Night of the Oracle

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Night of the oracle (ger .: Oracle Night ) is a novel by Paul Auster from the year 2003 .

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The novel consists of four interwoven narrative levels. The main character is again a writer: Sidney Orr, who can hardly remember who he really is after an accident and a long hospital stay. Orr suffers from poor concentration and dizziness. Although not an old man at 34, he has to orientate himself and learn everything anew, including his craft. His wife Grace, unhappy with the situation, takes care of the household and makes money. John Trause, the main character of the second story, is also a writer. After the death of his second wife seven years earlier, he was unable to publish any of his works.

In the third part, Sidney Orr overcomes his writer's block. He discovers a dark blue notebook at a Chinese stationery dealer. Suddenly the ideas fly to him, a new creativity breaks out. It begins the story of the publishing editor Nick Bowen, who suddenly leaves his wife and work behind. All he took with him was a manuscript for a novel by a deceased writer entitled Night of the Oracle . Destitute, he settles in a bunker. This forms the fourth level of the book. The blue notebook adds a mysterious atmosphere and mysterious things happen in Sydney Orr's life. This is where the storylines become knotted.

Nick Bowen disappears and he can no longer find the stationery store. His wife Grace has a nervous breakdown and stays away overnight without explanation. John Trause's twenty-year-old son Jacob has problems with drug dealers. He demands money and pounces on his near-stepmother Grace, who is losing her unborn child. Orr is at the mercy of the fateful goings-on and no longer knows his way around. Nevertheless, he finds the shop in a different part of town.

As always with Auster, chance as a driving force and personal relationships play a decisive role. Grace Orr is modeled after his wife Siri Hustvedt , and in 1998 his son Daniel was sentenced to five years probation after stealing $ 3,000 from a dead dealer's pocket.

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