Yay! Another novel from Paul Auster! It’s slim, but don’t let that fool you – this thought-provoking novel about loss and hope is tightly honed.

August Brill is an elderly book critic recovering from a bad car accident. Holed up in his newly-divorced daughter’s house, he keeps his granddaughter, Katya, company. Katya, too is suffering – her boyfriend Titus has just been killed in Iraq. August and Katya watch movies all day, replacing the story of what is happening around them with make-believe. And in the night, faced with thoughts of death and despair, Brill tells himself more stories, inventing a parallel America in which the Twin Towers are still standing, and in which America is at war with itself. It’s hard to say much about this novel without giving too much away.

What I can say is that it is a brilliant, sensitive piece about love and loss; about forgiveness and the power of memory. Although August Brill is a flawed man at the end of his days, he is kept alive by his love for his daughter and granddaughter, which combines with his propensity for stories to give him the strength and ability to help his loved ones. Beautiful, affecting and best enjoyed slowly.