We are entering the last days of the first bout of pop culture with many figures aging out with just their work staying behind and it is with this aging that each new piece from a favourite author or any other kind of creative figure becomes more and more precious.

Baumgartner is the latest novel from Paul Auster and comes as a surprise following the epic 4 3 2 1 and see the eponymous character looking back upon his life with his late wife, his childhood and his ancestry.

It is very much a book of an old man looking back and it would be an interesting task to parse out the non-fiction from the fiction within this tale. There is the Austerian device of stories within stories as we read essays and poems by his late wife and tales written by Baumgartner himself.

It is a slim novel, but it is absolutely packed with substance and a book I found to be devastatingly sad in places. For me, the novel was let down only by it's ending which felt hollow compared with what had gone before it.

Suffice to say, I am delighted to have another Auster novel and hope there are at least a few more to come!

This was, despite his prolific career, my first Paul Auster reading experience. I am so pleased to have stumbled across this short character-driven work. The prose is beautiful. I found the detailed and rambling thoughts of Baumgartner more than relatable. They were created in an incredibly skillful way and I paused often to reflect on what seemed to be the multiple intentions of the author. Baumgartner was incredibly charming and I am no excited to begin my journey with the writing of Paul Auster.

Sy Baumgartner, 71, is about to retire from Princeton University. A phenomenologist and author, he most of all was husband to the love of his life, Anna, who died unexpectedly 10 years ago. As he looks back on his life we learn of his parents and early history, his coming of age and career development, and the ravages of loss and aging.

Do not expect a lot of action or intricate plot, but rather revel in the memories of a learned man as he comes to terms with the losses he has experienced in life, including the invincibility of youth. In this, the autumn of his life, he finds something to pull him out of reminisces of the past; something in which he looks forward to investing his time and energy.

I thought the explanation of the book he is writing, “Mysteries of the Wheel”, which will probably be his final piece, to be brilliant as an allegory of life in which “ (it is) a free-for-all of careening, out-of-control cars speeding down highways of loneliness and potential death.” Auster’s poignant portrayal of the physical and mental changes experienced in aging are painfully astute. And, oh, that ending!

This is not a book for everyone. It is a contemplative, character driven fictional memoir.

Thanks to #netgalley and #groveatlantic #Atlanticmonthlypress for the ARC

i’ve been a fan of paul auster’s novels ever since i first bumped into the new york trilogy during the third year of my degree — i loved it to bits, then went on to devour a number of his other novels, with brooklyn follies and sunset parks becoming my all-time favourites of his. 4321 was also very solid, albeit a little too long, and i had high hopes for this one. but unfortunately it didn’t deliver; even though auster’s writing is as neat as ever, i felt little to no sympathy towards baumgartner, who is yet another middle-aged widower mourning the death of his wife (has paul auster ever written a different sort of main character?). it’s not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with it, but i just felt a little… underwhelmed, i suppose. i did like the stories within baumgartner’s story, though — i thought they were a nice little touch that lifted the entire narrative a little bit. but yeah, i’m sad to report that it was nowhere near the author’s past brilliancy.

I was all set to give this a very possibly review, until I read the final paragraph. Omg, this from an author as able and achieved as Auster? We, his readers, deserve better.
Much of what precedes the disappointment is fine and interesting. The book’s terrain is life and literature, and the writing, in various voices , is notable. I was especially struck by the Sebaldian episode when Baumgartnee returns to the Ukrainian village of origin. Short, perceptive, low-key yet affecting at times, this is another notch in the Auster belt. Except for that maddening conclusion.

Ten years after the death of his wife Anna, Baumgartner finds himself still grieving, old and alone in his 70s. One night, Baumgartner is woken up by a ringing telephone in his wife‘s former study - except that line has been disconnected for years…

Tenderly, Auster tells the story of Baumgartner‘s life, the relationship to his parents, and first and foremost of his love for Anna. I loved Auster‘s persoective on aging, on the things that really matter when you mostly look back instead of looking forward despite there still being things to look forward to.

I really enjoyed the story quite a bit and was therefore surprised and disappointed when it ended rather abruptly. It was in fact so surprising that I thought that things might have been left out of the ARC.

Because of the abrupt ending I can only give three out of five stars to this novel.

This was really boring and messy. Parts of it I just didn't understand but maybe it was because I wasn't liking it. Will try Auster again but this was not a good introduction

The publisher’s description tells you all you need to know about the plot/story so I will not add to it. What it doesn’t tell you is this is a lovely, lovely book, beautifully and sympathetically written. Reading this feels like sitting down for a long chat with an old friend. It’s not gripping or fast paced but it is very compelling. I need to read more Auster and so should you.

Paul Auster is back - and we're all the better for it. Once again he has written a novel that feels quite autobiographical at times, what with the thoughts about aging and flashbacks to the past. The short stories woven into the main story were wonderful to read as well. Not my favorite Auster novel perhaps but then again his writing never disappoints.

Auster takes a break from his existential men and turns his attention to old age, a year in the life of Seymour, Sy, Baumgartner, Jewish, scholar, widower of roughly a decade. During that decade he kept busy working, as a philosopher he writes about Kierkegaard, not Kierkegaard the existentialist, Kierkegaard the humorist of numerous pseudonyms. Baumgartner sees his solitary life as a writer as a bit Kafkaesque—that similarities to the characters of Samuel Beckett escape him may be his identification with realism of his personal history. His genealogy is rich with stories, one of them incredulous. As his memory begins to fail, certain memories become crucial to revisit and savor in what time he has left. Memories of his parents and Anna, his wife, poet and professor, idealist to his realist. After her death by freak accident, with work time passes and when he burrows out from a project, he believes he’s ready for a new wife.

Auster does not make this slapstick. Loneliness and desire are distanced of what has become the trite and familiar, the expected ridiculing an old man to set him up for ultimate tragedy. Instead, Auster has written a careful character study of a man who made concessions and lived his life, which, dull as it might seem in the moment—know that an existential moment, late in the book, does not make an existential character nor an existential novel—is not done. Not one of Auster’s best, but worth reading.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

As a young adult, when my parents and their cohorts were aging, I remember them saying that the golden years are not very golden. Paul Auster, in Baumgartnet, takes a look at the aging process through the eyes of Princeton Professor, Seymour Baumgartner. Rife with philosophical wisdom, and flashbacks to happier days, Baumgartner tries to come to terms with what IS versus what WAS.
After two at home accidents , 71 year old Sy is at a place in his life where retirement looms and the best days of his life with his deceased wife, Anna, are but cherished memories. What might have been a morose diatribe, instead is a beautifully rendered, skillfully written, self evaluation of a life well lived.
Auster’s in depth tribute to the aging process feels like a glimpse into his own soul. It encompasses A loving testimonial to a life well lived with the ability to overcome and overlook the foibles of an aging body.
I loved this book as I am a lover of character driven novels. If you enjoy descriptive language and characters who come alive on the page you will feel the same. Look for publication on Nov 7, 2023.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I so wanted to be enthused by this book however I found it too wandering and rambling to really get in to it. I was definitely out of my depth with this book.

Baumgartner feels semi-autobiographical, different than previous works I have read by Auster but nonetheless contains his excellent and fluid prose, and packs an emotional punch. Plot-wise it is not the most eventful novel, but Auster manages to keep the reader compelled throughout. For readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction and Auster's previous works.

There were happy times. Happy, yes, but not without some issues. Troubles, even. Life happens, things happen, all sorts of things, but we are busy to see these. Too busy to stop and ponder.
This elderly professor finally has time to stop and think. Finally is able to let his memories overwhelm him and to grief like he had never before.
This book starts with what the Spaniards call un golpe. It´s a strong opening after which the pace slows down and settles. Not everybody is going to like it. Yet a reader who has lots of time on his hands will find true pleasure in reading this story and perhaps it will go back to him when he himself becomes a retiree.

Still not sure what to make of this novel. I have many thoughts about it. That in itself is a good thing, I think. The novel seems to invite you to think further than just the story.

S.T. Baumgartner is a 72 year old writer and retired professor. We are introduced to him in a hilarious opening chapter, having a series of minor non-fatal accidents, almost ten years after having lost Anna Auster, the love of his life and wife of 40 years

In the following chapters he keeps stumbling around, reminiscing, touching on memories of himself, Anna, and their family histories. Halfway through the novel, I felt my enthusiasm waning a little, not convinced it was going anywhere. Though, I did like how all characters were kind and full of empathy.

As I put the book aside, and reflected, I started wondering if I should take Baumgartner’s version of events at face value. I’m not sure if this is a valid way of looking at it, but I picked it back up, and got really into reading it with this new perspective.

And, perhaps I should not attribute thoughts a character has to the real life author, but often I could not help myself but imagine Paul Auster himself being the main character, or at least Baumgartner having thoughts Auster might have had about his own life, and place in the world.. I enjoyed doing this. It made me feel connected to the author, not just to Baumgartner.

I will read this book again after the summer. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
-Joep

I love this author, but this book wasn't my favorite. I am not a fan of flashbacks, and I sort of lost interest in it. I needed more stories and fewer flashbacks, but the author is fantastic.

First off I'm an Auster devotee. Have been for decades. I try really hard not to let it influence reviews but it's difficult when I'm pretty sure the writing and the story are going to be wonderful before I've even started the first page.

So Baumgartner is possibly a love letter to ageing or marriage or literature. Whatever it is a lovely story about ST Baumgartner, a writer, and Anna, his late wife, a poet.

We start when Baumgartner is in his seventies and has managed to have an accident in his own home. As he recovers he begins to recall parts of his life with Anna. As time goes on he tells us more about his present life - the possible and failed romances, the book he is writing, the grad student wanting to write a dissertation on his wife's unpublished work and also his family history.

Auster always packs a lot in to his books but it never feels that way. His writing has changed so much over the years bit, for me, its never been less than perfect.

Thankyou to Netgalley for the advance copy. Most welcome.

I enjoyed Auster's "4,3,2,1" so much and looked forward to this novel. It had so much of what I love about his writing...the character development, the little twists and turns and the insight into the lives of the characters. Although the plot appeared to 'go nowhere', there was a great deal of reminiscing by Baumgartner about his past with his deceased wife, his parents, and basically how he re-built his life which fell apart when his wife died. We see him slowly rebuild that life, even at his advanced age of 71 and this I greatly enjoyed. His writing is engaging and beautiful (and ofttimes humorous) . The only thing that threw me for a loop was the ending. 4,3,2,1 had such a satisfying ending and I was expecting something like that from him here. But I felt the ending left me with a "To Be Continued" feeling. So much so that I tried to continue scrolling to be sure there was no more to it! I any event, it's a story well worth reading and an engaging and beautiful piece of work. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

Paul Auster is one of my favorite authors, whose novels I am first to admit, sometimes go over my head, but I'm ok with that. In this instance, it wasn't as ok. Reminiscent at times of 'A Man Called Ove', and beautifully written - again, I just didn't care for the characters.

Paul Auster turned 76 this year, and it's clear from his most recently published book that age is at the forefront of his mind. Without knowing the man personally, it's hard to imagine that titular protagonist Sy Baumgartner isn't a stand-in for the aging Auster. He's a retired academic who lost his wife some time ago, and is now confronted with the prospect of facing death alone and in an ever failing body.
This is a whimsical and heady meditation on the twilight of our lives. and how we confront it, looking to the past as much as to the future for a way to digest the impossible reality of our own end. Baumgartner certainly isn't one of his best works, but it's a worthwhile read nonetheless.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital advance copy I received in exchange for my honest opinion.