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Read Oracle Night (2003)

Oracle Night (2003)

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Rating
3.76 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0965913228 (ISBN13: 9780965913225)
Language
English
Publisher
henry holt

Oracle Night (2003) - Plot & Excerpts

هذه اول رواية اقرأها لبول أوستر، احد اشهر كتاب امريكا المعاصرين، ولن تكون الاخيرة ان شاء الله...شيقة جدا وذات حبكة قوية.. متداخله الأمكنة والازمنة...تدور عن كاتب روائي يدعى "سندي أور" يشرع في كتابة رواية جديدة بعد تماثله للشفاء، مستخدما دفتر أزرق برتغالي الصنع، سيكون له فيما بعد سحرا ابداعياً على بطله وينقلنا أوستر بين روايته هذه وبين نص الرواية التي يكتبها بطله "سندي" وبطلها الاخر "نيك بوين" وهو محررا في دار نشر في نيويوركمعاناة الكاتب ومخاض الابداع الروائي هما جوهر الرواية، الأحساس بالزمن، الحاضر، الماضي، والتنبأ بالمستقبل، هي ادوات الكاتب في حبكته السردية المتداخلةكيف لحادثة عشوائية ان تغير حياة انسان؟ وتجعله بمواجهة قدراً جديدا؟ وهل ينجح في ألاّ يفكر في الماضي ويمضي قُدماً؟هل نحن مسجونون بالحاضر؟ ان تركنا للماضي وتنبئنا بالمستقبل، كلاهما قد يقضيان علينا.. فاللحظة الراهنة وإن كانت "سجناً" هي الأهم وربما الأفضل.هل هناك فعلا قدرة تنبؤية للكتابة الابداعية؟ ومن هذه الفكرة بالذات تبرز فكرة" ليلة التنبؤ " و ليلة التنبؤ هي نص روائي -فلسفي قصير عن التنبؤ بالمستقبل- يصل الى نيك بوين، لكن يكون له دورا في حياته فيما بعد.. إذ يبدأ بوين في رؤية رابطة بين نفسه وبين قصة الرواية، بطريقة مجازية غير مباشرة " كان الكتاب يتكلم معه بشكل وثيق وحميم عن ظروفه الخاصة الحالية". يصل سندري اور الى طريق مسدود في روايته، ونحتار معه في كيفيه اخراج بطله " بوين" من سجنه.. لكنه في النهاية يمزق روايته هذه بعد ان عجز عن اخراج بطله، وبعد ان تتعقد حياته مع زوجته واصدقائه. وفي شدة معاناته مع كل هؤلاء، يتذكر سندي دفتره الازرق، وبطله المسجون، فيقرر ان يكتب قصة اخرى " قصة تخيلية تحليلية" عن زوجته وعن شكوكه نحوها. وبعد امتلاء الدفتر الازرق، يقرر تمزيقه الى قطع صغيرة، وحتى الصفحات البيضاء يمزقها، وهو بهذا يشير الى تركه للماضي وقراره ببدأ حياة جديدة مع نص جديد..دخولي لعالم " بول أوستر" بدأ برؤيتي لفلم "دخانSmok" وهو من تأليفه، من الفلم ومن هذه الرواية " ليلة التنبؤ" اعتقد ان أوستر يستخدم عناصر اساسية في رواياته، فلابد من ان يكون هنالك كاتب يعاني فيما يكتب، وهناك دخان، وهناك تنقل بالزمن من خلال الصور واستخدام الكاميرا، واستعراض مراحل الحياة من خلال الصور ايضا، فبعض ابطاله " كما في دخان" يستخدم كاميرته في تصوير نفس الزاوية- وهي الجادةالي امام دكانه- وبنفس الوقت يوميا ولمدة خمس سنوات، لكن كل لقطة هي لقطة جديدة، اذ هناك مارة جدد وصباح جديد. وفي هذه الرواية " ليلة التنبؤ" ايضا هنالك البومات صور تؤثر في حياة بطل روايته واشخاص آخرين يمرون بنا سريعا في الرواية..السرقة وتعارض الحاجة للمال، من قبل الكاتب، وتسرعه في إنتاجه الابداعي زاوية اخرى يسلط عليها اوستر الضوء..ليلة التنبؤ رواية ارشح قراءتها بشوق و" دخان" فلم ورواية ارشحهما بقوة اكبر.. ربما لتمتعي بهما اكثر.

I'm starting to really understand why some people who like Auster well enough don't necessarily look forward to the upcoming Auster book, and think that he should probably take an extended break once in a while, or stop writing novels, period. That probably sounds like a flippant remark, a mark of real dissatisfaction with at least this Auster novel, but it's not, really. Because I like Auster, and I have no problem with artists who endlessly explore permutations of themes and characters that fascinate them, instead of attempting to be "fresh," whatever that's supposed to mean. The downside of that approach, though, is that certain books are inevitably going to seem like too much of the same thing, even if they actually aren't. Invisible, written well after this book, in 2009, treads familiar Austerian character and thematic terrain, and his prose style is pretty uniform across most of his work, but Invisible is pretty fucking good. Oracle Night is just good. I could rate it either the goodreads 2 star [it was ok] or the goodreads 3 star [liked it]. In general, it's pretty forgettable. I just finished it, and don't remember a lot of it, though it was compelling while I was reading it, and some images and passages linger. Paul Auster does what he does well. Sometimes he does it very well. I've yet to come across any duds in Paul Auster's fiction, or even real mediocrities by the broader literary fiction scene's standards, but books like this one and Sunset Park and The Brooklyn Follies aren't particularly memorable, and I suspect several of the Auster books I haven't read are of similar quality. I also suspect there are some Auster books I haven't read that are on par with The New York Trilogy, Invisible, or his film Smoke. In my experience thus far, it never hurts to pick up a book by Auster, but it's also rarely the kind of exquisite literary reward you want it to be, the kind of reward the last three titles I mentioned above are.

What do You think about Oracle Night (2003)?

A story within a story within a story, with intersecting characters. Fiction is interspersed with facts. It would have been confusing, but Paul Auster’s narrative ensured otherwise. Probably it was because of the many footnotes that explain certain events and characters...It was actually all good until the end. The story and the sub-stories have a lot of peaks, but why does it feel like I’m in a valley after I’ve finished the book? Is it the same case as the sub-stories in the book – for one manuscript, our protagonist got into a bind when he didn’t know how his main character would be able to get out after he was locked in the underground room so he abandoned that project; in another case, the manuscript got lost somewhere inside the subway train - this book seems to also have lost the last chapters that would have been the proper conclusion. I felt I was left hanging and asking, “what’s the point?” I don’t get it. I would have given this 3 stars if only because of the high points, but that would be cheating.
—Nenette

My favorite part of Paul Auster's writing is his descriptions of interpersonal relationships, be they familial, romantic, business, etc. He manages to nail so many details and nuances so beautifully without being trite or florid or faking anything. And this novel fits that bill to the t. The Sid/Grace relationship was brilliantly fleshed out and detailed for a novel under 250 pages, with each character seemingly intensely real, their relationship understandable and believable. But, Auster is more generally known for his analysis of the writing craft and the depth of meaning/confusion of of language, so I suppose I should also note that this novel does this quite well. He mixes the traditional Auster mystery (somewhat hard-boiled, this time focused on the relationship of the written word to the shapings of reality) with a tragic hero, both in the novel itself and the novel within the novel that Sid writes. But the conclusion, which is striking in its ultimate ANSWER to the literature as prophecy discussion is, left me near tears. Great.
—Adam

'If you have never read Auster before,' proclaims a quote displayed on the cover of this edition of Oracle Night, 'this is the place to start.' I hadn't read Auster before beginning this book, but I'd been meaning to for a while - especially since I've now read three of his wife (Siri Hustvedt)'s books and have gathered that their work ie very similar in style and theme. I wasn't out looking for an Auster book, I was just browsing at the library, but when I spotted it, the intriguing summary and that quote were good enough for me.Oracle Night is short, but packed with detail. It's a multi-layered story, beginning with Sidney Orr - a novelist who is recovering from a severe illness - buying a unique Portuguese notebook in a rather odd stationery store. On the recommendation of his friend, also a novelist, Sidney begins to flesh out an idea for a story concerning a man who suffers a near-death experience and impulsively leaves his wife and home, resolving to start his life anew in a different city. The narrative follows both the progression of this tale and its protagonist Nick Bowen, and the 'real' story of Sidney, whose relationship with his wife Grace (the history of which is detailed in a number of footnotes) begins to flounder soon after he acquires the notebook. Meanwhile, Sidney attempts to re-write HG Wells' The Time Machine as a modern film script, turning it into an unconventional romance, and the Nick narrative also has a further strand wherein the character is profoundly affected by the contents of a lost manuscript, the title of which is Oracle Night. Like I said, multi-layered.There are definitely elements of the weird about this story - the disappearance and relocation of the Paper Palace and its enigmatic proprietor, the 'powers' of the notebook - but it isn't a paranormal or fantasy novel. This really appealed to me - I love the combination of literary prose and hints of the unexplained. I also LOVED the writing. It is very like Hustvedt's, though it's also quite easy to tell the difference. Despite all the intricacies of the plot, it often seems secondary to the way the story is told, the ideas it explores. There are parallels galore and the book often touches on the relationship between fiction and reality and/or language and action.I'd have liked this book to be longer (and it easily could have been), but overall it was a fantastic read which piqued my interest in Auster enough for me to go straight on to another of his books - The New York Trilogy - after finishing it.
—Blair

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