Oracle Night--What do you think?

2. How did you like the multi-layered plot? Was the plot too complicated or did you find it engaging? Which plot did you like the best: Sid and Grace's story or Nick Bowen's?

I must begin by saying that as a first time reader of Auster's work, I was very impressed with his writing style and would definitely consider reading another one of his novels (probably Moon Palace). I became engrossed in Oracle Night due to the complexity of the plot surprisingly and not despite it. I do not usually particularly like multi-layered storylines (e.g. One Hundred Years of Solitude was impossible for me to follow), yet I did not find such difficulty in reading this novel. Auster knows exactly how to separate each one of the stories so that the reader can keep up with the flow of the book. I was engrossed in this book because it was not a banal story but one that required thought. Sid and Grace's story was not as complicated (until the last 15 pages of the novel) as Nick Bowen and Eva's. I was disappointed when Sidney had a creativity block and was even more disappointed when he finally ripped the unfinished story to shreds: "Roughly three years after Trause and I had that conversation, I tore up the blue notebook and threw it into a garbage can..." (pg. 222). I found myself thinking of prospective plot solutions to rescue Nick from the hydrogen bomb shelter. Although Nick's story was much more far-fatched than the other, I found his tale and the Flitcraft episode much more engaging than the main plot.

PS, Why is the book named Oracle Night when only 2 pages are mentionned about the novel in the book?