A few years ago I used to read several books of Paul Auster. It's always a little bit strange. Sometimes you wonder if that guy is OK in his head, and finally when you think back of the story once you've finished it, you discover all the depth of it. You had not realized it was talking about you and sometimes, an insight, it all becomes very clear.
It just finished yesterday the second story of the New York Trilogy and this is really a masterpiece. For it helps you discover who you are by introducing you into a introspection of you self as you turn the pages...
I wonder if Auster did a psychotherapy. This story makes me think that he did and he may have written this story afterwards. For if you look carefully at it, this story is simply a metaphore of a psychoanalysis. White is keeping an eye on Black, this is his job, he's a detective. And slowly, a lot of questions rise in his head about who he is, he, who is overlooking every minute somebody else. After quite a long time, White gets in touch with Black, talk to him and slowly gets lost. He doesn't understand no more if this is he who is overlooking Black or the contrary, is he overlooked by Black ? From now on the two of them cannot live both. There is one spare man in this story and one must die. A struggle for life takes place and the one who should be killed finally kills the other. The survivor can continue his life again and the story won't tell where this new life takes place... End of story !
This story really made me think of a therapy. The introspection finally lets you discover that someone you don't know lives in you and slowly but firmly you learn to know who is this other spying you inside. There must be an end to it and the patient makes some choices : not be directed no more by this or that : this is the struggle and nobody can say who's going to win ! After the fight comes the end of the therapy and the subject takes a new start in life...
Brilliant, M. Auster, really !
Géraldine