Paul Gallagher's story about The New York Trilogy

I was first introduced to this book at age 16, by a pair of Waterstones staff members who came into my school to suggest RPR ideas to me and my fellow fifth years. I took a few recommendations away from that session, but while all of them were good, The New York Trilogy was in a different league.

Paul Auster's ability to explore massive ideas about how we interpret the world, at the same time as telling three fascinating stories about strange and compelling characters, opened my mind afresh to the incredible potential of books and reading. I'd always been a reader, but The New York Trilogy pushed me into a whole new world of words and ideas, and Auster led to Don Delillo, Douglas Coupland, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Margaret Atwood... Paul Auster remains my favourite, but I know these also have contributed much to how I see the world.

And then, a few years later, The New York Trilogy took on a whole other level of significance in my life. Auster loves to explore coincidences, so it seemed more than just chance when I met a certain beautiful girl who had had a similarly profound experience reading the very same book while in high school. I did as any sensible man would, and married her. We're currently living happily ever after, and I like to think The New York Trilogy is one of the reasons why.