Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster (First Edition)
A man pieces together clues to his past--and the identity of his captors--in this fantastic, labyrinthine novel.
An old man awakens, disoriented, in an unfamiliar chamber. With no memory of who he is or how he has arrived there, he pores over the relics on the desk, examining the circumstances of his confinement and searching his own hazy mind for clues.
Determining that he is locked in, the man--identified only as Mr. Blank--begins reading a manuscript he finds on the desk, the story of another prisoner, set in an alternate world the man doesn't recognize. Nevertheless, the pages seem to have been left for him, along with a haunting set of photographs. As the day passes, various characters call on the man in his cell--vaguely familiar people, some who seem to resent him for crimes he can't remember--and each brings frustrating hints of his identity and his past. All the while an overhead camera clicks and clicks, recording his movements, and a microphone records every sound in the room. Someone is watching.
Both chilling and poignant, Travels in the Scriptorium is vintage Auster: mysterious texts, fluid identities, a hidden past, and, somewhere, an obscure tormentor. And yet, as we discover during one day in the life of Mr. Blank, his world is not so different from our own.
Hardback | 145 pages
148 x 221 x 16mm | 299g
23 Jan 2007
Henry Holt & Company
United States
English
0805081453
9780805081459
Condition: Very Good
A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover. The dust jacket is included, and in very good condition (very minimal scuff marks). No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. Very minimal wear and tear.