This collection of short stories is very detail-oriented, and it is for this reason that those details are vital to the impact that the story has on the reader. The "list of nothing", for example, is a list of subtleties, or details, which let the reader know about the author's current environment. It is not the flashiest aspects of nature that are the most important; instead it is the small sounds that most people do …showed first 75 words of 481 total…

…showed last 75 words of 481 total…he couldn't see him at first. Paul Auster goes on use this technique throughout the entire story, and it makes for a much more innovative chronicle. Details are what makes life so interesting. However, most people do not realize details until they are gone. It is for this reason that details usually go unrecognized and they are unappreciated. Once one can recognize the details of life they can begin to live life to the fullest.