Timbuktu is a touchingly imaginative story by Paul Aster, author of The New York Trilogy. The main human character in the novel, Willy G. Christmas, is a homeless man on a quest to find his high school English teacher, to whom he wants to give the scores of notebooks he has been writing in for decades.
Willy is also hoping his teacher will provide a loving home for Mr. Bones, his canine companion, through whose eyes we see the heart-wrenching details of the decline of a brilliant individual.
Willy is the proverbial "everyman" -- or at least could have been. It's a classic case of "There but for the grace of God go I" as we see bad luck follow worse for Willie. Some of it, of his own making.
An engaging story, Timbuktu seems to lead to only one inevitable ending that is no less powerful for its obviousness as the reader is drawn to the final pages.
This is a tale of redemption and loyalty, told in a clever voice that is able to realistically transport us into Mr. Bones' point of view. To be able to portray a dog as a convincing protagonist is a great feat for Aster, and I applaud this result of his efforts.
