883. Mr. Vertigo

Mr. Vertigo
Paul Auster
1994
Around 256 pages

I have fond memories of this book, as I first read it on the last day of high school. As you may have surmised, I did not have the easiest time there, so that was my Andy DuFresne climbing out of the sewer moment. I'm pretty sure I would love this book in any case though, because Auster is a genius.

This is the story of Walter Claireborne Rawley. Walt is a neglected orphan dwelling on the streets of St. Louis. Master Yehudi takes Walt to a house in the countryside to teach Walt how to fly. I feel like we have seen the "older mobster takes down on his luck kid under his wing" a thousand times in mafia stories, so this was a fun twist on that trope. And magic always makes things more fun.

This could have just been an entertaining tale about kid learning magic, but in true Auster style, he imbues his novel with social commentary. I loved watching Walt's worldview slowly change over time, as he experienced and grew from failure after failure.

It's going to be difficult picking my favorite Auster novel, I always have a great time with this guy.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Terry Gilliam announced plans to adapt this book in 2018. I take it it's not going well.

UP NEXT: The End of the Story by Lydia Davis