City of Glass (New York Trilogy, 1)

bought this for a class assignment, was incredibly complex and fun to read. Incredible creativity. The author developed an amazing plot and story. Complete brain teaser. Great entertainment.

The fact that this doesn't follow the path of a traditional mystery, and yet is very much a detective story, represent what I loved and disliked about this book. It's a good read; a compelling story about a driven character. But, if you are looking for a story that ticks off the boxes of a detective story, this ain't it. As contemporary literature, as an exploration of words, written by someone fascinated with language, it is excellent. But, in many ways, the digressions, which ring of Borges, are better than the main story. Or maybe they are the story. Well worth a read.

You never want to read another one. Short version: It is boring, inane, and self-indulgent. Starts promising but quickly goes off the tracks. A waste of time.Long Version (with some spoilers):I don’t normally write reviews as negative as this one, but I differ so greatly with the positive ones that I want to share my opinions with those who might be tempted to read it. As I said, it starts off with some promise. A character named Quinn, himself a writer, gets a phone call for someone who thinks Quinn is Paul Auster (a metafictional beginning, right?), and wants him to protect her and especially her psychologically impaired young son from his father, who will soon be released from prison after serving time for the mental damage he imposed on his child. Basically that consisted of keeping him isolated and never hearing anyone speak for years, because the father thought a new language needed to be invented to ‘’save humanity,” and his son would be the beginning of that revolution.On a whim Quinn takes the job and the plot goes downhill from there. He spends endless hours waiting at Grand Central for the father’s arrival, then endless days following him (Peter Stillman) on his solitary meanderings around the city, during which he collects various objects found on the street and never seems aware of his surroundings. You keep waiting for something to happen, as it reads mostly like a walking tour of New York streets. So it’s a bit of a slog for a while until Quinn recognizes a pattern in Stillman’s walks and decides to take a risk and interact with him. Having done his research Quinn knows that Stillman is highly intelligent and obsessed with the topic of how human language, once perfect in the Garden of Eden, with all words having precise, unique meanings, has devolved into confusion.During three of these encounters, Stillman expounds on his theory that only he can be the savior of humanity by imposing the correct form of language on the world. Auster spends too much time and too many pages describing a man that is clearly insane. Then comes a welcome break: Quinn decides to visit the man he has been mistaken for – Paul Auster – in his home. While that is better than the tedium that proceeded it, it nonetheless comes across as a somewhat lame attempt at metafiction and doesn’t really go anywhere.Then the plot hurtles downhill! Stillman disappears, his wife and child disappear, and Quinn becomes as obsessed as the nutjob he was following. Two full pages, 163 and 164, consist of Quinn walking around Manhattan; every street, intersection, and sight are described with no action whatsoever; it’s the most boring walking tour of NYC you could ever take. Quinn’s mental state slowly and boringly devolves similar to Stillman’s. Nothing further is learned about him or the Stillman’s, other than a red diary is found in an empty apartment. At this point we read that the author of what we have been reading is actually an unnamed character who has argued with Auster for not doing more to help Quinn, and their friendship has ended.I will acknowledge that there are some interesting asides about historical facts, and also about the novel Don Quixote. But for me Auster was trying to pull a rabbit out of a metafictional hat and failed miserably. As people sometimes say of bad movies, I wish I had those hours back, and the only one I will share this novel with is the recycle bin. For good metafiction, try Pale Fire or the French Lieutenant’s Woman.

Mystery, suspense, and pace - City of Glass has it all when it comes to a thrilling read. At first thinking that the random phone calls were mistakes, the protagonist Daniel Quinn, a writer, rethinks the nuisance of the calls to be an opportunity. Posing as a detective, he discovers the complications, threats, and the unsettling upbringing of his new client. As he follows his target, he wanders through New York City with a purpose of protecting his client by deciphering his target’s objectives. With danger, anxiety, confusion, and a hint of romance, City of Glass embodies all of the necessities of a page-turner.

Interesting. I had to read this for a class. The book is richly packed with a plot that is fashioned to deeper hidden meanings. However, such depth made it extremely hard to full grasp especially based on the time allotment to read the book, research the facts using the book, and writing a detailed-ladened seven page Ivy worthy comparative essay on the plot. Therefore, despite those facts, it's worth the read.

This book is one that you will need to read again and again. it is short but complex and will keep you guessing. You will find something new every time you read it and it will challenge your thinking.

The product itself was in great shape, came in timely, etc etc. I had to have this for class and it was perfect. Didn't realize that it was such a weird story though- I've never encountered meta-fiction before, so it came as a pleasant surprise. Recommended for people who have a whole lot of time on their hands and a bit of extra cash.

It's a very interesting literary ride. A great book, but you need to read it once, put it down, and pick it up for a second read a few months later. It'll mess you up.

Despite the concerted attempts of two talented artists this is a profoundly unsatisfactory graphic novel. It's stylistically lumpy,the smaller panels being drawn by one and the larger by another which is visually jarring. The other, worse, problem is the text. Not only is there far too much of it shoehorned into the format for comfort, overwhelming the graphics and ruining any sense of narrative,but also there is a qualitative problem.I can cope with weird and experimental writing but this is horribly pretentious, lacks originality and swiftly becomes tedious. As this is neither a good novel or graphically satisfying it is best avoided.

A graphic novel which jas the feel of a film at times. Takes on some quite deep ideas at times but is a good read. Brilliantly illustrated.

STILL ENJOYABLE

Excellent reinvention of the original book.

Ich musste den Roman zwar aus schulischen Gründen lesen, bin aber wirklich froh darüber. Er hat mich unerwarteter Weise nach den ersten 30 Seiten plötzlich gepackt.Die Geschichte und die Handlung der Charaktere selbst steht hier bei eher im Hintergrund, der Rahmen der Geschichte ist wirklich interessant. Viele andere literarische Stücke werden erwähnt und zum Teil der Story gemacht, die Intertextualität ist wirklich hervorragend wie ich sie in noch keinem anderen Werk gelesen habe.