Set in the late 1980s, the story is written from the perspective of David Zimmer, a university professor who, after losing his wife and children in a plane crash, falls into a routine of depression and isolation.

The publishing of the book, however, triggers another series of events that draw Zimmer even deeper into the actor's past.

The events that ensue form the overarching story of Zimmer's rehabilitation from his reclusive state, and his coming to terms with the manner in which his family was killed.

The Book of Illusions revisits a number of plot elements seen in Auster's first major work, The New York Trilogy.

He praised Auster's 'painstaking and vivid fictional re-creation of the career of a silent-movie actor of the nineteen twenties.'