by Paul Auster

This was recommended to me by a regular Waterstone’s customer and I hereby pass the wisdom on to you. Paul Auster, by chance another New Jersey author, has written a prolific array of novels, poems, plays and essays over nigh on four decades. Timbuktu (published 1999) is by no means his latest work (see Sunset Song) but is the first I’ve read and makes me want to read more. Mr Bones – a canine mutt of indeterminate parentage – is the main protagonist and the story comprises his thoughts and understandings of humanity as he travels across America with a variety of human companions, the first and main being one Willy Christmas, an idealistic tramp via whom Mr Bones gets a wonderfully anti-establishment take on life. Sounds odd? Please believe me, it’s a great read, and by the end you will love that dog as if he were your very own!

©Julia Welstead 2010