3.5
I discovered Auster (though he was probably known then to everyone but me) about 12 years ago; I thought I had read more than a couple of his books as I certainly bought more, but it seems I never caught up. I don’t remember what I read but I was left with a sense that this was a ‘difficult’ author. However, I’ve always been left with the feeling that I’d also enjoyed his books, so I took a chance with this ARC.

As often happens when I request a book, the idea of reading this was more appealing than finding the right moment to sit down and open it – especially as I’m finding every book a chore lately. However, I found a warm, funny, inviting opening that made me want to continue.

Baumgartner is a nearly retired professor (a Princeton professor and little idea about where the story was going of course had me thinking of JCO!), widowed about a decade ago. The story is a patchwork of different points of his life and that of his parents’, mixed with extracts from his wife’s past taken from her writings. The further I read, the more he rambled and, as is usual when I can’t see the destination, he started to lose me – I missed the calamitous, lovable Baumgartner from the opening scenes.

I have to agree with the headline of the Guardian review I’ve just seen: ‘amiable aimlessness’. I enjoyed the book and the character, but I would have loved a little more cohesion or linearity in the telling – I was left craving organisation and resolution. Having said that, it is still a much more accessible book than I had expected.

I am now inspired to go back and read more Auster – starting with those well-intentioned purchases from more than a decade ago.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic!

In his latest novel, "Baumgartner," Paul Auster masterfully weaves a tapestry of memory, love, and the profound impact of ordinary moments on the human experience.

Sy Baumgartner, a phenomenologist, accomplished author, and philosophy professor on the cusp of retirement, has been indelibly marked by the tragic loss of his wife, Anna, nearly a decade ago. At 71, Baumgartner grapples with the daily challenge of navigating life in the wake of her absence, and Auster deftly guides the reader through the intricacies of memory and emotion.

The novel unfolds like a series of interconnected snapshots, tracing the arc of Sy and Anna's relationship from their initial encounter as students, to the subsequent four decades of their relationship. Interspersed with these moments are glimpses into Baumgartner's youth and family in Newark.

Auster's prose is, as always, a luminous feature, with its unique ability to resonate on a deeply personal level, as though he is engaged in a silent conversation with the reader's innermost thoughts. The novel is imbued with a compassionate lens, a keen wit, and an acute appreciation for the transient beauty found in the smallest, most fleeting instances of everyday life. In "Baumgartner," Auster poses a fundamental question: why do certain moments linger in our memories while others fade away? Through the lens of Baumgartner's life, the novel becomes a luminous exploration of this question, capturing not just a singular existence but several lifetimes within its pages.

While the brilliance of Auster's writing is evident, there is unfulfilled anticipation, an expectation for a revelation or development that never quite materializes in the expected manner. Albeit intentional—a deliberate choice to mirror the way memories and experiences don't always adhere to a linear or predictable structure—there is still a sense of something being amiss.

"Baumgartner" stands as a testament to Auster's prowess in crafting narratives that deeply resonate with the human experience. Even when the expected plot trajectories seem to beckon another chapter, Auster's ability to navigate the unexpected and delve into the nuances of existence elevates the novel into a poignant exploration of the complexities that define our lives.

Many thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC!

My thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title.
It has been a LONG time since I have last read Auster. I'm not sure why, he has always been an author I admired. And reading this makes me want to pick up some of his earlier work. Prolific - this is his 20th novel, and then there are volumes of poems and nonfiction as well.
With Auster's usual all-seeing narrator we are introduced to widower and Princeton U Philosophy prof Seymour/Sy/S.T. Baumgartner. The book opens with him at age 70, and the day he is having makes me wonder if we won't see him strolling down the street in a few pages, with no idea who he is, where he is, or why he is there.
I am about to turn 71. Yes, dementia and physical limitations do begin to kick in - but I know very few 70 year olds who are as handicapped as Sy is in this first chapter. Then, the next thing we know it, Sy is involved with a younger woman, and writing another philosophical text for publication.
The story here is all over the place, but not in a bad way. It is Baumgartner's life. Portions of the book include parts of his deceased wife's (gone 10 years, I believe it is) unpublished memoirs (she was a translator and [during her life] an unpublished poet). And family histories - including that of his mother, nee Auster! It is unclear how much of this family history is a fictional heritage and how much of it is Auster's actual own (if any!).
The ending is the most "open ended" ending I have ever experienced in decades. I hope Auster, who is now in his late-mid 70's, has the time, and interest, in going back and finishing Sy's story off for us.
I am glad I read it, but I do have issues with his portrayal of a feeble 70 year old S. T. - who just pages later is writing a philosophical tract and having sex.
I have to admit that reading Auster writing about an elderly man is a little hard to wrap my head around,. This is the man who in the '80's flashed before the literary public with his stories of young NYC hipsters.
But, yes, reading this most recent Auster makes me want to read more Auster, which is what is important here.
3/4 out of 5

This novella is a patchwork quilt made up of the current life of a retired professor in his seventies, his memories and his hopes for the future. It wrong-footed me to start with, as the book starts with Sy Baumgartner having a bad day, beginning when he realises a book he needs is downstairs, drops a hot pan and then is interrupted constantly by doorbells and telephones, unable to find a moment to phone his sister. The day goes from bad to worse when a young man arrives to read the meter. It is all very reminiscent of any number of books about grumpy old men. But then it turns away from this well-worn path. We learn that Sy lost his wife Anna in a tragic accident about ten years ago. He has time to reminisce about her, he always feels her presence and realises that she would want him to live his life to the full. He has taken advantage of this knowledge, by having affairs and had hopes for another deep connection with another woman. If Anna taught him one thing, it was that you are never really dead until there is nobody left who has a deep connection with you. It’s therefore not surprising that Sy does connect with other people, he mentors and advises them. Towards the end of the novel, he is excited to meet a student who is coming to study Anna’s unpublished letters and poems, and he has built strong relationships with his cleaning lady and her family, and a young man who once rescued him and could have disappeared without trace, but was also brought into Sy’s orbit.

Another feature of this novel are the reworkings of existing work and references back to previous Auster books. The fact that Baumgartner is a substitute for Auster himself is obvious. Professor Baumgartner’s mother’s maiden name was Ruth Auster (sound familiar?) and Sy is inspired to write down an account of a trip to his grandfather’s hometown in Ukraine, where a man tells him the improbable story of The Wolves of Stanislav. This is included in its entirety and is, in fact, a story by a certain Paul Auster, previously published by LitHub.

As for references back to previous work, Sy’s wife Anna worked at a publisher’s for Morris Heller. He has featured before in Auster’s Sunset Park, together with his son Miles. Anna Blume herself was featured in In the Country of Last Things, translated into French as Le Voyage d'Anna Blume. I love it when authors do this; it’s why I enjoy Ali Smith and David Mitchell so much. It will definitely inspire me to read more of Paul Auster’s previous work, both fiction and autobiography. I only wish this novella had been longer.

Disclaimer: My thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital ARC for free. This did not influence the enthusiasm of my review.

I assume nowadays that booker prize chosen author's books are never upto my tastes. Last I had read a winner of booker prize which I really did not like and now this. Paul Auster's 4321 was 2017 booker longlist. Maybe it will be good but given the writing style, I highly doubt that will be the case.

This book has painfully long sentences and I do not understand why. Adding numerous commas to a single sentence and making it long for no apparent reason is beyond my comprehension. It really annoyed me.

I really enjoyed the first few pages of Baumgartner. It was interesting, beautifully written. Till the point when Baumgartner starts thinking about his late wife Anna and then somehow it all went downhill. The slope was so steep that it went below ground even.

Not my cup of tea is all I can say about it.

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic press for ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This somehow was my first reading of Auster, but it will not be my last. I adored this book. Sy was such a lovely man caught up in the difficulties of aging and the loss of his wife. The gradual details of his life story was fascinating and the slow reveal of the other characters was charming The book drew me in completely. This was a most memorable read for me. Brilliant!

Nothing but dithering. The ruminations of an old man about being old -- do I mean the character ruminating about being old, or Paul Auster? As is so often the case with Auster, it's hard to tell. But virtually nothing happens in this book, which can be fine, but at times it doesn't feel like a case of "intentional low stakes, day-in-the-life realism" but rather "I don't know what to write about so I will write about nothing." A glaring example is near the very end of the book where Auster writes

<blockquote>So Baumgartner bundles up in his warmest winter clothes and warmest winter jacket, goes off to the garage, and plants his body behind the wheel of his four-year-old Subaru Crosstrek, a hybrid model that alternately runs on gasoline and battery-generated electric power.</blockquote>

Why yes, Paul, that is what a hybrid car does, thank you for explaining it for your unfrozen caveman readers. The level of detail in this sentence is nonsensical and serves no purpose aside from padding out its length -- and the book is only 208 pages, so maybe his editors didn't want to be too aggressive.

It all feels like a tossed-off piece of Austerian fluff, and I suppose I can't really blame him for his heart not really being in it (read up on Paul Auster's personal life the last few years and you can't help but feel for him; but, you'd never believe the amount of personal upheaval he's experienced based on the hum-drum plot here). But I can't say it was really worth my time.

This novel is a story of love, loss and resilience. The protagonist, Sy Baumgartner, is an endearing writer and retired philosophy professor in his 70s who lost his wife a decade ago. We read about his life story as well as his wife's, who was also a writer, and the stories are mixed with small texts and essays that they wrote throughout their lives. He also tells about his grief, how to live on after loosing the love of one's life, and how to love again. I found this novel both beautiful and heartbreaking, but also full of hope.

Baumgartner is one of the best books I read this year. It's about how people cope with aging and life and what facts have meaning or not as years go by and you are almost at the end of your time in this earth. Baumgartner - main character - is endearing and his love for living is powerful. Beautiful, moving and full of food for thought.
I thank Mr. Auster, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Baumgartner is a beautiful book, about an aging but prolific writer and professor emeritus, who grieves the loss of his beloved poet-wife Anna, and perseveres. Through their journal entries, personal letters, poems and manuscript excerpts, we get to know Seymour (aka Sy, or ST) Baumgartner and the love of his life, Anna Blume. Descriptive passages about their respective childhoods, personalities, physical characteristics, and Sy's process of grieving gave such shape, depth and warmth to this couple. I loved how so many minor characters and fleeting incidents at the beginning of the book factor back in towards the end, years later.

Although a work of fiction, there are what appear to be semi-autobiographical bits and nods running throughout this book. I watched a clip of a Paul Auster interview about this book where he sums it up as being about "aging, loss, grief, ones relationship to oneself, ones memories, and the vital connections we feel."

Wonderful and sad. Auster in the most challenging time of his life, with a tradegy on his back and he's writing such a book. Never to disappoint. Thank you. I will read all of his former books again after this one.

4.5 stars

The reader is introduced to Sy Baumgartner, aged 71 years, through a torrent of happenings in flowing sentences that feel very much like a hyperactive mind trying hard and failing with sequencing and multi-tasking. A downfall often of a creative mind, but also one preoccupied with lived-in grief. Baumgartner is a noted author, a respected philosophy professor, and a lost widower who has left his study in search of a book while remembering to call his sister only to get interrupted by the phone when the meter reader calls to apologize for being late to an appointment time that Baumgartner doesn't remember making only to discover he has scorched a pot of water from having left the burner on.

His day continues with this same forging ahead at a sprinter's pace, as the confluence of tiny little events, that could've gone one way or the other, unfold and allow a continuous stream of Baumgartner both looking to the past and looking to the future. It is the present in which he is stuck, stagnant, and adrift. Nine years earlier, his wife Anna died in a tragic swimming accident, and Baumgartner has remained in this holding pattern of life, orchestrated without purpose by his grief and subsequent loneliness.

The rest of the novel is made up of stops along the way as Baumgartner continues to learn to live without Anna while honoring her memory and keeping her connected to him, meanwhile trying to wake himself up and carry on moving forward. In the continued excavation of memory, stories, and minutiae, Auster gives us pieces of Anna through her written, unpublished work. Baumgartner collects some of her poetry and gets that published in what is described as "a monument of singing pages that will overwhelm the silence of Anna's grave," but it's through her brief passages of memoir, and Baumgartner's own ever-flowing recollections, that we get to know Anna a bit more.

The depth of tenderness cannot be overstated in this slim novel, but Auster also injects his usual playful bits of humor, both directly in the story and indirectly — straight from his proverbial pen. One of the elements I found rich with wit were the constant pelting of dates and anchors of time that are otherwise floating in the air seemingly randomly inserted into a passage and truly otherwise meaningless.

"It has been four days since he wrote the last sentence of his book. Immediately after that, he printed out a copy of the two-hundred-and-sixty-one-page manuscript and put it in a drawer of his desk, telling himself not to look at it again for another month or six weeks, that is not until the middle or the end of November. Then, two days after that (October 17, 2019), which was just two days ago, something unexpected happened, and on the strength of that something, a buoyant, newly inspired Baumgartner has rolled up his sleeves and plunged into the work of meeting the challenge it presents."


Baumgartner is a continuation of what is seemingly Paul Auster's life's work of playing with concepts, experimenting with ideas, and exploring the what-if moments, the in between pauses, and the split-second decisions that veer a path in a different direction. In 4321, something I consider a masterpiece in and of itself, Auster channels this inventiveness into creating four different versions of the same character, all playing out in different ways so that the little redirections are evident. In Oracle Night, Auster has written himself as a writer who then writes himself into a novel as a writer, again so that he can carry on exploring himself (most likely) and the psyche of the way authors create their stories and characters, and the impact of life-altering events. These are continuing themes and there is often so much of Auster in his characters — who are often writers themselves. Archie Ferguson in 4321 was only something of an exception because while one iteration was a writer another was interested in cinema, and so on. Still, no true exception there, especially since they begin in the places and with the ways in which Auster also begins. New Jersey. Immigrant grandparents. Widowed mothers. Effervescent lovers. And Baumgartner is solidly in this realm.

While that may seem that Auster only travels in one lane, that would be such an oversimplified and wrong-footed interpretation that the beauty of his words would be missed. His tendency for meandering sentences and run-on ideas that feel like digitized beams of light that must be chased or followed is in full force here and I loved it.

This short novel was such a soothing and contemplative read. Its premise is straightforward — it captures a string of reminiscences by a widower in his 70s, thinking back on his marriage, his family, his work, and his legacy in the years following his wife’s passing. But its meandering style and grounded narration added in some subtle artistry and took it to another level for me, resulting in a quiet, unassuming reflection on grief and memory.

I loved it, and actually enjoyed it more and more as it progressed. This is likely to be a fairly divisive read for folks, though — character-driven readers will lap it up, plot-driven readers are more likely to throw it out a window and scream 😂 But for the character-inclined, this is a PERFECT “curl up in one cold afternoon” book and I would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to the author, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for my digital copy. Baumgartner is out TODAY!

Tender and loving - this is a beautifully written account of Sy Baumgarter in his twilight years reflecting on his life. It is as stunning as all work by Auster and stays in the consciousness long after the last page. The ending troubled me - the only reason I am dropping one star. Maybe it is appropriate as it reflects life - had the ending been more satisfying, it would have been a perfect novel for me.




Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Baumgartner took my breathe away. I love the trope of an older person reflecting on their life and this quiet version of that is one of the best things I've read this year. This moved me and affected me and is now a part of me. Thank you, Paul Auster.

I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first book I have read by Paul Auster. I am going back now to read his previous novels. This book made me laugh and cry. You will fall in love with the main character.

This short novel is reflective, and tender – a detailed character study and poignant portrayal of aging.

Septuagenarian Sy Baumgartner is an author and philosophy professor at Princeton. His life has been defined by his love for Anna, his wife who died in a swimming accident almost a decade earlier. Via his revisited memories and some of his and Anna’s writings, we learn about Sy’s youth in Newark, the background of his parents, his first meetings with Anna, and their 40-year relationship.

This novel is character-driven, not plot-driven. Not much happens. The narrative follows Sy’s recollections which do not follow a chronological order. The style, almost stream-of-consciousness, approximates how memories work. Sentences are often very lengthy, again suggesting the flow of memories.

I found Sy, whose full name is Seymour Tecumseh Baumgartner, a relatable character since I too am in my twilight years when there are more years behind than ahead of me. He’s intelligent and has a great sense of humour. He’s coming to terms with his past, especially the losses he has experienced, and the present and what lies ahead with the mental and physical challenges of aging.

It is Sy’s grieving of the loss of Anna that stands out. He describes himself as a human stump whose “innermost part” is dead: “a half man who has lost the half of himself that had made him whole, and yes, the missing limbs are still there, and they still hurt, hurt so much that he sometimes feels his body is about to catch fire and consume him on the spot.”

Nonetheless he still wants to live, even if “to live is to feel pain.” He knows that “to live in fear of pain is to refuse to live” so he accepts that and decides to follow his father’s wishes that he “fight the good fight.” An unexpected letter gives Sy a new lease on life; as he awaits the arrival of Beatrix Coen, whom he describes as a bookend of his life, he “is half out of his skin with anticipation, like a restless boy counting down the days until school lets out for the summer.”

Then there’s an abrupt ending; its ambiguity will leave many readers unsatisfied and perhaps even angry. I found it perfect. The last event is so ironic in light of Baumgartner’s overwhelming fears for Beatrix. And considering the central metaphor of his last book which he has just finished writing, his experiencing a “breakdown in the heart of motor city” is just so apropos.

This quiet novel with its introspective protagonist made me think of Elizabeth Strout’s novels, particularly the Amgash series featuring Lucy Barton. Readers wanting an action-filled book should look elsewhere, but readers who enjoy reflective novels which examine the complexities of relationships and the human condition are in for a treat.

This meditation on a life is a lovely read. For me, it was a little like sitting with an older family member telling me about his life and I have always loved that kind of storytelling.

This is my first Paul Auster novel; with that being said, I am now thoroughly excited to dig deeper into this author's oeuvre.

A profound character study of a man whose advancing years are shaped by mourning and memory, "Baumgartner" will surely strike a resonant chord with his readers.

Sy Baumgartner, the protagonist of our story, is struggling with the challenges of aging and the passage of time. At the age of seventy, he realizes that he can no longer afford to be hesitant and indecisive. As he navigates through a day filled with minor accidents and mishaps, we meander down a path of memories of the past, including his life with Anna, whom he met in 1968, and the profound impact she had on his life. We also learn about his immigrant parents and his childhood in Newark, culminating in a scholarship that allowed him to escape. The story is interspersed with excerpts from Anna's writings and Baumgartner's own memories.

One of the standout features of the book is how effortlessly Auster guides readers through the memories of Baumgartner. His writing is approachable and edifying, allowing readers to inundate themselves in the protagonist's state of consciousness quickly. This simplicity in narrative style makes it easy for readers to understand our main character's complexities and their experiences. While I understand Paul Auster departs from the postmodern pyrotechnics that have defined much of his acclaimed career, Auster's simple and profound prose within "Baumgartner" takes readers on a captivating hero's journey nonetheless.

Lovely. So well written that I felt like I was in the room watching Baumgartner write and walk and think. This is a story of an academic in his 70s having lost his wife and learning how to live in this new stage of life. There’s little linear plot - a lot of reflection of his family and his life - and I enjoyed it all. The writing. Whew. Beautiful.