Reinventing Existential Self: A Postmodern study of Paul Auster’s the Book of Illusions
Abstract
Paul Auster is one of those current American novels who always go all out to discuss the battle for self-assertion amid the dilemma of contemporary American life. On human freedom and subjectivity, he is in accord with existentialists. Since Auster’s novel is set in an increasingly postmodern American culture, where individuality has been marginalized, his character’s quest for self-reinvention takes them on an adventure of self-discovery. The present paper examines Paul Auster’s The Book of Illusions(2002) from an existential and postmodernist perspective, arguing that the author is attempting to establish the credentials of an existential self in a postmodern culture that rejects any type of absolute. An in-depth examination of one person’s endeavor to understand the complexities of life is presented in The Book of Illusions. Autobiographies and biographies make up the bulk of the book, with Zimmer’s tale of life serving as the underlying narrative. The absurdity of living in a postmodern American society is shown, along with the problems and challenges that accompany it. The narrative accurately depicts the protagonist’s attempt to reinterpret their lost identities due to an identity crisis. An intricate saga of several lives, looming deaths and difficult repairs is unfolding here. Ultimately, the book is concerned with the fundamental existential question: “Who am I?”