I just finished reading Paul Auster's Book of Illusions, and it was absolutely enthralling. He is a phenomenal author and just writes with such fierce intensity, the novel just pulls you along, I was honestly swept away for 2 days with this fantastic book.
The story is a story within a story, within a story. Professor David Zimmer has just lost his wife and two young sons in a freak plane accident and he is not doing so well. In a haze of drink and unconsciousness he somehow discovers a spark of life within the comedic moustache of one Hector Mann, a silent film actor of the 1920's. This unexpected spark takes him on a journey to discover the rare films of Mann, who made only 11 films before he disappeared off the face of the earth, still undiscovered, assumed dead. Thus he makes it his mission to become an expert on these films that somehow pulled him out of grief and somewhat back to life.
After publishing a scholarly work on Hector Mann's films, he receives a letter asking if he would like to meet Hector. As he struggles to determine whether this is some elaborate hoax or the genuine deal, a woman appears on his doorstep willing to explain Hector, his disappearance and taking them both on a journey that, I personally will never forget.
This book is so charged with emotions, layers and stories, filled with grief and loss, but also hope and redemption. I loved it.
