What Killed Paul Auster at the age of 77? The Brilliant Mind Behind ‘The New York Trilogy’

Paul Auster, the acclaimed and prolific novelist, poet, essayist and screenwriter known for postmodern, genre-bending works like “The New York Trilogy,” died on April 30, 2024 at the age of 77. Auster passed away in his Brooklyn home due to complications from lung cancer. In this article we talk about What Killed Paul Auster at the age of 77? The Brilliant Mind Behind ‘The New York Trilogy’.

Auster’s death was confirmed by his close friend, radio host Jacki Lyden.

Over a decades-long career, Auster cemented himself as one of the most revered writers centered on New York City, vividly capturing the rhythms of the metropolis in novels like “City of Glass” and “The Brooklyn Follies.” Though he grew up in New Jersey, Auster became almost synonymous with Brooklyn after settling there in the 1980s.

Beyond New York, Auster enjoyed global renown, especially in France where he was considered an adopted literary son. His 2017 novel “4 3 2 1,” an ambitious coming-of-age story told through four versions of the same character’s life, was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize in the UK.

Auster authored 18 novels, several memoirs, collections of poetry and short stories, plays and screenplays. Altogether he published 34 books. His postmodern, genre-bending approach played with traditional conventions and unreliable narration. Despite such experimentation, Auster prized simplicity and emotional directness in his prose.

Early Life and Influences

Born Paul Benjamin Auster on February 3, 1947 in Newark, New Jersey, Auster was the son of landlord Samuel Auster and Queenie Auster. He grew up in South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey.

As a child, Auster took refuge from an unhappy home life in baseball and books, foreshadowing his future preoccupations. He cited the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson as early inspiration.

After graduating from Columbia High School, Auster studied comparative literature at Columbia University, graduating with a BA in 1969 and MA in 1970. While at Columbia he participated in the 1968 student protests.

Auster spent 1971-74 living in Paris, writing and translating French literature to scrape by. His first published book was 1972’s “A Little Anthology of Surrealist Poems.”

Rise to Fame and Prolific Output

Auster’s creative career began gathering steam in the 1980s. His 1982 memoir “The Invention of Solitude,” which movingly examined his complex relationship with his recently deceased father, brought early critical attention.

His breakthrough came with 1985’s “City of Glass,” a metaphysical literary mystery about a crime novelist, Daniel Quinn, who through a case of mistaken identity gets entangled in an actual mystery. “City of Glass” kicked off Auster’s most famous work, “The New York Trilogy,” a set of three experimental detective stories published in a single volume in 1987 and considered one of his masterpieces.

Displaying incredible productivity while maintaining literary quality, Auster published nearly a book a year for decades. He wrote in longhand with a fountain pen, then typed manuscripts on his beloved Olympia typewriter.

Major Auster works, beyond “The New York Trilogy,” include “The Music of Chance” (1990), “The Book of Illusions” (2002), “Oracle Night” (2003), “The Brooklyn Follies” (2005) and “4 3 2 1” (2017).

He also found success in film, writing the screenplays for “Smoke” (1995) and “Blue in the Face” (1995) as well as directing films like “Lulu on the Bridge” (1998).

Themes and Style

Identity, chance, loss, and the search for meaning and connection recur across Auster’s body of work. Baseball, Brooklyn, writing, family and New York City itself also feature heavily.

Auster played with genre, narrative voice and notions of reality versus fiction. His detached, philosophical tone counterbalanced pulpy or absurd scenarios. He blended formal experimentation with direct emotional resonance.

Despite postmodernist techniques, Auster considered himself an old-fashioned storyteller, citing 19th century novelists and noirish detective tales among his influences rather than theorists like Derrida. He wrote in longhand using a fountain pen, then typed on a vintage Olympia typewriter, avoiding computers.

Praise and Awards

Auster earned wide praise and recognition for his inventive, affecting literary voice. The Times Literary Supplement called him “one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers” and New York magazine dubbed him a “literary superstar.”

His many honors included France’s Prix de l’inaperçu (The Unnoticed Prize) for “The Music of Chance,” the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Spain’s Premio Iberoamericano. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Personal Tragedy

Despite professional success, Auster endured profound personal tragedy in 2022 when his son Daniel died of a drug overdose less than two weeks after Daniel’s infant daughter Ruby passed away while in his care. Auster did not publicly comment, but themes of grief and loss ran deep in his writing even before this shattering event.

Legacy

Paul Auster leaves behind an impressive literary legacy spanning five decades. Through wildly inventive novels and memoirs written in precise yet emotionally charged prose, he established himself as one of the foremost New York authors of his generation.

Auster’s death from lung cancer at age 77 cut short the career of a fiercely dedicated writer still working at the height of his powers. But his postmodern detective stories, philosophical explorations of chance and identity, and vivid evocations of New York City will continue inspiring readers and writers for generations. He helped cement Brooklyn’s reputation as a literary hub and served as guardian of the borough’s rich literary lineage.

As Auster wrote in his 2003 essay collection “Collected Prose,” his aim was always “to be in the world, to participate, to share the lives of others.” Through prolifically crafting stories pulsing with philosophical searching and human connection, Paul Auster undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the world. I sincerely hope you find this “What Killed Paul Auster at the age of 77? The Brilliant Mind Behind ‘The New York Trilogy'” article helpful.