In Paul Auster’s novel The Book of Illusions, the main character, David Zimmer, embarks on a journey of discovery after the loss of his wife and children. He becomes obsessed with silent film star Hector Mann and delves into Mann’s world, doing research on him in order to write a book about this presumed dead actor’s films. Zimmer’s life is irreparably changed by the segment of one of Mann’s films that he sees late at night. However, it is not only his films that affect Zimmer, but also the women in Mann’s life who end up contacting him after the release of his book.
Zimmer’s life had arguably reached its lowest point after his family died, however discovering the mystery of Mann’s films and his life helps him regain purpose. Mann’s art was …show more content…
Alma Grund’s performance as a fear-inducing figure when she first arrives on Zimmer’s doorstep is one that changes his course entirely. She proves that this is just an act when he goes to pull the trigger of her gun on himself and she shouts at him not to. However, this is not a straight-forward series of events. She does not simply change his life by convincing him to go with her. It is her act that brings him the closest he’s been to truly killing himself. This one happening forces him to reconsider all of his actions. After he puts the gun down he says, “I could feel the madness start to drain out of my body. Only the horror was left – a kind of hot, tactile afterglow… If there was no hole in that skull now, it was only because I was stupid and lucky, because for once in my life my luck had won out over my stupidity” (112). He finally comes to the realization that no matter how completely out of himself he feels, going through with his suicide is not something that would help him. It takes this one grand gesture to pull him out of his delusions; without this failed suicide attempt he would have eventually taken the pills that he had waiting for him in his cabinet. He had pulled them out many times and thought about it, but coming as close to death as he did forced him to reconsider what he was really
Zimmer’s life had arguably reached its lowest point after his family died, however discovering the mystery of Mann’s films and his life helps him regain purpose. Mann’s art was …show more content…
Alma Grund’s performance as a fear-inducing figure when she first arrives on Zimmer’s doorstep is one that changes his course entirely. She proves that this is just an act when he goes to pull the trigger of her gun on himself and she shouts at him not to. However, this is not a straight-forward series of events. She does not simply change his life by convincing him to go with her. It is her act that brings him the closest he’s been to truly killing himself. This one happening forces him to reconsider all of his actions. After he puts the gun down he says, “I could feel the madness start to drain out of my body. Only the horror was left – a kind of hot, tactile afterglow… If there was no hole in that skull now, it was only because I was stupid and lucky, because for once in my life my luck had won out over my stupidity” (112). He finally comes to the realization that no matter how completely out of himself he feels, going through with his suicide is not something that would help him. It takes this one grand gesture to pull him out of his delusions; without this failed suicide attempt he would have eventually taken the pills that he had waiting for him in his cabinet. He had pulled them out many times and thought about it, but coming as close to death as he did forced him to reconsider what he was really