Book Report: Timbuktu

Timbuktu
By Paul Auster

Book Description:
Meet Mr. Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's remarkable new novel, Timbuktu. Mr. Bones is the sidekick and confidant of Willy G. Christmas, the brilliant, troubled, and altogether original poet-saint from Brooklyn. Like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza before them, they sally forth on a last great adventure, heading for Baltimore, Maryland in search of Willy's high school teacher, Bea Swanson. Years have passed since Willy last saw his beloved mentor, who knew him in his previous incarnation as William Gurevitch, the son of Polish war refugees. But is Mrs. Swanson still alive? And if she isn't, what will prevent Willy from vanishing into that other world known as Timbuktu?

Mr. Bones is our witness. Although he walks on four legs and cannot speak, he can think, and out of his thoughts Auster has spun one of the richest, most compelling tales in recent American fiction. By turns comic, poignant, and tragic, Timbuktu is above all a love story. Written with a scintillating verbal energy, it takes us into the heart of a singularly pure and passionate character, an unforgettable dog who has much to teach us about our own humanity.

First sentences:
Mr. Bones knew Willy wasn't long for this world. The cough had been inside him for over six months, and by now there wasn't a chance in hell that he would ever get rid of it. Slowly and inexorably, without once taking a turn for the better, the thing had assumed a life of its own, advancing from a faint, phlegm-filled rattle in the lungs on February third to the wheezy sputum-jigs and gobby convulsions of high summer.


Timbuktu is a relatively short story that, while taking a bit of time to get started, leaves a fairly deep impression after it's over. While the story is told through a dog's point of view, don't be fooled into thinking this is a simple-minded story. Mr. Bones is (perhaps as all dogs) insightful and intuitive and proves to be a compassionate and honest narrator. He loves his owner deeply and much of the first third of this book is getting to know Willy, the self-appointed Saint of Brooklyn. Mr. Bones tells us what he knows of Willy through memories, both his own and the stories of Willy's mother that date back to Willy's childhood. And while Willy unfolds into a well-intentioned character the reader can certainly feel sympathy for, I felt as if too much time was devoted to a character who dies so soon.

But Willy was all that Mr. Bones had ever known, and the sick man's passing is a profound event. Alone for the first time ever, Mr. Bones must now fend for himself. He heads off in an unknown direction and quickly becomes hungry and weary. After misjudging a group of violent teenaged boys, Mr. Bones befriends the one good-hearted boy from the lot. Henry is an outcast himself, and sneaks Mr. Bones home to live in a cardboard box behind his home. With unfailing devotion, Henry sneaks past his father to deliver food to Mr. Bones, and the two spend much time together in the last days of summer.

Then as all good things must, it comes to an end. Henry's father discovers the dog and becomes infuriated and violent. Henry must send Mr. Bones on his way.

Mr. Bones had only the dimmest idea of what Henry was talking about. The boy was sobbing too hard for his words to be understood, but as the rush of chopped-off sllyables and stuttered phrases continued, it became increasingly clear that this outburst was more than just a passing mood. Something was wrong, and while Mr. Bones could scarcely imagine what that thing was Henry's sadness was beginning to have an effect on him, and within a matter of minutes he had taken on the boy's sadness as his own. Such is the way with dogs.

Once more, Mr. Bones is on his own. He travels north, simply because it feels right, and soon the city turns to fields and Mr. Bones stumbles across a house, where he finds two small children playing outside as their mother tends the plants. Having learned that most people are hostile toward stray dogs, Mr. Bones announces himself delicately and with a sort of knowing calmness.

"My buddy," Tiger said, tightening his grip even more, and although Mr. Bones was gratified to discover that he wasn't about to be devoured by a wild beast, the pressure on his throat was becoming severe enough to make him squirm now. The boy might not have been a real tiger, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. In his own little way, he was more of an animal than Mr. Bones was.
Fortunately, the woman arrived just then and grabbed hold of the boy's arm, pulling him off Mr. Bones before more damage could be done. "Careful, Tiger," she said. "We don't know if he's a nice dog or not."
"Oh, he's nice," the girl said, gently patting Mr. Bones on his crown. "All you have to do is look into his eyes. He's real nice, Mama. I'd say he's about the nicest dog I've ever seen."

Mr. Bones slowly adjusts to this new life--a proper life, some would say--of living on a chain, sleeping in a well-kept dog house, keeping watch over the yard and its wildlife, and stealing in the house when Polly, wife and mother, would sneak him in during her days alone while the kids were at school and her husband at work. Mr. Bones becomes part of the family, survives neutering, and shares a special part of Polly's life.

But then Christmas rolls around and the family leaves Mr. Bones at a kennel before going on vacation. Mr. Bones does not understand, does not eat, and quickly becomes sick. With the last of his strength, he escapes from the kennel as the owners are loading him up to take him to the vet, and Mr. Bones sets out once again--this time to find his family.

The ending is anything but happy.

I felt cheated, and a bit confused, and of course sad. Was this really the only possible ending? Was Mr. Bones's doom spelled out all along, and I missed it? Had he really survived everything before in vain? Maybe it's because the protag is a dog, but this book as hit a sore spot and leaves an ache. Too bad such an endearing character is brought to such an end.

Three out of five stars for 'getting dogs', eliciting reader emotion, and detail