Why Paul Auster ?

For INVISIBLE, by Paul Auster

I promised that I would write something to explain why I like Paul Auster.   It is far more difficult to explain than I originally imagined.  Ordinarily what I like in a novel is not so much an interesting plot, but interesting characters, interesting observations about the world, human nature, etc.   I also tend toward books that many people can often find depressing (Orhan Pamuk, for example).    Auster is a bit of all of the above, but also he manages to have really interesting plots as well.   The twists and turns of the plot seem a bit unrealistic, but then ultimately I somehow find that I can really identify with the thoughts and actions and ideas of most of the characters.  

I read far too many reviews online for this book and readers either loved or hated it.  This includes the professional reviewers as well as the "regular people" who post reviews on the internet.  No one seems to lack a strong opinion of either the novel or of Paul Auster as a writer in general, and the opinions seem quite evenly divided.  This in itself seems like the right formula for a good book discussion, and therefore was the reason for my selection.  I'm reluctant to write a lot about the book before the meeting, so we'll save a bit more for the minutes.

PS   I suspect that his being originally from Newark, NJ, where I lived, pushed me in the direction of his novels in the first place.  But that was just by chance.