A chance encounter, a stolen wallet, a blind woman and an unlikely Christmas dinner form the centre of this beautiful story by Paul Auster. 

Originally commissioned by The New York Times for Christmas Day in 1990, the story is set in Brooklyn, following Auggie Wren. Wren is a cigar-store clerk and amateur photographer, whose account of a Christmas  carries Auster’s characteristic fascination with coincidence, alongside a tenuous relationship of truth and half-truth. Its apparent simplicity conceals a rather complicated moral question: whether an act of kindness becomes any less meaningful when it depends upon a lie. Auster leaves the question beautifully unresolved.

This handsome illustrated edition pairs Auster’s prose with full-colour artwork by Argentine illustrator Isol, whose expressive, slightly surreal urban scenes give the story a second visual life. A lovely little object in its own right.

Faber and Faber, 2009. Illustrated by Isol. Clothbound hardcover with illustrated front panel. Very good condition, with minor signs of handling.