Oracle Night
Encyclopedia
Oracle Night is a 2003 novel
by American author Paul Auster
.
The novel is about a writer named Sidney Orr (a short, Americanized version of the Polish surname Orlovsky), who, after making a miraculous recovery from near fatal illness, buys a new notebook and starts writing a story about a man who completely changed his life when he realised how much his existence was ruled by coincidence.
The base premises for the book is this, Sidney Orr trying to come back to his life and begin writing again, but a lot of things happen in his life at the same time, and the reader gets introduced not only to Sidney's work and personal life, but also in some extent to the life of the person in his work-in-progress novel. Before the end of this period in Sidney's life, events will take place that are truly life-altering, and Sidney will, much like the fictional character he writes of, have to deal with issues and questions he has previously (perhaps unconsciously) been avoiding for several years.
middle-aged, married, and, of course, writers. Some similarities between Auster and a supporting character
in Oracle Night -- John Trause -- are also apparent. Trause, an anagram of Auster, also lived in Paris for a period of his life.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by American author Paul Auster
Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
.
The novel is about a writer named Sidney Orr (a short, Americanized version of the Polish surname Orlovsky), who, after making a miraculous recovery from near fatal illness, buys a new notebook and starts writing a story about a man who completely changed his life when he realised how much his existence was ruled by coincidence.
The base premises for the book is this, Sidney Orr trying to come back to his life and begin writing again, but a lot of things happen in his life at the same time, and the reader gets introduced not only to Sidney's work and personal life, but also in some extent to the life of the person in his work-in-progress novel. Before the end of this period in Sidney's life, events will take place that are truly life-altering, and Sidney will, much like the fictional character he writes of, have to deal with issues and questions he has previously (perhaps unconsciously) been avoiding for several years.
Biographical
The main character, Sidney Orr, shares many similarities to Paul Auster himself.They are both residents of Brooklyn,middle-aged, married, and, of course, writers. Some similarities between Auster and a supporting character
in Oracle Night -- John Trause -- are also apparent. Trause, an anagram of Auster, also lived in Paris for a period of his life.
External links
- http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,1142856,00.html
- http://living.scotsman.com/books.cfm?id=57412004
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/review/3451735.stm
- http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,1142671,00.html