This is the story of a young writer's struggle to stay afloat. Paul Auster's memoir is essentially about money - and what it means not to have it. From one odd job to the next, from one failed scheme to another, he investigates his own stubborn compulsion to make art, and in the process shares with readers of this book a series of adventures and encounters. The book ends with three of the longest footnotes in literary history, including a card game, a baseball thriller, and three unproduced short plays.