Paul Auster's TRAVELS IN THE SCRIPTORIUM as a Critique of the Hyperreal

Paul Auster's Traels in the Scriptorium (2007) grapples with absurdities characterizing postmodern human existence. The plot of the novel revolves around its bewildered amnesiac protagonist, appropriately names Mr. Blank, who remains confined in a mysterious cell while his failing memory and actions are controlled by external unseen agents. Mr. Blank's surroundings include arbitrarily labeled objects; he derives awareness of his circumstances from random conversations with visitors and by viewing manuscripts and photographs from his past.