Paul Auster once again delivers an interesting read with Baumgartner. Having previously read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Moon Palace I was looking forward to what Auster presented. The story is centered around Sy Baumgartner and how in his seventies he is still mourning the loss of Anna, his wife, some ten years previous. With rooms left as they were, the work that Anna produced as writer being reviewed to form a legacy and shrine, Baumgartner seemingly refuses to accept the fact that she has been "stolen away" from him, reading her work to prolong the memory. As with Moon Palace, Auster delights the reader with deep detail to the point that you can easily visualise in your own mind how the scene is set. A core theme of Baumgartner are the facts we remember and what we choose to forget. What if the story is fiction when it's presented as fact, do we still believe in it? The story of our life, the lives of our ancestors, what do we keep in our minds and what do we reject. Auster spends a lot of time on these subjects in various forms and reveals an inner world, one of ourselves, one of the American Dream that we all could have been something. Love in all its guises runs deep in the text. The stories we tell ourselves to prevent us making the next steps in our lives. His dream where Anna is telling him to move on gives a good narrative of there's a future out there, go and explore it. Sadly where Moon Palace was rich in detail and with a clear path, Baumgartner seems to lack direction in my mind. Too long is spent over describing a room at the sacrifice of the story, the trade off for exceptional observation against story is a step too far. While Anna's prose is very interesting, stories of the history of Ukraine and other side quests, it detracts after a while. Large parts of the book cover Sy's family, serving very little purpose to the core ideas of Baumgartner. It's a finely written book but it doesn't match Auster's previous work in my opinion.

Having read a few Auster novels before, I was looking forward to this latest one, particularly given the subject matter, as I enjoy reflective, character-focused novels. As always, Auster’s writing was very immersive and easily read - the sign of a great writer. However, I didn’t love Baumgartner quite as much as I’d anticipated. My interest waned the more he delved into the past and his family and it wasn’t quite what I’d expected. For me, something was missing. Despite what the blurb suggests, Baumgartner isn’t just ‘embarking’ on life now without his wife, as he’s well into living beyond her death, since this was about nine years previous. However, he’s only now properly processing it (as much as you ever can with grief), which the book shows with poignancy. It highlights the little things, like how Baumgartner orders books online which he doesn’t want or need, simply so he can have a few seconds’ conversation - or exchange a few words - with the delivery woman. I appreciated Auster’s attention to detail in things like this, which is always spot on. As the story progressed, though, I just found it didn’t hold my interest the way I hoped it would. All in all, I’d recommend Baumgartner if you enjoy a reflective, philosophical read which ultimately ends with hope. Auster is an extremely skilled writer and I look forward to whatever he does next. Thank you to Faber & Faber and to The Reading Agency for sending me a copy of Baumgartner for review.