The book of illusions : [a Gab bag for book discussion groups] : a novel

Six months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer’s interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years.When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer’s mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever. The Book of Illusions is, in the words of Peter Carey, “suffused with warmth and illuminated by its narrator’s hard won wisdom. This artful and elegant novel may be Auster’s best ever.” The Book Of Illusions, Written With Breath-taking Urgency And Precision, Plunges The Reader Into A Universe In Which The Comic And The Tragic, The Real And The Imagined, And The Violent And The Tender Dissolve Into One Another. One Man's Obsession With The Mysterious Life Of A Silent Film Star Takes Him On A Journey Into A Shadow-world Of Lies, Illusions, And Unexpected Love. After Losing His Wife And Young Sons In A Plane Crash, Vermont Professor David Zimmer Spends His Waking Hours Mired In Grief. Then, Watching Television One Night, He Stumbles Upon A Lost Film By Silent Comedian Hector Mann, And Remembers How To Laugh . . . Mann Was A Comic Genius, In Trademark White Suit And Fluttering Black Moustache. But One Morning In 1929 He Walked Out Of His House And Was Never Heard From Again. Zimmer's Obsession With Mann Drives Him To Publish A Study Of His Work; Whereupon He Receives A Letter Postmarked New Mexico, Supposedly Written By Mann's Wife, And Inviting Him To Visit The Great Mann Himself. Can Hector Mann Be Alive? Zimmer Cannot Decide - Until A Strange Woman Appears On His Doorstep And Makes The Decision For Him, Changing His Life Forever. 'a Nearly Flawless Work . . . Auster Will Be Remembered As One Of The Great Writers Of Our Time.' San Francisco Chronicle 'auster's Elegant, Finely Calibrated The Book Of Illusions Is A Haunting Feat Of Intellectual Gamesmanship.' Thenew York Times One man's obsession with the mysterious life of a silent film star takes him on a journey into a shadow-world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love. After losing his wife and young sons in a plane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in grief. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann, and remembers how to laugh . . .Mann was a comic genius, in trademark white suit and fluttering black moustache. But one morning in 1929 he walked out of his house and was never heard from again. Zimmer's obsession with Mann drives him to publish a study of his work; whereupon he receives a letter postmarked New Mexico, supposedly written by Mann's wife, and inviting him to visit the great Mann himself. Can Hector Mann be alive? Zimmer cannot decide - until a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.Written with breath-taking urgency and precision, this stunning novel plunges the reader into a universe in which the comic and the tragic, the real and the imagined, the violent and the tender dissolve into one another. One man's obsession with the mysterious life of a silent film star takes him on a journey into a shadow-world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love. After losing his wife and young sons in a plane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in grief. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann, and remembers how to laugh . . . Mann was a comic genius, in trademark white suit and fluttering black moustache. But one morning in 1929 he walked out of his house and was never heard from again. Zimmer's obsession with Mann drives him to publish a study of his work; whereupon he receives a letter postmarked New Mexico, supposedly written by Mann's wife, and inviting him to visit the great Mann himself. Can Hector Mann be alive? Zimmer cannot decide - until a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever. Written with breath-taking urgency and precision,... Professor David Zimmer is drinking himself to death over the death of his family in a plane crash when one night he sees a clip from a film by the silent comedian Hector Mann. Mann vanished in 1929, but his films have begun to reappear anonymously in film archives around the world. Zimmer embarks on a journey to study the films, and thus begins a story within a mystery within a fable. As part of Faber's Secrets and Lies series comes a classic noirish novel of deception and deceit