Oracle Night

My sentiments for this novel consist of a bubbling collage of intrigue, confusion, curiosity and slight disappointment. One of the things I liked about Oracle Night, was Paul Auster's writing style. The use of the footnotes as a mean of elaboration enhanced, for me at least, the feel of a notebook, and the desire/compulsion to write. It also helped create a feel of a historical document, or more of an autobiography about the events, trying to maintain one chronological framework while introducing information about others in a unique, interesting way.

Perhaps on a shallower, less important level, I found Auster's selection of names for his characters rather bland and dull, giving an almost cliche tinge to the novel. Undeniably, the plot of the novel was very interesting, playing with the themes of time, reality and human flaws. I found the scene where Sidney slips and engages in sexual activity with the "African Princess" rather cogent. The scene was not a long one, but still showed that Sidney was not a perfect person, contrary to the image he sets when mentioning the blue team in camp and his disgust at the thought of abortion; his moral scope was flawed.

Another weakness in the novel was the overly brief mention and description of the "Actual" Oracle Night, Sylvia Maxwell's novel, within the novel, within the novel? I felt the idea Flagg's gift of foretelling the future needed greater emphasis, as did the consequences. The plot was already overly intricate, so perhaps a rebalancing of emphasis on different aspects of the story is important.

As a whole, I did enjoy the novel, an interesting twist on a love triangle, and the power of words and the future, though I was left with many questions after I was done reading. The ending was too abrupt, insignificant and in fact disappointing. My final thoughts were "Huh, this seems like the foundation for a good book."