Invisible - Book Club January '11

I read Invisible two or three weeks ago and really enjoyed it. It's only the second of Auster's that I've read (the other being Oracle Night) but I find him really easy to read. My mind didn't wander at all through the entire book and at no point did I get bored. The only complaint I have (and this is something I find with a lot of books) is that the ending was unsatisfying. The book felt like it was building up to something big and it never eventuated. Overall though, it was very enjoyable.

I'm reading this book right now -finished part I, told from Adam Walker's point of view.

I agree that it kept my interest -my mind didn't wanter either and I'm finding the book surprisingly easy to read.

To hear that it doesn't build up to anything, though, is disappointing. I also found the narrator to be a bit of a pussy, speaking to the scene where they get mugged. I mean he's made to Fear for his Life, literally -even says how scared he is -so his "sympathy" for the mugger when Born stabs him is jarring to me. I get that it's psycho for Born to stab him so many times after the fact -but I'm talking about the first initial stabbing.

I hate people who feel sorry for other people who won't hesitate to terrorize you or harm you or steal from you in the blink of an eye. I think Born was right on to defend himself and Walker, whatever it took, and none of it would've happened if the kid wasn't out fucking robbing people.

Again, that's not to to say Born is justified in going off the deep end after the fact, but I"m not talking about that. I'm not talking about the moral dilemma of calling for help, either. But it seems that Walker has a problem with Born doing anything at all -the first initial stabbing. And that, I can't relate to. Made me think that Born was right when he called Walker a coward.

Sorry about that. I'm extra fussy about endings though and I might be unrealistic sometimes with how great I expect books to end.

“…isn’t it intriguing that thought cannot exist without language, and since language is a function of the brain, we would have to say that language - the ability to experience the world through symbols - is in some sense a physical property of human beings, which proves that the old mind - body duality is so much nonsense, doesn’t it? Adieu, Descartes. The mind and the body are one.”
Helene
speech pathologist

I thought Timberly was leading the discussion. Now I'm seeing it's Paul Trembly. What's going on here? Did Timberly drop out?

I think Dennis misread my message to him.

Timberly is the discussion leader.

She is getting the book this week and plans to finish it in a day. She forgot all about it. But she's going to come through. Don't worry.

Who's In Charge Around Here??

Well... There's always Next month's book club!

I'm the Book Club Mod. I'm not sure what you were asking about.

Anybody can discuss this still. I'm gonna be finishing up my copy in the next few days hopefully.

Who me?

No, "Who's In Charge Around Here??" was a joke. You know, like, "WHO's in Charge Around Here!" -just in response to the earlier posts over the mod confusion.

But good to know about you not being finished -I haven't finished mine yet either. I'm on the 2nd Part -where Adam's now in his sixties and reaching out to his author friend.

I'm not relating to Adam Walker at all, but the book itself seems like an easy read -moves right along and that's a plus. We'll see what happens from here on out. No problems so far, though -it's holding my interest. But yeah I got a lot going on -other books plus I'm taking that Art of The Short Story intensive with Mark, so I might be here and there but I'll be back for sure and I am reading it.

I thought there were quite a few people reading this. What did everyone else think?

I'm especially interested in hearing what people thought of the changes between first, second and third person. I thought it was a nifty trick but I'm not sure it was necessary or made the story any better.

I've only read Part I and a little bit of Part II, but i felt that it works well (So Far) for speeding us into the future. The letter, while maybe not all that original, was a nice way to catch us up on his life. But that's as far as I got. The narrator of part II is about to meet up with Adam for the first time in over 30 years and he's now dreading it.

Let me ask you this about the story -does it have a satisfying ending/not a waste of time?

I don't think it was a waste of time but it was a bit unsatisfying (for me at least). The story really felt like it was building up to something big and then it kind of just petered out. You should finish the book though - i might just be being unrealistic.

Crap -sorry about. I was asking you because someone else had commented on the ending, but looking back, it was YOU! ahahahahahah I'll pay more attention next time.

Paul Auster's books tend to do that. He is an amazing writer, but his endings just seem to wrap things up and the book is over and he'll ramble for another 30 or so pages.

I really liked the switch to 2nd person. The third person section isn't working for me. It's too distant maybe after the other two sections? I don't know. It's supposed to be just notes and outlines put together by his friend so maybe that's why it feels off to me. I don't know. I haven't finished that section yet, so we'll see.

Less than satisfying endings aren't uncommon. Stephen King is another writer who I find is good (bad) at this.

The third person part made sense story-wise but I agree. I liked the second person part too and having read a couple of other books completely told in the second person, I wonder why it isn't used more often.

Are you kidding me? I've never read a Stephen King book before -I finally go out and buy his new one with the Short Stories, right? Because I Just got turned on to horror, and currently that's what I'm writing -short stories. And now you're telling me that his endings suck too?

You're killing me.

Not sure about his short stories but with his really big books, he'll build things up for about a thousand pages making you think there's going to be this amazing ending and then he'll wrap things up all of a sudden in a very lame and lazy kind of way. Or maybe it's not the endings themselves as much as it's the way he builds things up and takes so long doing it.

He builds them up to a point that no ending will satisfy you. His ending are pretty good if the book was half the length.

I loved Under the Dome. But the ending was just out of left field. If it was a shorter story, it would have been a perfect ending.

Just started chapter III. I'm finding it quite a compelling read and it's the first Auster novel I've tried. The switch in narrative point of view is interesting. Hoping the end isn't too disappointing.

I read this book last August...here's my Goodreads review:

This is an interesting story of one person's experiences during 1967 but told from three different approaches by the protagonist as well as supplemented with narration from two additional characters. The chronological plot is enjoyable enough as we follow Adam Walker through a bit of coming of age, relationships gone awry and general life experiences; however, as mentioned above the story is told from a number of different aspects and can be quite cumbersome for the reader.

Parts of this book resemble The Reader as it includes an illicit sexual relationship, a dark murder and a Continental European backdrop. An addtional thread also resembles The Count of Monte Cristo with revenge plots and unjust punishments.

Overall I felt that the story was a vehicle for Auster to experiment with writing a story concurrent with 1st, 2nd, & 3rd person perspectives.

This seems like a popular choice! I might see if I can get a copy in the city tomorrow.

I just got done with part I of this. It's slow going, but picked up towards the end of the first act with the murder.

Part II is the same. It starts out with an interesting situation -but gets slow -leading up to something discussed that I hope picks up the pace. I don't know. I'll find out when I read more on the crapper later on, but someone brought up the use of 2nd person, and I have to say, in Part II I find it annoying -skipped a lot of it, too. I dind't mind so much the letter gimmick of explaining the plot for book II and also to speed us into the future, but when his old pal starts to read Walker's novel and it's all second person... It turned me off. But I'm looking forward to reading their actual encounter over dinner -so for those who've read the book in full, is that scene as good or as interesting as it sounds like it's going to be?

I actually really liked the 2nd person stuff. It made the "incestuous" relationship that much more creepy. I felt like I was involved, which horrified me and got me involved. It was used very effectively I thought.

I do agree thought that the book has the feel of Auster just wanting to experiment a little.

The Book itself as a Whole, I have to compliment, because even in the slow parts or the parts where he's experimenting with POV, I"m interested in the Story and want to keep reading. The main character, I don't at all relate to -and yeah I've said that before but it's Something if a writer and keep you interested in a book or a story if that's the case. So... So far, so good.

Okay, well I'm glad we're talking about this today -I just got back from the bathroom, and I have to say, Really Like the 10 pages 122-132. Things got Really interesting here for me. For example, how in Gwyn's mind, Adam can do no wrong in their mother and father's eyes, and they're always singing high praises about him, while in Adam's head, when he's in their presence, he feels far different and that they're asking without words why he's the one that got to live?

Also, how I was saying I don't relate to him? Well the paragraph beginning on 132 with: "That is precisely what you are: impossible" and ending on 133 with "You must help yourself. If something inside you is broken, you must put it back together with your own two hands."

This whole paragraph is the first lick of sense this guy has made since the beginning of the book. Obviously, he doesn't stick to his own advice if he's still in great pain over the whole stabbing incident when writing his friend so many years later, but this was the first time I felt like, "Right on. Way to get it together, man."

But with regards to the second person, I guess I feel like it sounds like he's talking to his friend in letter form to catch him up vs. presenting a real book -just due to the fact that other than the sex scene, or the "grand experiment," it's a lot of telling vs. showing -with the Exception of their Dialogue on 122 on. I Liked the dialogue between Adam and his sister and it keeps me turning pages without thinking about it. Their conversation here is Really interesting and gets you thinking. You have to wonder, too, when he asks her why she didn't pursue another sexual encounter with a girl, if he meant himself.

But I stopped on 135 and had to get back to my cubicle for work. So that's my two cents for today's reading.

Hi, again. Got to read some more pages on today's bathroom break -I got into the adult incestual relationship.

Sick stuff, I gotta say -but that's great for a book so yeah Part II has become really interesting. At parts I would squirm, but one thing I related to a lot is how he was shocked to hear his sister talk filthy when he never knew that side of her.

I don't know why, but that rings true. We've all hooked up with girls before that for whatever reasons, we had misconceptions about, only to find "that side" to them exciting once alone and engaged in that activity.

Anyway, got to page 151 and had to stop. Don't know if this is stupid or not reporting in like this -I'm just tryign to keep the discussion going or the thread alive. But I'm enjoying the book.

Keep doing it!

You may spark more conversation.

Well I did finish Part II today -and I think it's safe to say at this point that I"m going to finish this, and rather soon.

It's not the most exciting book I've ever read, and it's not blowing me away or anything, but it flows really well and the Writing makes it an easy read -and although I didn't like the use of 2nd person in the Part II, it was too damn interesting to matter. I think Auster does a good job of taking things that aren't all that interesting, and Making them interesting. There Is a story here so far and he's got me invested and caring how it turns out.

And it's promising because I've been waiting for the actual encounter between Walker and his writer friend that he's catching up with, and that now seems like it's going to happen in Part III.

This passage here is another where I found myself scratching my head with regards to who Adam is: "He keeps addressing you as son rather than by your name, and while you know that your father intends no harm, you find this verbal tic annoying, since it seems to deprive you of your personhood and transform you into an object, a thing."

Whoah. What an uptight prick. See -that's what's wrong with the world today. Everyone's Way too fucking offended by the stupidest things. There's rape going on somewhere. Get over youself, right?

He even says, "and while you know that your father intends no harm" -Then give the guy a Break if you Know that, and if you Know that, then you should Also Know that you're uptight prick. Seriously.

My dad calls me son all the time. Doesn't "deprive me of my personhood." No matter What kind of "personhood" I have, I'll always be my father's "son" and that's that. He'll call me that until he dies and that's fine with me. You know why? Because I'm his fucking son. What a concept!

I believe Adam Walker just thinks way too much and lets Way too much bother him -and that's why I"m having a hard time relating to him.

On the flipside, then he goes and says something Gripping like This: "Over your mother's shoulder, you see your father observing you with that distant, shut-down look in his eyes, and you know he doesn't have the first idea what to make of you, that you have always been a mystery to your father, a person beyond understanding, but for now, for once in your life, you find yourself in accord with him, for the truth of the matter is that you, too, have no idea what to make of yourslef, and yes, even to yourself, you are a person beyond understanding."

I almost cried when I read this. Now That, I can relate to -and I've felt this Exact Same Way before. I couldn't have written it better myself, and I actually felt like this was Me talking to Me.

This was the best passage that I've read in this book so far. Stuff like that will keep me reading whether I think the main character is an overly sensitive whine baby or not.

Good stuff.

Amazing book in my opinion. I had never heard of Auster before reading this, but I am excited to add him to my list of authors to check out. This novel was an easy, interesting read that I had a hard time puting down. It only took me 2 days to read, which is a personal best for me.

I was initially disappointed at the lack of closure at the end, but when I began obsessing over the possible scenarios, about what parts of the story were true and what were delusions of an old man, I realized that Auster had done his job. He also taught me a little something about the power of perspective. I am by no means a writer, but I found that "removing myself from myself" is an effective technique to assess my feelings in real life situations.

As a student of psychology, I found this passage particularly interesting as well. I find any insight into the workings of the human brain to be extremely fascinating.

What passage are you talking about?

I tried to post this as a reply to chewandswallow's comment where they quoted that "thought cannot exist without language"... not sure why it posted down here. I'm new to the discussion board.

Oh, yeah they all just go in one long thread. If you want to reply to somebody specifically - you hit the quote button. It will quote their post.

Was not at all a bad read, but what was the point? When you get to the end the feeling I got was indifference towards the characters and story. They all seemed to have such a strong connection to this Walker guy, and he really was not that impressive, I was more curious what was going to come of Born. And did the sister/brother thing happen? Guess it doesn't really matter. Bring on February's book.

I just finished Invisible -literally just now. Got sidetracked because I took a writing intensive with Mark for most of January and February, but I came back to this book and finished today.

I see Cecile's account of her final encounter with Born as a vindication of Walker -just speaking to his claims about Born before he was forced to leave France.

Cecile expresses how she's inclined to believe Born without proof -but once she comes to see how mad he is, I think she's placing her bets with Adam, and more importantly, she's at peace with it. She just had to see for herself, you know?

The thing is, Auster throws a wrench in there with Gwyn disputing Adam's claims pertaining to their relationship. So that leaves some doubt about Adam as well -that's what I found most interesting.

But with everything else he said checking out, and with Born's character coming into question, not only by Walker, but now Cecile too by the end, I'm thinking that Gwyn was embarrassed and Adam was telling the truth.

But that's where we're at by the end of the book...

Overall, I did not feel like it was a waste of time -but not exactly worthy of my time, meaning I don't feel cheated, disappointed, or anything like that -but I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone.

There's not much to recommend here. Also, based on my reading experience with Invisible, I'm not picking up another Auster novel any time soon.

I will say that the biggest strength of this book for me was how easy it was to read -I could breeze through twenty or thirty pages at a time -but that's a testament to the Writing Style, Not the Story. The story, overall, was boring.

Not boring enough, though -I was able to finish this vs. a couple of other books I tried out recently.

Invisible isn't a bad read. It's just not anything impressive or engaging. I agree with a lot of what MDBoynton said above -I couldn't relate to Adam Walker and felt indifferent to pretty much everyone in the book with the exception of Walker's long lost writing buddy who's trying to put the pieces of his life together. I wanted some kind of pay off for Him, but unless I missed something, I'm not sure that there was. He's left with as much as the reader.