“Baumgartner” by Paul Auster

I found this little gem in Collected Works last month. (I've told you about them before, but in case you don't remember--it's a great little bookstore in Santa Fe, and you should totally check them out if you ever get the chance.) 

It was exciting to spy this book on the shelf. I didn't even know Paul Auster had had a new book published! I've only read his New York Trilogy, but I really loved that. When I saw this one I grabbed it, made it past that depressing and weirdly stark cover photo, and for some reason didn't do my usual dip test (reading a random selection from somewhere in the middle of the book). Instead I started reading at the very beginning. And I read, and I read, and I kept on reading, standing right there in the bookstore. I don't remember exactly how long I stood there, or exactly how many pages I read, but it was obvious I just needed to buy the book. So I did.

This is the story of some old guy named Sy Baumgartner, a retired professor who lost his beloved wife, Anna, nine years ago. He is still grieving, but he is also living his life as best he knows how. The story itself is a weird mix of mundane daily life or throwbacks to the past, and the profound thoughts of an intelligent soul. One of my favorite sections discusses the idea that losing a loved one is like becoming an amputee. You eventually end up with a prosthesis, but you will never be free from the phantom limb pain. 

I really liked this book. It didn't hurt that it was quite short; I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it so much if it was a huge chunk, but as it was, I took my time with it, savoring it, and still didn't spend ages reading it. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the ending--not that it was inscrutable, but it was surprisingly if quietly tense for a little bit; though, I guess, why not go out with a bit of a bang instead of a whimper? And I found it odd that the cover photo wasn’t taken anywhere near where the novel takes place (which, by the way, was on the periphery of my old stomping grounds, so that was kind of fun). But overall, definitely two thumbs up from me.