Paul Auster’s publisher in Portugal remembers writer “always interested and open to the world”

per Lusa, May 1, 2024

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The publisher LeYa/ASA lamented today, “with deep regret and consternation”, the death of the North-American novelist Paul Auster, who had 27 books published in Portugal since 1994, remembering him as a “cultured, always interested and open to the world.”

“For 30 years, the ASA has had the privilege of publishing Paul Auster’s books. The writer never stopped dedicating himself completely to his art, he never stopped surprising, always drawing us intensely into his invented and inimitable worlds”, said Carmen Serrano, editor of the North American novelist’s work in Portugal.

Among the work of Paul Auster, editor Carmen Serrano said that books such as “The New York Trilogy”, “4321” or “Baumgartner”, challenged millions of readers and broke down linguistic and cultural barriers around the world.

American novelist Paul Auster died on Tuesday at the age of 77, at his home in New York, from lung cancer.

“The news of his death shakes everyone who worked closely with Paul Auster, as well as all readers, fans and admirers of his work”, indicated the publisher LeYa/ASA.
According to the publisher of Paul Auster’s work in Portugal, the North American novelist’s voice “is unique” and “his work will endure”.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Carmen Serrano expressed sadness at the death of Paul Auster and highlighted the privilege of knowing the man as well as the writer, indicating that the North American visited Portugal quite frequently and his books are among the best sellers.

“Cultured, always interested and open to the world, very good friends with his wife Siri Hustved, Paul Auster was a kind man. His relationship with Portugal was strong and constant, he cherished us and was cherished back, there are many good memories he leaves us”, reinforced the publisher.

Prominent in contemporary literature, awarded numerous literary prizes, Paul Auster is the author of a vast work translated into more than 40 languages.

In Portugal, he has published 27 books and “the writer’s last entry into fiction occurred in October 2023 when, at the height of his creative and stylistic mastery, he published ‘Baumgartner’, his final novel”, he said to LeYa/ASA, adding that it is a brilliant work about the beauty and tragedy of everyday life, which tells the story of a widowed philosophy professor, struggling to survive the loss and absence of his wife.

Born into a Jewish family of Austrian descent, in 1947, in Newark (New Jersey), Paul Auster would later make Brooklyn his home and the setting of novels, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was awarded the 2006 Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature, made a Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2007 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.