--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like a cross between Paul Auster's The…" description: "\"Like a cross between Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions and Janice Lee's Damnation, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing is at once smart and slyly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/brian-evenson-21180_absolution_like-a-cross-between-paul-auster-s-the-b_1051711.jpg" --- # Like a cross between Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions… ![“Like a cross between Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions and Janice Lee's Damnation, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing is at once smart and slyly unsettling. It is expert at creating a quietly building sense of dread while claiming to do something as straightforward as describe lost…” quote by Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/brian-evenson-21180_absolution_like-a-cross-between-paul-auster-s-the-b_1051711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/brian-evenson-21180_absolution_like-a-cross-between-paul-auster-s-the-b_1051711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/brian-evenson-21180_absolution_like-a-cross-between-paul-auster-s-the-b_1051711.jpg) > “Like a cross between Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions and Janice Lee's Damnation, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing is at once smart and slyly unsettling. It is expert at creating a quietly building sense of dread while claiming to do something as straightforward as describe lost films—like those conversations you have in which you realize only too late that what you actually talking about and what you think you are talking about are not the same thing at all. With Rombes, Two Dollar Radio deftly demonstrates why it is rapidly becoming the go-to press for innovative fiction.” [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel blends literary references with unsettling dread, exploring how narratives about lost films reveal deeper misalignments between perception and reality. **In simple terms:** A story mixes cleverness with unsettling tension, showing how we misinterpret what we think we know. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about what you think you understand. Themes literature perception reality misinterpretation dread Mood thoughtful intriguing somber Type analytical critical philosophical When to use this quote - reading fiction - film analysis - creative writing - psychology - philosophy Key Concepts postmodernism metafiction existential anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when your perception diverges from reality? - What role does dread play in storytelling? A Different Perspective The book may be too niche for general readers, limiting its impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolution/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Damnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damnation/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I don't always know what's going to go on in terms of the mood of the story. Sometimes I start with the mood, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-always-know-what-s-going-to-go-on-in-terms-of-the-mood-of-the/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [The truth brings with it a great measure of absolution, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-truth-brings-with-it-a-great-measure-of-absolution-always/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were ironclad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-bentov/there-is-nothing-absolute-and-final-if-everything-were-ironclad-all/) Itzhak Bentov > [It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-the-confession-not-the-priest-that-gives-us-absolution/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/psychoanalysis-is-confession-without-absolution/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Pause your opinions, debating and absolute knowing for long enough to conceive gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/pause-your-opinions-debating-and-absolute-knowing-for-long-enough-to/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Time made apologies and absolution unnecessary. Time didn't really heal, it just made bad memories distant so that the brain couldn't recapture the lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amulya-malladi/time-made-apologies-and-absolution-unnecessary-time-didn-t-really/) [Amulya Malladi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amulya-malladi/) > [Our own acts are isolated and one act does not buy absolution for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/our-own-acts-are-isolated-and-one-act-does-not-buy-absolution-for/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [From sorrow to serenity, the truth is absolution, from sorrow to serenity, its on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killswitch-engage/from-sorrow-to-serenity-the-truth-is-absolution-from-sorrow-to/) [Killswitch Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killswitch-engage/) > [“There's absolution and purity to fucking that strips people back to their primal core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/there-s-absolution-and-purity-to-fucking-that-strips-people-back-to/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [“There's a price for absolution on this planet, and it's called penance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/there-s-a-price-for-absolution-on-this-planet-and-it-s-called-penance/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I tell you, guilt dwells nowhere but in the eyes of the accuser. This men know even as they deny it, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-tell-you-guilt-dwells-nowhere-but-in-the-eyes-of-the-accuser-this/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) ## More by Brian Evenson > [I don't think that writing, real writing, has much to do with affirming belief--if anything it causes rifts and gaps in belief which make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-think-that-writing-real-writing-has-much-to-do-with-affirming/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“What was the truth? he wondered. How important was it to know? And once he knew, what then?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/what-was-the-truth-he-wondered-how-important-was-it-to-know-and-once/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Anything can happen: anything. Or nothing. Who can say? The world, monstrous, is made that way, and in the end consumes us all. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/anything-can-happen-anything-or-nothing-who-can-say-the-world/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [ Truth cannot be imparted. \[\] It must be inflicted. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/truth-cannot-be-imparted-it-must-be-inflicted/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [In Kamby Bolongo Mean River damage and delusion walk hand in hand, and everything we think we know is gradually called into question. Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/in-kamby-bolongo-mean-river-damage-and-delusion-walk-hand-in-hand-and/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Curiosity is a terrible thing, he was thinking. How is it possible to stop oneself from needing to know?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/curiosity-is-a-terrible-thing-he-was-thinking-how-is-it-possible-to/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Philosophy does provide me a structure and a way of thinking. Religion - like the religion I grew up with, Mormonism - also provides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/philosophy-does-provide-me-a-structure-and-a-way-of-thinking-religion/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Fiction is a set of observable manifestations, as represented and frozen in language, that triggers a profoundly subjective and individual experience. Ultimately, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/fiction-is-a-set-of-observable-manifestations-as-represented-and/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [One of the primary differences for me between fiction and poetry is that fiction uses every sort of tool that poetry does but hides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/one-of-the-primary-differences-for-me-between-fiction-and-poetry-is/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Truth cannot be imparted," said Kline. "It must be inflicted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/truth-cannot-be-imparted-said-kline-it-must-be-inflicted/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Hell is crammed full of godly men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/hell-is-crammed-full-of-godly-men/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Still,” said Ramse. “You’re not much. You’re what you are and we love you for it, but you’re not much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/still-said-ramse-you-re-not-much-you-re-what-you-are-and-we-love-you/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“He found the slot that people thought best suited him and he crammed himself into it. He grew up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/he-found-the-slot-that-people-thought-best-suited-him-and-he-crammed/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“Of course there’s another choice, he thought. There is always another choice. I’m just not going to take it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/of-course-there-s-another-choice-he-thought-there-is-always-another/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Ideas for stories come in really different terms and really different ways for me. Sometimes they're from books, sometimes they're just kind of out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/ideas-for-stories-come-in-really-different-terms-and-really-different/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) [Explore all 29 Brian Evenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) ## More Absolution quotes > [I tell you, guilt dwells nowhere but in the eyes of the accuser. This men know even as they deny it, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-tell-you-guilt-dwells-nowhere-but-in-the-eyes-of-the-accuser-this/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“There's a price for absolution on this planet, and it's called penance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/there-s-a-price-for-absolution-on-this-planet-and-it-s-called-penance/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“There's absolution and purity to fucking that strips people back to their primal core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/there-s-absolution-and-purity-to-fucking-that-strips-people-back-to/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [From sorrow to serenity, the truth is absolution, from sorrow to serenity, its on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killswitch-engage/from-sorrow-to-serenity-the-truth-is-absolution-from-sorrow-to/) [Killswitch Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killswitch-engage/) > [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Our own acts are isolated and one act does not buy absolution for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/our-own-acts-are-isolated-and-one-act-does-not-buy-absolution-for/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Time made apologies and absolution unnecessary. Time didn't really heal, it just made bad memories distant so that the brain couldn't recapture the lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amulya-malladi/time-made-apologies-and-absolution-unnecessary-time-didn-t-really/) [Amulya Malladi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amulya-malladi/) > [“Pause your opinions, debating and absolute knowing for long enough to conceive gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/pause-your-opinions-debating-and-absolute-knowing-for-long-enough-to/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/psychoanalysis-is-confession-without-absolution/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-the-confession-not-the-priest-that-gives-us-absolution/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were ironclad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-bentov/there-is-nothing-absolute-and-final-if-everything-were-ironclad-all/) Itzhak Bentov > [The truth brings with it a great measure of absolution, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-truth-brings-with-it-a-great-measure-of-absolution-always/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [For one thing, the Catholic Church in particular has this one thing - confession - in which you could go, confess to a priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-one-thing-the-catholic-church-in-particular-has-this-one-thing/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) [Browse all 89 Absolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like a cross between Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions and Janice Lee's Damnation, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing is at once smart and slyly unsettling. It is expert at creating a quietly building sense of dread while claiming to do something as straightforward as describe lost films—like those conversations you have in which you realize only too late that what you actually talking about and what you think you are talking about are not the same thing at all. 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