Mr.

Vertigo Summary
Mr. Vertigo (1994), a historical novel by Paul Auster, follows a boy who joins a
circus troupe and experiences sides of America he didn’t know existed. Critics, who
praise the book for its characterization and setting, note that the central
character’s journey symbolizes America’s own “coming of age,” and what it
means to be American. Auster is an award-winning author best known for his
portrayals of America. An international bestseller, he is a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Mr. Vertigo begins in 1920s St. Louis, Missouri. Since his parents died a few
years ago, nine-year-old Walt Rawley lives with his aunt and uncle. They don’t treat
him well; they make him stay outside until it’s dark and he doesn’t attend school.
Without any prospects, all he longs for is someone to love him and treat him like
family.

One day, Walt meets Master Yehudi. Yehudi worries about Walt because he is always
alone. He asks Walt if he wants to learn how to fly so he can escape his troubles.
Unsurprisingly, Walt says yes and leaves his old life behind. Yehudi takes Walt to his
own farmhouse in Cibola, Kansas, where he meets the other members of Yehudi’s
self-made family: a Native American woman and an African American boy called Aesop.

Normally, Walt only associates with white people. When he first meets his new
housemates, he isn’t friendly towards them. Yehudi warns Walt to get over his
racism if he wants to make it in America rather than being left out in the cold. Out of
options and desperate to stay in his new home, Walt tries harder to get to know the
woman, Sioux, and Aesop. He takes on work around the farm to earn his keep.

Yehudi tells Walt there are thirty-three steps to learning how to fly. The steps
increase in difficulty until the final stage, levitation. The first few steps aren’t too
challenging, but Walt soon understands just how difficult the tests will be. For
example, Yehudi cuts off part of his finger to make him more aerodynamic. He also
buries him underground for twenty-four hours with nothing but a small straw to help
him breathe.

These tests are designed to give Walt courage and to teach him that
anything is possible if he believes hard enough. Although Walt struggles and
fails many times, he finally learns how to levitate and fly. Sioux tells him how proud
she is and, for the first time in a long while, Walt feels genuinely loved.

Everything changes when the Ku Klux Klan arrives one night. They tear
through the farmhouse and murder Aesop and Sioux. Although the murders
devastate both Yehudi and Walt, Yehudi doesn’t want Walt to lose sight of his goal—
making money from his flying skills. Walt practices every day until he is confident
that he can fly on command, and Yehudi books him his first show.

Walt’s first show gets off to a bad start when the audience boos him offstage for
dressing up as an angel. He chooses a modest costume for his next performance and
the audience loves it. As Walt and Yehudi travel around the state, word spreads, and
Walt becomes a national success. Fame, however, brings its own difficulties.
Finding out about Walt’s new skills, Walt’s uncle, Uncle Slim, kidnaps him for
ransom. Yehudi refuses to pay the ransom because he believes Walt can
escape on his own. It takes over a month, but Walt finds a way to fly out of
the house to escape Uncle Slim’s clutches. Yehudi tells him that he would have
paid the ransom eventually.

After a while, Yehudi puts Walt back to work. Everything goes well for a few years until
Walt hits puberty: he can’t fly as well, and he gets headaches after every
flight. Hating to disappoint Yehudi, Walt doesn’t know what to do. Yehudi tells him
there is one possibility—castration. If Walt lets Yehudi castrate him, then he will
stay boyish forever, and he won’t be weighed down by the responsibilities of
adulthood.

Walt refuses castration because he doesn’t want to lose his identity. He

decides that there must be another way to perform. He asks Yehudi to drive him to
Hollywood; Yehudi agrees. On route, they are ambushed by Uncle Slim, who
shoots Yehudi and steals Walt’s money. Yehudi dies, and Walt promises to
avenge his death.

Three years later, Walt tracks down Uncle Slim. He gave up his career to
hunt Uncle Slim from one corner of America to the other; now it all feels worth
it. Walt runs a club for a while until he enlists in the US Army. After serving
in World War II, he decides to retire to Kansas to look after Yehudi’s old
farmhouse.