Ruminating about Paul Auster this afternoon because I'm at the tale end of The Book of Illusions. His ideas shake my consciousness--how does he do it? Might there be something going on with his brain chemistry that's outside the norm? With that thought, I'm reminded of his near-death experience at age fourteen. He was away at summer camp when lightning struck and killed a companion standing right next to him. Being in the presence of such an enormous discharge of electricity impacts the body and must, of course, affect the brain. I can't help but wonder if the event caused changes in the way his neural impulses travel across the synapses. Alas, I know little about the brain, but if electroshock treatments can eliminate severe depression, then it stands to reason that his brain chemistry was altered on that summer day.