Paul Auster has a new novel out next week, but I’m a bit behind only having read the odd work here and there.
The setup in this book is quite good. Hector Mann is a silent era movie star who disappeared around 1929 and was never heard of again. It was assumed that he was either dead, or had given up his career. The novel’s protagonist becomes interested in his career following the tragic death of his wife and kids. Then lost films start reappearing and he writes a book on them. But then he receives a letter suggesting that Mann may indeed still be alive.
The novel flows very easily, with long descriptions of Mann’s life, as well as detailed expositions of some of his films.
I suppose it harks back a little of William Boyd’s New Confessions, although there are no real attempts to introduce real-life characters into the story. A thoroughly worthwhile book.