The story of The Music of Chance by Paul Auster is that of Jim Nashe, a fire-fighter who inherited a small fortune from his father and is somehow thrown of the "Beaten track of life." The money has a great role in his life as it allowed him to stop thinking of money.
Paul Auster describes Nashe as "A man who is treating his past as if it were so much to be carted away." Nashe drives aimlessly and "The music would carries him into a real weightlessness." Nashe feels free and independent, until he meets Pozzi, a young his leaving by playing card, his destiny changed. Nashe funds Pozzi ten thousand dollars in order to play game against two eccentric millionaires, Flower and Stone in their posh mansion.
In the first part of the novel I loved the symbolic dimension of the game because it changed completely the destiny of Nashe.
Poker game is the symbol of fate, challenge, new chance, absurdity and risk. After a period of mobility, happiness of leaving his past behind him, independence, Nashe founds him self imprisoned into the "perfect city" of Flower and Stone gambling over his life.
In chapter five, Nashe breaks the rhythm of the game by leaving Pozzi in inappropriate moment. Nashe "could not help noticing how pleasurable it felt to be stretching his legs.".
Nashe leave the room to see the model of Stone, to regain a little bit of his freedom and, especially, to escape the world of closure. However, after he returns there is a reversal of expectations. I mean Nashe has confidence in Pozzi intelligence, but Pozzi lost the game. Nevertheless, Nashe challenges Flower and Stone "He pulls out the two envelops of money." And "He puts his car as collateral." But as Nashe says" Thing continued to go against him.".
Nashe and Pozzi not only lost the game but also they have to build a wall of an old Irish castle in order to pay their debts.
In fact, loosing poker game means that one can not trust luck, luck is a very destructive force.
