Chapter summaries

Chapter 1

The novel City of Glass by Paul Auster begins with the main character, Quinn, getting a phone call in the middle of the night. Quinn is 35 years old, and he lost his wife and son five years before. He now writes mystery novels under the pen name William Wilson. The novels concern the same character, a private detective named Max Work.

When the phone rings, Quinn is lying in bed smoking a cigarette and reading. He answers, and a voice asks for Paul Auster of the Auster Detective Agency. Quinn tells the caller they have the wrong number and ignores the person’s protests.

The call comes again the next night, while Quinn is in the bathroom. Quinn does not hurry and only answers when the caller has already hung up. Quin decides to answer and play along the next time, but the call does not come through again for several nights.

The phone rings again on the night of the 19th of May. Quinn answers and says that he is Paul Auster. The caller tells him that someone is trying to kill them and that they need protection. Quinn agrees to meet the caller the next day in an apartment on 69th Street.

Chapter 2

The next day, Quinn initially does not intend to keep his appointment, especially since it is not really his. However, as the morning passes, he finds himself getting dressed and getting ready to go out. It is only when he reaches the address the caller gave him that Quinn realizes what he is doing.

Quinn rings the doorbell, and the door is opened by a woman, which surprises Quinn. The woman introduces herself as Virginia Stillman and says that her husband, Peter, has been waiting for Quinn since early morning. She leads Quinn to the living room and goes to get her husband.

Quinn does not know how long he waits. When Peter eventually arrives, Quinn notices that he has a strange way of moving, as if he is not in control of his gestures. Quinn is sure Peter is the one who called him.

Peter begins talking. His way of expressing himself is unusual, filled with made-up words and repeated phrases. He also insists that Peter Stillman is not his real name.

Peter says that his father, also named Peter Stillman, believed that God has a language of his own, and if a child does not hear any human words, he learns to speak God’s language. To prove this theory, Stillman kept his son isolated from everyone for nine years, and beat Peter if he used normal words. 

Peter also hints that his father was locked up and that he is soon to be released. Peter is sure his father will try to kill him, which is why he needs Quinn, who he thinks is Auster, to protect him. Peter is confident Quinn will succeed.

Chapter 3

Quinn suddenly realizes it has gotten dark. Virginia enters the room and tells Peter he has to go. As Peter leaves the room, Virginia remains alone with Quinn. She tells him that Peter sometimes lies, but that some of the things he said were the truth. Quinn asks Virginia to tell him more.

Virginia explains that Peter’s father was a very wealthy and well-educated professor. He married Peter’s mot...

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