• Invisible

  • By: Paul Auster
  • Narrated by: Paul Auster
  • Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (209 ratings)

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Invisible  By  cover art

Invisible

By: Paul Auster
Narrated by: Paul Auster
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Publisher's summary

"One of America's greatest novelists" dazzlingly reinvents the coming-of-age story in his most passionate and surprising book to date

Sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts, Paul Auster's fifteenth novel opens in New York City in the spring of 1967, when twenty-year-old Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University, meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born and his silent and seductive girfriend, Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden, shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life.

Three different narrators tell the story of Invisible, a novel that travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from Morningside Heights, to the Left Bank of Paris, to a remote island in the Caribbean. It is a book of youthful rage, unbridled sexual hunger, and a relentless quest for justice. With uncompromising insight, Auster takes us into the shadowy borderland between truth and memory, between authorship and identity, to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as "one of America's most spectacularly inventive writers."

©2009 Paul Auster (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“[Auster's]use of intertextuality and his crisp, simple prose will keep listeners fully engaged from beginning to end.” —Library Journal

“The story of a Columbia University undergraduate who encounters a strange French couple who change the course of his life is always compelling, especially as read in the gruff, detached growl of Auster's voice.” —Winston-Salem Journal

“Now comes Invisible, a novel of such virtuosity and depth that it should not only unite the faithful in a hallelujah chorus, but it deserves to draw legions of converts as well. More than a return to form, this might be Auster's best novel yet... Auster writes of 'the obsessive story that has wormed its way into your soul and become an integral part of your being.' This is that story.” —Kirkus Reviews on the book

What listeners say about Invisible

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of Auster's Best

I am a big fan of Paul Auster and this is one of his best books. It is not quite as dark as some of his other novels and the story is revealed in an intriguing manner. Unlike most novelist, Auster narrates his own book and I really enjoy his deep voice. (In fact after listening to Brooklyn Follies, I read some other books of his and I could hear his voice telling me the story.)
The characters are complex and without giving away the ending, I will say that it ties up enough of the story without seeming to be contrived. I highly recommend this engaging book.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Left me uneasy

Very creative. Despite the flat tone of the author...I forgive him because he is the author, the story moved and kept my interest. At times I found myself having to put it down because it left me so uneasy. Who's a liar, who's telling the truth? Imagined or real, the events are disturbing. I couldn't put it down yet I was happy it was over.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Be willing to suspend your disbelief

I like the author's style of writing, his lively intellect, and his intuition about what his characters are thinking. The subject of this novel, the development, and conclusion of the narrative are all quite puzzling, however, and controversial. How is Walker's incestuous relationship with his sister central to his character or relevant to his conflict with his nemesis, Robert Born? Perhaps his love of women is the product of his early-teen sexual contact with his sister and is central to understanding his protective stance with three other women in the novel. His defense of these women brings him into conflict with Professor Born on several occasions and it is those battles that power the book. Born's multiple roles of Professor, Agent, Double Agent, protector, and murder are also at the heart of the book, however, and those roles are implausible at best. It requires quite a suspension of disbelief to accept the central facts about Born, enjoy the characters in the fable, and continue your appreciation of the author, Paul Auster.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What did you expect?

This is not what I expected, but then it is a mistake to expect anything from a Paul Auster novel. Not knowing what to expect is part of the fun.

This book made me uneasy--that might be good, but maybe not. Auster can do that because he is such a good author. Make me unsure of whether my reaction is good or bad, that is.

So I think the novel is great.

And the narration is in some ways perfect. Given the book's theme of questionable authorship, I could see someone making that argument. But I mainly found Auster's voice flat and his cadence random.

So I think the narration is not great.

In summary: great novel (unless it isn't), not great narration (unless it is).

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

It was amazing

I loved this story and narration as well. I feel special thinking that it's narrated by Paul auster himself.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Style, narrative and a story

Auster here appears at the height of his powers with words--he wields them at will to create narratives in narratives that make allusions to himself as a writer--and the NYC he inhabits.

While i found the incest distasteful, he, nonetheless, is in intellectual company that he, no doubt, is aware of: Freud, Martha Nussbaum, Jonathan Haidt. For me, it mars the story, but that is no reason not to read or listen to the book.

The story propels the narrative; nothing sags from beginning to end. Listeners or readers may only be left asking, "What happened to x, y, or z?"

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I’m a new fan of Auster

This man writes like he is telling me all his dirty secrets privately into my ear. Engaging and touching from the first sentence.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

absorbing discussion of the writing process

easy going narrative that leaves you Hungary for more. wondering is this it? was this it a good enough one. there is something about how the story telling is. very absorbing but leaves you with only questions and no answers. i think he was trying to discuss the act of writing and the formulation of stories . but not sure.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A book full of surprises

I did enjoy every part of this book. Very well written with many surprising twists!!! Easy to follow the story and a great development of the characters.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A short long book

The book starts all right, it looks like a good story of the life of a student will be told. The rhythm is good and the facts unravel in a good pace. From the middle part of the book thing get weird. The main story changes without a reason, the narrator changes with no reasonable explanation, and at the end the narrator changes again with no explanation. It ends without answering most of the questions it creates. Maybe I am not very smart, or, maybe, this book is not that good. I did not like it. Paul Auster got his chance and he lost me.The book is short (7hrs, about 200 pages) but at the end it looks like it has 500 pages. I cannot recommend it.

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