Doctor Faraday is a bachelor working in the area of Warwickshire where he grew up. As a child he visited Hundreds Hall where his mother was a servant to the aristocratic Ayres family. Now, approaching lonely middle age he returns to the Hall to tend to a new servant who has fallen ill. As one might expect, this is only the start of his renewed involvement with the owners of the house as he is drawn into their decaying lives, treating their increasingly troubling complaints and becoming emotio... (show more)

Doctor Faraday is a bachelor working in the area of Warwickshire where he grew up. As a child he visited Hundreds Hall where his mother was a servant to the aristocratic Ayres family. Now, approaching lonely middle age he returns to the Hall to tend to a new servant who has fallen ill. As one might expect, this is only the start of his renewed involvement with the owners of the house as he is drawn into their decaying lives, treating their increasingly troubling complaints and becoming emotionally involved.

At the heart of the book is the mystery of what lies behind the Ayres family's problems. Do the strange and unworldly happenings at the Hall have a natural explanation, are they the result of hysteria, of uncontrollable psychic forces released by the family, or is the house indeed haunted by a dead family member. That this mystery is never answered is part of the charm of the book, and indeed the mystery is enhanced by a suggestion that Dr Farraday himself may ultimately be the cause of the tragic denouement.

Overlaid on this "is it- isn't it" ghost story is an examination of the restructuring of society in post war Britain, the Ayres family are decaying gentry, Farraday himself has moved from a working class background to become part of a rather joyless middle class, and in the distance the Ayres are threatened, physically and metaphorically by the encroachment of a working class housing development.

The book is definitely a slow burner and as ever Waters' writing is wonderfully evocative, especially in her depiction of the building sexual tension.

This is my third Sarah Waters novel, and I would place it ahead of Affinity but not quite up to the standard of the Night Watch. I get the feeling that she is still to write her great novel, when she can truly combine her skills for beautiful writing (as in Night Watch) with her ability to write a ripping page turner of a plot (as in Affinity).

This book is very very good, and definitely recommended, but just falls short of being great. I can't quite put my finger on it. It may be that it is rather slow to get going, that the characters aren't very engaging, or that the plot is a little thin, but the book is just a little bit lacking in the wow factor.

But, as I say, that is only the difference between very good and great, overall the book is well worth reading. (show less)

I first came to Paul Auster via the New York Trilogy and since then, while enjoying his novels, I have been vaguely disappointed that nothing quite lived up to that first thrill. I'm happy to say that the Book of Illusions is easily the most enjoyable I've read since that first encounter.

It tells the story of David Zimmer, stuck in depression after the death of his family in a plane crash, slowly drinking himself to death. It is the description of mourning and the avoidance of painful m... (show more)

I first came to Paul Auster via the New York Trilogy and since then, while enjoying his novels, I have been vaguely disappointed that nothing quite lived up to that first thrill. I'm happy to say that the Book of Illusions is easily the most enjoyable I've read since that first encounter.

It tells the story of David Zimmer, stuck in depression after the death of his family in a plane crash, slowly drinking himself to death. It is the description of mourning and the avoidance of painful memories which is the first touching highlight.

Zimmer is saved from himself by a glimpse of a film made by an obscure silent comedian, Hector Munro. Intrigued by the fact that his apparently lost movies have been sent to museums round the world from a mysterious source, Zimmer writes an account of Munro's films. The description of the movies is wonderful, feeling utterly authentic.

Thereafter the story becomes increasingly complex, as Zimmer is invited to meet the aging film star and his wife. Initially sceptical, no one has seen Munro since the 30s, he is eventually and memorably persuaded by the entrance of the strange and beautiful Alma.

Gradually, as Zimmer is sucked into their strange world we learn the full and shocking facts of Munro's life.

There are definite echoes of the style of the New York trilogy as elements of Hector's life resonanate and correspond with Zimmer's situation.

It is a novel about loss and mourning, about the nature of artistic muse, about sin and redemption and about the endurance of work after the death of the creator.

Finally the end is deeply tragic, but also not without a touch of hope.

So, in summary, intelligent, stimulating, moving and beautifully written. Very highly recommended. I (show less)