In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior

The appearance of a certain number of early letters sent to Lydia Davis in Report From The Interior can seem surprising in a text which exposes the discovery of the outside world from the perspective of an interior subjectivity, since the added textual layers can appear almost overwhelming. However,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sara WATSON
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) 2019-12-01
Series:E-REA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/erea/9065
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850071528544141312
author Sara WATSON
author_facet Sara WATSON
author_sort Sara WATSON
collection DOAJ
description The appearance of a certain number of early letters sent to Lydia Davis in Report From The Interior can seem surprising in a text which exposes the discovery of the outside world from the perspective of an interior subjectivity, since the added textual layers can appear almost overwhelming. However, by using the epistolary genre, Paul Auster manages not only to make the subtle game between the reader and the different incarnations of himself even more playful, but also to use the background of the European novel of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus, he is able to question not only his self or himself, but the notion of the genre in which he is emmeshed, going so far as to uncover the possibilities of the hybrid nature of an autobiographical text which introduces a correspondence between two different versions of the author.
format Article
id doaj-art-eb8a772fe0b347949c83e4200192b8f4
institution DOAJ
issn 1638-1718
language English
publishDate 2019-12-01
publisher Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)
record_format Article
series E-REA
spelling doaj-art-eb8a772fe0b347949c83e4200192b8f42025-08-20T02:47:17ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182019-12-0117110.4000/erea.9065In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the InteriorSara WATSONThe appearance of a certain number of early letters sent to Lydia Davis in Report From The Interior can seem surprising in a text which exposes the discovery of the outside world from the perspective of an interior subjectivity, since the added textual layers can appear almost overwhelming. However, by using the epistolary genre, Paul Auster manages not only to make the subtle game between the reader and the different incarnations of himself even more playful, but also to use the background of the European novel of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus, he is able to question not only his self or himself, but the notion of the genre in which he is emmeshed, going so far as to uncover the possibilities of the hybrid nature of an autobiographical text which introduces a correspondence between two different versions of the author.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/9065autobiographylettersmemoirPaul AusterLydia Davisepistolary literature
spellingShingle Sara WATSON
In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
E-REA
autobiography
letters
memoir
Paul Auster
Lydia Davis
epistolary literature
title In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
title_full In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
title_fullStr In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
title_full_unstemmed In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
title_short In Search of Lost Lines: “Time Capsule” and the Epistolary Genre in Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior
title_sort in search of lost lines time capsule and the epistolary genre in paul auster s report from the interior
topic autobiography
letters
memoir
Paul Auster
Lydia Davis
epistolary literature
url https://journals.openedition.org/erea/9065
work_keys_str_mv AT sarawatson insearchoflostlinestimecapsuleandtheepistolarygenreinpaulaustersreportfromtheinterior