An intelligent young man, for no particular reason other than passing intellectual fancies, decides that he will give up on many of the activities that constitute living. He withdraws more and more into himself. His inner life is interesting, and he is a good companion for our journey into it, but eventually he reaches a crisis and must return to the world outside. He meets some outrageous characters, and gets drawn into other lives, and comes to understand his own a little better. At the end, reborn, he is ready finally to live.

This is all done with a sense of fun and play -- almost no deadly seriousness whatsoever, and Auster is a fantastic stylist. I enjoyed it very much.