Center-periphery, equality-inequality, American dream and consumerism in Paul Auster’s Timbuktu (1999)

Abstract

Although in his novel Timbuktu Auster seems to use rather traditional narrative techniques, the narrative from the point of view of a dog represents a fantastic element that evokes doubts about the authenticity of the image of reality mediated through this character. Auster’s construction of the narrative in this novel is reminiscent of the fairy tale, which requires a sensibility that undermines belief in the mimetic representation of reality. My paper analyzes Auster’s construction

of reality, his use of fantastic and metafictional elements and the way metafictional narrative techniques, imagination, fantasy and storytelling create an alternative space to the rational and consumerist approach to the world which the characters in the novel are influenced by. This article also deals with Auster’s symbolic treatment of the failure of the American Dream as symbolically expressed through his depiction of the relationships between the center and periphery.

Dealing with Paul Auster’s fiction, many critics emphasize the postmodern character of his work, but not so many of them have commented on his depiction of marginal characters and their symbolic connection to the idea of the American Dream.1 I will not, therefore, focus on analysis of the manifestation of postmodernism in this novel. In this paper I will focus on Auster’s use of the imagery of the center and the periphery, equality and inequality, and the way he uses them to show the inadequacy of one of the most important myths related to American cultural identity— the American Dream. Further, I will explore Auster’s depiction of the nature of the postmodern cultural condition influenced by media, popular culture and consumerism.