Auster, Paul: 1947 - 2024
The Music of Chance, 1990 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- The novel is a statement about the pointlessness of life.
- Information from Wikipedia
- Facts
- The novel was a 1991 finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
- Reviews
- Review: "The haphazard wandering of the plot may be less problematic, since it can be justified by the title and subject." Madison Smartt Bell. New York Times; November 4, 1990
- Articles
- The Localized Hero and Escape from Freedom: "Despite the fictitious characteristics of this novel (and some allegories), Auster is clearly writing about history and the capitalist system." Faruk Kalay. 2016
- Auster provides a completely immersive high-stakes reading experience where nothing seems fated: "Auster seems to suggest we should take resposibility for our lives despite their contingency." James Warner. March 15, 2010
- Insights from a person of questionable sanity. "What it all comes down to is chance and the order of events." November 14, 2008
- Sweet music of chance. "Allusive density and the belief that human life is utterly contingent blends with the good humour and narrative velocity of his fiction." The Independent; June 5, 1999
- Poker and Nothingness by Madison Smartt Bell. "Mr. Auster has succeeded admirably in dressing up a very abstract situation." New York Times, November 4, 1990
- A Shrine to the Spirit of Nothingness: "It is an exceptional novel about the interplay of freedom and chance which takes you on an engrossing tour of a man’s inner life." Digby Diehl. Los Angeles Times; October 21, 1990