Paul Benjamin Auster, the acclaimed American writer, passed away on 30 April 2024 at the age of 77 due to complications from lung cancer. Known for his profound exploration of solitude and isolation, Auster’s body of work includes 18 novels, as well as poems, translations, memoirs, essays, and screenplays created over a span of 50 years.
He once described the novel as “the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy.” His unique realm of chance, mystery, wonder, and happenstance resonated deeply with readers, creating a sense of personal connection and admiration.
Auster’s writing, while often bizarre and uncanny, felt to his readers like truth-telling with mesmerizing force. He restored the realm of miracles and fateful catastrophes to American literature, frequently quoting philosopher Pascal’s assertion that “it is not possible to have a reasonable belief against miracles.” Despite his reputation as a postmodern sorcerer of prose, he was also a sociable figure in the New York literary scene, known for his warm storytelling and agile wit. For four decades, he lived in Brooklyn with his second wife, writer Siri Hustvedt, with whom he shared a close literary partnership.
Auster’s career was marked by the same element of chance that drove his stories. His breakthrough work, City of Glass (1985), part of the New York Trilogy, launched him to fame after 17 rejections. Despite being perceived as a cool cult author, his pseudonymous earlier work, Squeeze Play (1982), a baseball-based crime caper under the name “Paul Benjamin,” revealed another facet of his talent. Auster’s love for baseball and his childhood disappointment at missing out on an autograph from his idol Willie Mays highlighted his human side. “I had quick reflexes and a strong arm – but my throws were often wild,” he once reminisced, reflecting on his early passion for the sport.
Oster restored the realm of miracles and fateful catastrophes to American literature, frequently quoting philosopher Pascal’s assertion that “it is not possible to have a reasonable belief against miracles”
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Auster’s early life and cultural experiences deeply influenced his work. His parents, Queenie (née Bogat) and Samuel Auster, were children of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. They set him on a path of upward mobility through education, though they remained enigmatic figures to him. His memoir The Invention of Solitude (1982) was an attempt to understand his father’s impenetrable life. Ghostly fathers would become a recurring theme in his work. At the age of 14, Auster witnessed a peer struck by lightning, an event that became a paradigm for the unpredictable nature of life, and this theme permeated his later novel 4321 (2017), which explores the concept of alternate realities.
At Columbia University, Auster studied literature and participated in the 1968 student protests before moving to Paris to work as a translator of French poetry. Living in a literal garret with writer Lydia Davis, he scraped by, returning to New York in 1974 with only nine dollars to his name. After marrying and subsequently divorcing Davis, with whom he had a son, Daniel, Auster continued to struggle financially. His memoir Hand to Mouth: A Chronicle of Early Failure (1997) captures these years of hardship.
In 1982, he married novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt, who became his first reader and trusted guide. Together, they had a daughter, Sophie. Their home in Brooklyn became a hub of literary creativity, with Auster writing in longhand before editing on his cherished Olympia typewriter. Hustvedt’s influence and support were instrumental in Auster’s prolific output. The success of the New York Trilogy (Ghosts and The Locked Room followed a year after City of Glass) solidified Auster’s status, attracting both celebrity and new opportunities. He ventured into screenwriting for arthouse films like Smoke and Blue in the Face (both 1995) and even directed The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007). His fiction, characterized by its enigmatic and hallucinatory aura, reached new heights with novels like The Music of Chance, Leviathan, and Mr Vertigo. Although some works leaned towards whimsy, stronger novels like The Brooklyn Follies (2005) continued to reflect contemporary American life with acute insight.
Paul Auster’s literary legacy is one of a world where the magic of chance and the reality of human emotion coexist. His works continue to resonate with readers, ensuring his place in the pantheon of great American writers
Auster was not only a literary figure but also an active participant in current affairs. He held office in the writers’ organization PEN, vehemently opposed the rise of Donald Trump, and often spoke about the core schism in American society between ruthless individualism and communal responsibility. His commitment to political engagement was evident in his writings and public statements.
Auster’s versatility as a storyteller was showcased in his editing of a Samuel Beckett centenary edition and his compilation of true stories from NPR listeners, revealing the strange forces at work in everyday life. His epic novel 4321 encapsulated his dual talents as a formalist and a social chronicler, sending a boy born in New Jersey in 1947 down four separate paths in life.
This monumental work, along with his 2021 biography of literary prodigy Stephen Crane, Burning Boy, demonstrated his ability to blend personal narrative with broader cultural commentary.
The ferocity of fate that scars Auster’s work also marked his personal life. Diagnosed with cancer in 2023, he continued to be prolific, publishing an impassioned essay on America’s gun culture, Bloodbath Nation, and his farewell novel, Baumgartner, in the same year. His final works reflect his enduring engagement with themes of grief, loss, and the unpredictability of life.
Paul Auster’s literary legacy is one of a world where the magic of chance and the reality of human emotion coexist. His works continue to resonate with readers, ensuring his place in the pantheon of great American writers. He is survived by his wife Siri Hustvedt, daughter Sophie, grandson, and sister Janet.