“It is also true that memory sometimes comes to him as a voice. It is a voice that speaks inside him, and it is not necessarily his own. It speaks to him in the way a voice might tell stories to a child, and yet at times this voice makes fun of him, or calls him to attention, or curses him in no uncertain terms. At times it willfully distorts the story it is telling him, changing the facts to suit its whims, catering to the interests of drama rather than truth. Then he must speak to it in his own voice and tell it to stop, thus returning it to the silence it came from. At other times it sings to him. At still other times it whispers. And then there are the times it merely hums, or babbles, or cries out in pain. And even when it says nothing, he knows it is still there, and in the silence of this voice that says nothing, he waits for it to speak.”

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About Paul Auster

American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker

Paul Auster was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. He is known for fiction and nonfiction that helped make him a distinctive voice in late 20th and early 21st century American letters. His work includes The New York Trilogy, Moon Palace, The Music of Chance, True Tales of American Life, The Book of Illusions, The Brooklyn Follies, Invisible, Sunset Park, Winter Journal, 4 3 2 1, and Bloodbath Nation. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

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Books by Paul Auster

The New York Trilogy

1999

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The Book of Illusions

2002

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The Brooklyn Follies

2005

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I Thought My Father Was God

2001

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Sunset Park

2011

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