THE BOOK OF ILLUSIONS: ON A MAURICE BLANCHOT AND PAUL AUSTER CONNECTION

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to explore the literary connections between Paul Auster’s work and the French writer and thinker Maurice Blanchot through the analysis of one of Auster’s novels – The Book of Illusions. The themes of writing, death and literature are of great importance for both Blanchot and Auster. Even though Auster’s works are usually read in a postmodern key, they allow us to place him in a different context, thus revealing some of the greatest influences that shaped him as a writer.