Paul Auster, ‘The New York Trilogy’ author, dead at 77
Influential postmodern author Paul Auster, the mind behind classics such as The New York Trilogy and The Music of Chance, has died at the age of 77 following a battle with lung cancer.
Auster was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 3rd, 1947, and later graduated from Columbia University with BA and MA degrees. At the onset of the 1970s, he left education and moved to Paris to take up a job translating French literature. Auster started testing the waters as an author while in France by publishing original work in literary journals.
In 1972, he shared his first book, a collection of his translations called A Little Anthology of Surrealist Poems, which was well-received. In 1974, Auster returned to his native land and married fellow author Lydia Davis, but the marriage would only last until 1977. Together, they had one son, Daniel, who tragically died following an overdose in 2022.
After Auster published his first memoir, The Invention of Solitude, in 1982, things began to take off for his literary career. He became the centre of Brooklyn’s verdant literary scene, and over the course of the rest of the decade and the ’90s, he cemented his place as not only one of the greatest postmodernist authors but one of the definitive American ones, twisting minds with his descriptive and sharp prose.
His most significant work is 1987’s The New York Trilogy, which saw him come to international prominence by tying together three loosely connected stories, 1985’s City of Glass with the following year’s Ghosts and The Locked Room. In the relatively short book, he inverts detective fiction and mystery tropes to pose more significant existential questions. Famously, the novel’s ending leaves readers aghast as Auster delivers his ultimate career masterstroke, of which there were many highlights.
Other notable works of Auster’s include 1989’s Moon Palace, 1990’s The Music of Chance, 2002’s The Book of Illusions, 2009’s Invisible, and 2017’s 4 3 2 1. His most recent novel was 2023’s Baumgartner.
Significantly, Auster’s work was not only confined to literature. Later in his career, he began to write films, beginning with 1995’s Smoke, starring Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, and Giancarlo Esposito.
In 2006, Auster wrote and directed the movie The Inner Life of Martin Frost. Starring David Thewlis, Iréne Jacob, Michael Imperioli and his daughter, the singer Sophie Auster, it was shot in Portugal and saw the great author provide uncredited narration, adding a memorable dimension to the film.
The news of Auster’s death was broken to The New York Times by his friend, American author and journalist Jack Lyden, with it confirmed that he died from complications from lung cancer at his Brooklyn home on the evening of April 30th.
In March 2023, it was announced on Instagram by Auster’s second wife, the writer Siri Hustvedt, that he had been diagnosed with the disease the previous December. Auster is survived by Hustvedt and his daughter, Sophie.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.