The New York Trilogy

now having read more auster, i find it easier to place his breakthrough piece. in essence, it's an assemblage of deconstructed forms, narratives, prose. each is compelling on standalone basis but together they often do not mix well. in particular, in all 3 sections, auster seems to dig himself the same hole as his writer protagonist in the later oracle night does, having penned a brilliant first 50 pages but unable to find a meaningful resolution beyond a reduction into dust. each section gets stronger, the last displaying an almost there version of the confident, all-conquering narrative voice that he masters in novel #2 and never loses