Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies - Dream days at the hotel existence (Chap. 19) - "A steep dirt road" and "except having children"

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What we have here is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a sixty year old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. However, after a moment he changed his mind and started thinking in a more optimistic way. He met his nephew Tom in Harry Brightma's bookstore. This extract is situated in the 2nd half of the novel. It introduces a new character: Stanley Chowder is considered as a helper, and we will see why later. The characters involved are Nathan, Tom, Lucy (who is Tom's niece) and Stanley Chowder. Lucy is a strange kid. She showed up at Nathan's door so that he could take care of her because her mother, Aurora, is locked up somewhere in Carolina with her husband David Minor who has been active in a sect.

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[...] Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies Dream days at the hotel existence (Chap. 19) - steep dirt road” “except having children” What we have here is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a sixty year old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. However, after a moment he changed his mind and started thinking in a more optimistic way. [...]

[...] He appears as a helper for Nathan and Tom, in fact, he permits them to recover a happier state of being. We can say that the change of scenery will have an impact on what they will do or not (Nathan decides to keep Lucy with them for example). Then, we will talk about the happiness according to Nathan. First, we can compare Nathan and Pamela. They have different values. Indeed, Nathan associates her to neurotic bourgeois woman” l.46 and a superficial woman, someone who burdens herself with useless things and relies on social conventions. [...]

[...] We can read a series of joyful images as when Lucy is petting the dog or when he says couple of days of rest and relaxation” l.69. The Chowder Inn permits him to fell good again; he is a new man, that's the reason why he decided to adopt Lucy. We may associate his decision to keep Lucy with him to his desire of a new departure. Indeed, after failing with his daughter, Rachel, Nathan may also try to give himself a second chance. [...]

[...] He is trying to rebuild his image as a father by reestablishing a new relation with Lucy, that's the reason why he says at the end of the passage “Children are a consolation for everything except having children”. So, to conclude, we can say that this passage, situated at the half of the book, marks a rupture with what we read before. Indeed, Nathan takes an important decision and it's the Chowder Inn, his Hotel Existence, which permits him to do it. So this passage shows us a different Nathan, who takes an important decision and who adopts a project: take care of Lucy. We can also observe that changing of mood in Lucy, who appears joyful. [...]

[...] What is important is the fact that they aren't in Brooklyn anymore but in Vermont. This place is basically different from Brooklyn, we can observe that through some expressions as: steep dirt road” l.1, “flanked by woods” l.1, occasional low hanging branch” l.2. They are in an untrodden path. It reinforces the impression that the characters are cut out of Brooklyn, they are isolated. We can associate that “steep dirt road” to a road that leads to paradise. Moreover, when Nathan evokes the “Three-story house” l.17, we cannot read any action verbs. [...]