At a fair in Kansas in 1927, twelve-year-old orphan Walter Clairborne Rawley strolls through the air. It is the beginning of a miraculous career. But soon Walt - cheeky, sharp-tongued and never at a loss for a trick - and his teacher Yehudi come into the sights of America's crooks and gangsters. Paul Auster's adventurous novel is a parable of economic ascent and moral decay, a play with the myths and ideals of a country that still considers itself innocent, but has long been endangered by greed and arrogance.
At a fair in Kansas in 1927, twelve-year-old orphan Walter Clairborne Rawley strolls through the air. It is the beginning of a miraculous career. But soon Walt - cheeky, sharp-tongued and never at a loss for a trick - and his teacher Yehudi come into the sights of America's crooks and gangsters. Paul Auster's adventurous novel is a parable of economic ascent and moral decay, a play with the myths and ideals of a country that still considers itself innocent, but has long been endangered by greed and arrogance.