Sunset Park

A Novel

By: Paul Auster

Narrated by: Paul Auster

From the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1 and The New York Trilogy comes Paul Auster's luminous, tour de force
novel set during the 2008 economic collapse.

"Auster fans and newcomers will find in Sunset Park his usual beautifully nuanced prose.... [and] a tremendous crash bang of an ending.” — NPR

Sunset Park opens with twenty-eight-year-old Miles Heller trashing out foreclosed houses in Florida, the latest stop in his flight across the country. When Miles falls in love with Pilar Sanchez, he finds himself fleeing once again, going back to New York, where his family still lives, and into an abandoned house of young squatters in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Woven together from various points of view—that of Miles's father, an independent book publisher trying to stay afloat, Miles's mother, a celebrated actress preparing her return to the New York stage, and the various men and women who live in the house—"Auster seems to carry all of humanity inside him" (The Boston Globe).

Critic reviews

<p>“Wise, weary and earthy, Auster has a remarkable voice…Listening to the novel would be as good as reading it.” —<i>The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</i><br><br>“Auster's dry, gravelly voice has a gravitas all its own… one almost feels that Auster is himself an Auster character, blowing smoke rings in an empty room while pondering Anerica's mysteries and minutiae.” —<i>Publishers Weekly</i><br><br>“The author reads his own work with great feeling, being able to express in his voice the depths of despair that each of his four main characters is experiencing. The interaction among the four is narrated as an ‘ebb and flow' of life and its experiences.” —<i>Sound Commentary</i></p>

The author forgot to write an ending!

This started off as a great book. I couldn't put it down. then it just stopped - caboom! No real ending - seems he got tired of writing.

Strong character portraits, good narration

This is not a long book and the narration by the author is strong enough to pass muster with a listener who usually prefers professional narrators. The book conveys a moment in time when the economy is doing badly and people's lives and things are being held together tenously by strained relationships. It is a somewhat depressing book weighted down by disillustion and disappointment, much of which seems constructed to feel unavoidable. The characters are interesting and well portrayed, but though the book is satisfactory from a literary perspective, very well written and tied together neatly, it leaves an unsatisfied malaise that results from an ending with no return to any sort of harmonious state. You leave without any feeling of hope.

Not disappointing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend this book because of its insight into people and the human condition. Moving and illuminating, if not always happy and hopeful. The sense of truth beneath the book is rare and liberating.

What did you like best about this story?

Weaving together many well-developed characters.

What does Paul Auster bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Auster is a fine interpreter of his own book. His reading colors the words and sentences you might not feel if you just read it.

Any additional comments?

The ending is not disappointing, but I found myself at a loss. So I listened to that last 90 minutes again, more carefully. Major things happen fast, sometimes even off-stage, but in the end, everything is tied up without loss of verisimilitude. This is a great accomplishment for an author who is trying to deliver felt life. Auster is serious. I look forward to another.

Lovely book

I love Paul Auster and his beautiful writing. This was as lyrical as his others though I was less satisfied with the ending. The journey through his characters lives was truly a pleasure to be taken on. Just sorry he seemed to run out of steam at the end. Beautiful reading too by Paul Auster!

Paul Auster is a genius

A beautiful story, full of understanding and kindness. And the performance by Paul Auster himself is utterly perfect. The reading of the last sentence so full of rhythm and beauty could have never been achieved by anybody else but him