Brooklyn Follies

For years i loved Paul Auster - i waited on every new release and just devoured them... then i stopped. I think the last thing i read was Book of Illusions which was great but i think i feared the books were becoming perhaps a bit predicatable. I'd ummed and erred about Brooklyn Follies as i feared it might be a bit samey. But its truely a great book, not only is it clever and intelligent it is, more importantly, a ripping good yarn. It has all the American 'culture' references you expect (from The Scarlett Letter to Laurel and Hardy) but it is, i think, much warmer and gentler than his normal work. Its more family based and a genuinely touching tale about families, love, aging, living life for what it is and what it can be. I guess as a post 9/11 book about the pre 9/11 world the security and connection that the characters find by the end of the book might be dashed away just hours after the book ends, but i think it is altogether more optimistic than that, the wider world is there throughout the book (in violence, illness and extremist) but the humanity of the diverse characters carries them through . Its intelligent, funny, touching and, best of all, made me want to go back to all the others and enjoy them again.