaria on Sunday, October 10, 2004
    Finished it today while my children were playing on the playground.I liked very much the first part,then was bored with the second,but in the third the whole thing came together and set a great final.

    I am going to PM the next person from the list to get her address.

    Released 19 yrs ago (10/14/2004 UTC) at To the next participant in Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada

    WILD RELEASE NOTES:

    RELEASE NOTES:

    Send to next participant.

    Journal Entry 15 by catrionna from Bordeaux, Aquitaine France on Tuesday, October 26, 2004
    Received it today... I don't know when I'll find time to read it, but since it's a bookray, perhaps I can allow some more time...
    Anyway I'm looking forward to reading Paul Auster, an author I don't know

    14.12.2004
    I finished the City of Glass today, and I've got a strange feeling, this short-story is so weird... Made me think of an other short-story by Dickens (The SignalMan) I alternate Paul Auster with an other book.

    02.05.05
    I'm a bit slow with this reading, but the more I read Paul Auster, the more I appreciate this author. I really loved Ghosts and I still have a hundred pages left of "The Locked Room", but I find this one even better than the previous one. It seems as if Paul Auster wanted us to be more and more addicted to his fictions!
    I'll try an other Paul Auster very soon I guess!

    One sentence I liked very much: "Stories happen only to those you are able to tell them" p.261

    26.05.05
    Last entry as far as I'm concerned. I'll send the book this very day. My last thought about the book is that I would have liked to start with the two last novels and then comme back to the first one. Does that make sense?
    Happy reading to the next bookcrossers


    Journal Entry 16 by Zoe1971 from Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Friday, June 10, 2005
    I found the book in my mailbox today when I returned from a trip to the Netherlands. I hope I'll have the chance to read the book real soon, but I fear it might take some time because right now there are seven or eight books on my TBR-pile yet which are also traveling as bookrings or bookrays...

    Thank you, Mrrr, for the ray and you, catrionna, for sending it!

    And please, be patient with me.... :-)

    Journal Entry 17 by Zoe1971 from Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Sunday, January 8, 2006
    Now, almost 7 months after receiving the book, I finally managed to read it! And it was all worth waiting!

    I already read the german translation about 15 years ago. But when I started to read now I hardly remembered any detail.

    The three stories are each very different from the other. While reading the book I was wondering how Paul Auster would ever manage to get the plots together at last, but finally, he did! And the stories are filled with so many astonishing little scenes, such as when Quinn finally meets a reader of his books (p. 64 f). I loved that one!

    I found "City of Glass" and "Ghosts" a bit disturbing. The protagonists leave everything (work, life, the girl they love) behind them because they are obsessed by their detective work... But "The Locked Room" is really convincing! And it explains, why the other two stories leave us with such a feeling.

    Here are some of the passages in the book I really loved and which ought to be quoted:

    I.
    "It would not be fair to disappear without telling her first. After that, it would be perfectly acceptable. As long as you tell people what you are going to do [...] it doesn't matter. Then you are free to do what you want." (p. 125)

    II.
    "I read the book more than two weeks ago, and it's been with me ever since. I can't get it out of my head. It keeps coming back to me, and always at the strangest moments. Stepping out of the shower, walking down the street, crawling into bed at night - whenever I'm not consciously thinking about anything." (p. 271)
    - I've never read a better description of a good book!

    The book is travelling to Mymlan in Finland, as soon as I get the address.

    Journal Entry 18 by Zoe1971 at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, January 21, 2006

    Released 18 yrs ago (1/21/2006 UTC) at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

    WILD RELEASE NOTES:

    RELEASE NOTES:

    I put this book in the snail-mail to Suomi/Finland, accompanied by a little surprise for Mymlan!

    Journal Entry 19 by Mymlan from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Thursday, February 9, 2006
    I had received the book while away, I quess two weeks ago already. I'll be starting on it soon. And thanks for the surprise Zoe!

    Journal Entry 20 by Mymlan from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Friday, March 3, 2006
    I finished the books. I'm glad I've read Austen's later work before, this might not have convinced me. I don't say it's not interesting, but... It's so much about writing and about being a writer and the text and language, well, that's what makes these interesting, especially reading them all in one tome like this, but I like Austin more when he writes more about just being human. That's why I preferred "Locked Room", there's more story, more fealings, more life. Actually, I might have really loved these when I was younger and serious about writing.

    I'm very glad I've read these now, thanks Mrr for sharing! The book will be off to Clawdia in Spain as soon as possible.

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