Reading Groups

Paul Auster's New York Trilogy with Matilda Lin Berke

3 Sessions Sundays, 1:00 pm EDT - 2:30 pm EDT February 2 to March 30, 2025

The Center for Fiction

The ‘With Book’ option includes the title required for this group at a 10% discount from our Bookstore.

Meeting Dates:
2/2, 3/2, 3/30
In Person at The Center for Fiction

In Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy, the city that never sleeps is a map, a grid, and a series of reference points for a trio of novellas that investigate the author’s voyeuristic, metafictional approach to noir fiction in the dual contexts of New York and the broader genre conventions of the detective novel.

What is the real draw of a mystery? Through our reading of Ghosts, The Locked Room, and City of Glass, we will explore how the postmodern detective’s search for answers represents a search for meaning and for self.

What to read before the first meeting: Ghosts (p. 159-232)

What to expect from this reading group: Mirroring the searching nature of Auster’s detective fiction, this reading group will be guided by instructor prompts (think clues!) but heavily anchored in discussion.

Reading List:

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

Capacity: 20

Led by

Matilda Lin Berke

Matilda Lin Berke

Matilda Lin Berke is from Los Angeles. Now she lives in New York. She writes about objects and processes for Spike Art magazine; you can find her short fiction and poetry in various places. She is working on a collection of machine essays, Machine Learning; a novel, Industry Plant; and “Girlblogging,” a column at Filmmaker magazine.

About this series

Reading Groups

Whether you’re looking to catch up on great novels or you’re interested in exploring a new writer or literary period, our reading groups offer high-level literary discussion led by experts in the field.

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