Peter Aaron is a writer and translator living in New York City. He is writing a book about one of his best friends, Benjamin Sachs, also a writer, who recently died in a bomb explosion. The FBI has come to question Peter, and he has stalled for time, but he knows they will be back. As Peter delves into Sachs's life, he explores Sachs's tumultuous past, including his involvement in radical politics, troubled relationships, and obsession with a mysterious woman.

It combines elements of metafiction and literary mystery. Each character is portrayed with a depth that makes them seem like real people, though the story itself is complex and at times outlandish. The narrator is unreliable, and there are two simultaneous stories that blur the line between reality and fiction, leaving readers questioning where the truth lies. The overarching theme is the construction of identity through writing (and art in general). The reader’s interest is maintained through the mystery, but it also contains philosophical undertones. I found it fascinating and plan to read more of Auster’s works.

Video review

A veritable dream if you are a fan of mysterious first-person narratives about Terrible Things that Must Be Told before Something Bad Happens. You know - Call of Cthulhu to The Name of the Rose. Not that the plot is pointless - it is thrilling, and peopled with interesting characters - but this is truly more for Forbidden Book and metafictional kids.

It took me a while to figure out what I felt towards to this book or rather a way to articulate it into some sort of coherent review. I should start by saying that Auster changed a lot of my perspectives throughout this book (nah, not revolutionary stuff). Auster delves into these characters so deeply and invests in their habits, attitudes, feelings so much we can't help but forget that it is but a work of fiction but there was so much detail paid to these characters (and what beautiful characters they were, complex souls that breathed). I know, for a fact that I liked this book but as I slowly got deeper and deeper into Auster's world or rather his characters and the philosophy of the characters it slowly dawned on me that I felt a sort of special connection with this book that I couldn't yet explain to myself. I also like books which acknowledge the fact that they are books which made the ending better. I would've rather given this a 4.5 because the plot, albeit being great did not evoke that much emotion out of me. In the book, Auster- or rather Paul is consistently reminding us that there are gaps in his stories or that most of the information he is receiving might be false, exaggerated and I really like that? He isn't trying to mask the fact that this story isn't the most exciting, instead he rather acknowledge the gaps in his knowledge which makes it seem all the more honest and realistic. I've been searching for a book that engulfs narrative with thought and here, Auster has presented me with Leviathan.

And then it hit me one night when I was on the phone with Mikhail that this is the kind of book that I would've written (I don't mean the plot). The language, his perspectives, the characters, they were all fixtures of my mind. This is almost exactly the novel I would produce if I was more articulate and had a higher ability to compile my thoughts and generate them into characters. It was this crazy, weird sense of De ja vu like MAN, I KNOW what he's talking about, I don't just understand what this guy's saying, I KNOW what he's saying. Sure, I've enjoyed pieces of fiction before this but no writer has managed to connect the way Auster has had with me and god- that is so AMAZING because I didn't even think that was possible. It feels as if Auster body jacked me and jumped forward in time and wrote a book- that sounds crazy but it feels as if this book was written for me or according to me. I can't say this novel'll make you FEEL but it'll make you think and the things that it makes you realize, the small, seemingly insignificant things… this is way too self-flattering, here I am basically saying that this guy is actually me and I wrote an amazing novel- ahh. I don't know how to make sense of this to anyone else or explain how it makes me feel but I just really enjoyed the characters in this book and how deeply Auster explored them and the widths of human nature and behavior.

The first half of this novel was ideal. An interesting character study and a glimpse into the life of a fiction writer. Coupled with Auster's sentences and I was in hog heaven. Then there's a sudden twist in the narrative, and the novel flirts with crime-noir. It wasn't quite my cup of tea after that. I found the chapters with Lillian in California to be annoying, and Peter's aspect of the narrative disappears completely until the end of the novel. Auster recovers at the end though, and all in all I thought Ben Sachs and 'Leviathan' were worthy companions over the last couple of days.

While this is my second time reading Auster, it is my first foray into his fiction. The talent is obvious. His writing appeals to me and I look forward to reading some of his higher regarded works. 'Moon Palace' maybe, or the 'New York Trilogy'. This one is a high three stars.

Es la primera novela que leo de este autor y me ha dejado impresionado. Durante años he dudado si leer alguna de sus novelas. Aunque sea una explicación simple, los argumentos de sus novelas no terminaban de atraerme. Al final me he tomado su lectura como un reto personal ya que en numerosos blogs hablan muy bien de muchas de sus novelas y sentía curiosidad por ellas. Después de leer esta novela tengo claro que no va a ser la última novela que lea de Paul Auster.

Esta novela me ha sorprendido mucho, no por tener una trama compleja o una acción vertiginosa sino simplemente porque desde la primera página el autor ha conseguido captar mi atención y no la ha perdido en toda la lectura. Aunque pueda parecer incongruente esta novela me ha gustado más por lo bien escrita que esta antes que por la propia historia y eso en mi opinión es realmente muy difícil de conseguir.

En mi caso, suelo huir de las historias intimistas o centradas casi exclusivamente en las experiencias de un solo personaje. Las historias de desarrollo personal (así las llamo yo) me suelen aburrir y acabo dejándolas. Partiendo de esta premisa decidí leer esta novela con cierta predisposición a que no me iba a gustar, esa sensación creo que duro aproximadamente 5 minutos, a partir de ahí me sumergí en la historia de Ben Sachs y ya no pude parar.

No voy a comentar nada de la trama de la novela, primero, porque en cierto modo queda bastante claro que nos vamos a encontrar después de leer unas pocas páginas, y segundo, porque creo que esta novela se disfruta más si simplemente te sumerges en la historia.

Una novela muy recomendable.

Auster often writes his narrator as being like himself, a author in New York; in this case, it’s a novelist called Peter Aaron, who is trying to solve the mystery of his best friend's life and death. When he reads a news article of an unidentified man blowing himself up on a roadside in Wisconsin, he knows it could be his friend Ben Sachs, once an aspiring novelist who became a ‘crazed idealist’ after time in jail as an anti-war activist.

Though the plot into the whys and wherefores of Sachs’s pursuit of forgiveness give structure to the novel, it is also a journey of self-discovery for Aaron, who is balancing his own issues of treachery and intrigue. Auster is given to abstractism in his writing, but he does that less so here, and for that reason I think it works better than many of his novels. The emphasis is more on mystery with Aaron playing the role of detective.

Paul Auster (n. 1947) em Portugal 2017 (Fotografia João Porfírio/Observador)


”Leviathan” publicado em 1992 é o sétimo romance do escritor norte-americano  Paul Auster (n. 1947) e tem a particularidade de ser dedicado a  Don DeLillo (n. 1936).
Nos finais de Junho de 1990 “(…) um homem foi morto por uma explosão na berma de uma estrada algures no norte do Wisconsin. Não houve testemunhas, mas tudo indica que estava sentado no chão, junto ao seu carro, quando a bomba que estava a montar explodiu acidentalmente. Segundo o relatório médico-legal que acaba de ser divulgado, o homem teve morte instantânea. O corpo voou em dezenas de pedaços, de tal modo que foram encontrados bocados do cadáver a quinze metros do local da explosão. Até hoje (4 de Julho de 1990), ninguém parece ter a menor ideia de quem era o morto.” (Pág. 9). Um mistério inexplicável, com o FBI e a polícia local a iniciarem as investigações.
Peter Aaron conhece a identidade desse homem. ”Quanto a mim, quanto mais tempo demorarem, melhor. A história que me sinto obrigado a contar é particularmente complicada, e, se não chegar ao fim antes de eles apresentarem a sua solução para este mistério, as palavras que vou escrever não terão o menor significado.” (Pág. 10).
O morto era Benjamin Sachs, um escritor – que publicou apenas um romance n  ”The New Colossus"n - amigo do também escritor Peter Aaron ”(…) um homem que ganhava a vida a escrever romances”.
Peter Aaron – o narrador - ou Paul Auster propõe-se a escrever ou a descrever a vida de Benjamin Sachs com recurso às memórias de uma genuína amizade com quinze anos, muitas das vezes intermitente e intervalada por ausências, ora curtas ora prolongadas, associando os familiares, os amigos e os amantes, que surgem nas suas vidas e que mudaram os seus destinos, com maior ou menor complexidade ou obscuridade.
Paul Auster impulsiona o romance com um método notável, construindo toda a narrativa alternando as vivências e as recordações das inúmeras personagens, mas, simultaneamente, avançando, compondo e manipulando as emoções dos leitores numa perspectiva simbólica desses comportamentos - incluindo a atitude de Peter Aaron -, numa conexão primorosa entre o passado e o presente.
Apenas um exemplo: Paul Auster inspirou-se nos trabalhos da fotógrafa francesa contemporânea Sophie Calle (n. 1953) para criar a personagem de Maria Turner, com um método paradigmático onde os rituais diários são registados em imagens fotográficas de vidas anónimas, reinventando identidades aleatoriamente - tal como o escritor faz com as suas personagens -, num expediente em que as vidas fictícias são circunscritas por eventos do passado e que moldam os comportamentos e as atitudes no presente e no futuro.
Em ”Leviathan” todas as personagens secundárias são inesquecíveis: Fanny Sachs (a bonita mulher de Benjamin Sachs, mais tarde, amante de Peter Aaron), Delia Aaron (a primeira mulher de Peter Aaron), David (o filho de Peter e Delia), Iris (a segunda mulher de Peter Aaron, que mais não é o nome da esposa de Paul Auster invertido, Siri, Siri Hustvedt (n. 1955), ela também escritora), Maria Turner (a fotógrafa e amante de Peter Aaron) e Lillian Stern (uma ex-prostituta, a melhor amiga de Maria Turner e amante de Peter Aaron).
Paul Auster é um mestre na invenção ou na reinvenção das personagens, congregando coincidências com o propósito, por vezes tortuoso, de criar premissas circunstantes e sentimentais para os episódios casuais e inesperados do dia-a-dia, numa reflexão entre o real e o metafórico.
”Leviathan é um romance com uma escrita genial e minimalista, um romance dentro de outro romance, abordando inúmeros temas como: a procura da identidade, o sucesso e o fracasso na produção e na criação literária, o acaso e a coincidência, sobre a natureza díspar e evasiva da verdade e da mentira, a relação entre o amor e o adultério, as questões relacionadas com os conflitos pessoais e existenciais, sobre aos assuntos da fidelidade e da traição, sobre a abstinência e a indulgência, as dúvidas sobre a moralidade e a luxúria, igualmente, sobre a temática do terrorismo, e inúmeras interrogações e indagações sobre situações improváveis do quotidiano.



Paul Auster (n. 1947) - Ilustração de André Carrilho


”Ainda hoje me é difícil digerir tudo isto. E falo como alguém que, em princípio, deveria ser um entendido, como alguém que tem reflectido longa e maduramente sobre as questões em jogo. Tenho passado toda a minha vida de adulto a escrever histórias, a colocar pessoas imaginárias em situações inesperadas e muitas vezes improváveis, mas verdade é que nunca nenhuma das minhas personagens passou por uma situação tão improvável (…). Se ainda me choca relatar o que aconteceu, é porque o real supera sempre aquilo que somos capazes de imaginar. Por muito delirantes que sejam, as nossas invenções nunca conseguem igualar a imprevisibilidade daquilo que o mundo real constantemente despeja sobre nós. Esta lição parece-me agora iniludível. Tudo pode acontecer. E, de uma maneira ou de outra, acontece mesmo. Sempre.” (Pág. 176)

Gran bel romanzo.
La scrittura di Auster è magnetica, come magnetica sin dalla prima pagina è l’idea da cui trae spunto la narrazione. Un uomo non ancora identificato è morto mentre era alle prese con un ordigno esplosivo. Peter Aaron, il narratore, nel momento stesso in cui apprende la notizia sa che quell’uomo era Benjamin Sachs, suo amico. Aaron decide così di raccontarne la storia, prima che le indagini facciano il loro corso e che la polizia dia un nome a quel che rimane del cadavere, offrendo agli occhi dell’opinione pubblica niente più che la cronaca della morte di un presunto dinamitardo.
Il racconto di Aaron diventa il libro che abbiamo tra le mani, una vorticosa e casuale girandola di incontri, scoperte, progetti abbandonati e realizzati, amori ed amici persi e ritrovati: in una parola, vita.
Ripeto, gran bel romanzo.

من خلال تجاربي العديدة مع "أوستر"، قرأت له أغلب أعماله المترجمة إلى العربية، كانت "لوياثان" أسوءهم، القارئ المُعتاد على أسلوب العم أوستر سيكتشف أن أسلوب المترجم هنا طغى على أسلوب الكاتب فأفسد النص بأكمله. وهنا أريد أن أوضح وجهة نظري، هل الترجمة سيئة؟ في المجمل لا، وهو ما سيجده أي قارئ، ولكن بإمكانك أن تعرف أن هذا ليس أسلوب أوستر في الكتابة وطريقته في صياغة الجُمل وتركيبها.

لا أستطيع الحكم حالياً على الرواية نفسها، فالقصة كانت مملة وغير ممتعة على عادة أوستر، وحتى الحكايا الفرعية التي كان أوستر يحكيها في رواياته بطريقة ممتعة وشائقة جاءت هنا مملة ومبتذلة.

Un amigo me dijo hace tiempo que Paul Auster hacía las historias más simples del mundo y que de ahí su éxito. Este es el segundo libro suyo que devoro y no estoy de acuerdo. Creo que en este en concreto, su gran mérito es crear una historia muy compleja (más incluso en la creación de personajes que en situaciones) y hacer que parezca sencilla.

Crear unos personajes tan peculiares, hacerlos creíbles, forzar situaciones para describirnos sus vidas hacia un rumbo ya anunciado pero bastante inexplicable pasadas 100 páginas, no es nada fácil.

Me ha gustado mucho y me ha dejado con ganas de más Paul Auster.

Auster evidently likes his disturbed writer protagonists (both the narrator and his subject in this case), it seems to fit the obsessive, philosophical characters he likes to present. However, he offered lots of opinions on the characters as a way of forcing a full image of them, rather than some more 'show not tell'...Also, some of their features he seemed keen emphasise contradicted each other and took away from the character as a whole.
The actual contents of the plot often jumped around and sometimes you hoped more would be explained, or some of the turns of events seemed very implausible or suffered from too much plot convenience.

However, as with all of his best writing, his deepest and most psychological examinations of his characters in turmoil, lost in themselves or in their place in the world, were simultaneously haunting and true to real life, and these passages still really drew me into the story despite everything else.

As always, love his style.

Leviathan, Paul Auster

Leviathan is American writer Paul Auster’s seventh novel, published by Viking Press in 1992.

The novel follows the life and crimes of a man who decides to take action over words to deliver his message to the world, as told by his estranged best friend.

The novel opens like a detective story as the narrator begins, Six days ago, a man blew himself up by the side of a road in northern Wisconsin.

There were no witnesses, but it appears that he was sitting on the grass next to his parked car when the bomb he was building accidentally went off.

According to the forensic reports that have just been published, the man was killed instantly.

His body burst into dozens of small pieces, and fragments of his corpse were found as far as fifty feet away from the site of the explosion.

Through his own investigations, the narrator attempts to answer questions as to who the man was who blew himself up, why he was found with a homemade bomb, and what circumstances brought him to a violent end.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «هیولای دریایی»؛ «هیولا»؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه نوامبر سال 2005میلادی

عنوان: هیولای دریایی؛ نویسنده: پل آستر (اوستر)؛ مترجم: ماندانا مشایخی؛ تهران، انتشارات ماهی؛ سال1383؛ در278ص؛ شابک9789647948388؛ چاپ دوم سال1387؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

عنوان: هیولا؛ نویسنده: پل آستر (اوستر)؛ مترجم: خجسته کیهان؛ تهران، افق؛ سال1383؛ در335ص؛ چاپ دیگر سال1391؛ شابک9789643698836؛

عنوان اصلی رمان «لویاتان» است؛ «لویاتان» در «انجیل»، حیوانی افسانه ای است؛ هیولایی عظیم، و بسيار نيرومند دریايی، که هيچ قدرتی را یارای برابری با آن نیست؛ راوی داستان که خود نویسنده هستند، در روزنامه ها خبری میخواند، مبنی بر اینکه «مردی توسط بمب، خودش رو منفجر کرده»؛ پس از آنکه پلیسها، با بررسی درمییابند، که جسد از آن «بنجامین ساجز»، صمیمی ترین دوست راوی همین داستان است؛ ...؛

راوی قصه، چون از زیر و بم زندگی دوست خویش، باخبر بوده؛ و دلایل کار او را میدانسته، تصمیم میگیرد، تا همین کتاب را بنویسند، و ماجرا را شرح دهند، و کتاب را به صورت رمانی چاپ کنند، تا مردمان، و ماموران در مورد دوستش، درست قضاوت کنند؛ ماجرا را، از نخستین لحظه های آشنائی خویش، تا چند روز پیش از آنکه دوستش، توسط بمب منفجر شود، و نکته های مهم، و سرنوشت ساز زندگی دوست خودش را، همانطور که از زبان ایشان شنیده بوده، روی کاغذ مینگارند، و زندگی کاری، و عشقی خودش را هم، به آنها میافزاید، تا رمان برای خوانشگر تر و تازه و خواندنی باشد

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 22/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی