Paul Auster’s latest novel, Baumgartner, was released in Spanish and Catalan translations in Spain yesterday. The book has been eagerly anticipated by fans of Auster, a renowned author born in New Jersey in 1947. Baumgartner tells a poignant story of yearning, grief, remembrance, and solitude, featuring an unusual yet endearing philosophy professor as its protagonist who is tormented by the memory of a lost love. The tale has already begun to touch the hearts of literary enthusiasts across Spain.
A few months prior, in August, Auster’s wife, Siri Hustvedt, revealed in a medical report that her husband was battling cancer. In the midst of sharing details about their hospital visits and chemotherapy sessions, she also announced that Auster had completed a tender and miraculous book
. It is now clear that she was referring to the just-released Baumgartner.
The novel was first published in its original English version in November, ten months after Auster’s previous book A country bathed in blood. In this earlier work, Auster tackled the controversial topic of gun control and how a gunshot incident had impacted his own family’s history. Prior to that, Auster published Stephen Crane’s Immortal Call in 2021 and 4 3 2 1 in 2017.
Despite being 77 years old and battling cancer, Auster’s latest work demonstrates his remarkable ability to observe and convey the beauty in life’s simple, fleeting moments. The back cover of the English version, published by Grove Atlantic, describes his writing as imbued with compassion, humor, and sharp insight. The protagonist, a 71-year-old professor and writer, grapples with the question, Why do we remember certain moments and forget others?
▲ In Baumgartner, Auster explores themes of longing, loss, remembrance, and solitude through the character of a kind-hearted and eccentric philosophy professor. The book is set to be released in Mexico on March 14.Photo Ericka Montaño
Since the start of the year, Seix Barral, the publisher of Auster’s works, has been highlighting Baumgartner as one of their key releases for 2024. According to them, Paul Auster has poured his heart and soul into this novel, which is a tribute to love and loss, and explores the theme of chance.
In regard to the Catalan translation, it was published by Edicions 62, another imprint of the Planeta de Libros publishing group. The Mexican edition of Baumgartner is set to hit the shelves on March 14.
In other literary news, Siri Hustvedt’s latest book, The dazzling world, was translated into Spanish and released in January. This book offers a critique of the gender discrimination prevalent in the art world. Amidst the release of their respective books, the couple also celebrated the birth of their granddaughter, Miles Auster Hustvedt, reminding everyone that birth remains an ordinary miracle
.
(Source: Europa Press)
