Oracle Night

2. How did you like the multi-layered plot? Was the plot too complicated or did you find it engaging? Which plot did you like the best: Sid and Grace's story or Nick Bowen's?

Unlike most of the novels we have been assigned to read over the course of the past few summers, I actually enjoyed reading "Oracle Night". The novel was engaging and full of twists and shocking revelations. The presence of a second plot within the novel made it more compelling, in fact the without that second plot the novel would not have been as interesting, the two parallel stories complement each other. The idea behind Bowen's story was interesting to begin with. The idea that a single random event could drastically change the course of a person's life is interesting to explore. As Orr begins to narrate the series of somewhat strange events which lead Bowen to the room of phonebooks, I slowly became more and more interested in what was going to happen at the end. Unfortunately, the story ends abruptly with Nick trapped in the room with no way out. The main plot of the novel was even more intriguing as it was more complex and developed. Auster is able to smoothly shift from one plot to the other without confusing the reader. Several questions are raised by the end of the novel. The Portuguese notebooks for example seem to have some sort of power over those who write in them. Trause warns Orr of their ability to inspire and their cruelty as well. Trause also raises the issue that the future is within us and that when we write, we are not writing about the past or the present but the future. My only objection to the novel is the ending. I felt there should have been something more to it.