Siri Hustvedt’s powerful memoir of losing her husband Paul Auster will make you cry

By Julienne van Loon, Associate Professor in Creative Writing, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne

“Divested of others, what exactly is a self?” This question occurs halfway through Siri Hustvedt’s extraordinary new grief memoir, Ghost Stories. By my reading, it propels the whole book.

Ghost Stories reflects on Hustvedt’s life with her husband Paul Auster, her partner of 43 years, in the aftermath of his death, aged 77, in April 2024. An internationally renowned writer and filmmaker, Auster’s notable works include

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