Sunset Park - Paul Auster

Sunset Park

By Paul Auster

  • Release Date: 2010-11-09
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 83 Ratings

Description

Luminous, passionate, expansive, an emotional tour de force

Sunset Park follows the hopes and fears of a cast of unforgettable characters brought together by the mysterious Miles Heller during the dark months of the 2008 economic collapse.

An enigmatic young man employed as a trash-out worker in southern Florida obsessively photographing thousands of abandoned objects left behind by the evicted families.

A group of young people squatting in an apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

The Hospital for Broken Things, which specializes in repairing the artifacts of a vanished world.

William Wyler's 1946 classic The Best Years of Our Lives.

A celebrated actress preparing to return to Broadway.

An independent publisher desperately trying to save his business and his marriage.

These are just some of the elements Auster magically weaves together in this immensely moving novel about contemporary America and its ghosts. Sunset Park is a surprising departure that confirms Paul Auster as one of our greatest living writers.

Reviews

  • Sunset Park

    5
    By Reader72
    Good, but not Auster's best. The slice-of-life motif wasn't enough to keep me engaged with the characters. Auster's work usually has a haunting quality that this book sorely lacked.
  • Auster delivers again

    5
    By Cgnuimhf
    Paul Auster never fails to deliver an extremely well written book. His characters are so well developed that you really care and feel as tho you know them. I have read all of his books, and I never hesitate to purchase a new work of his. He is at the top of my list of favorite authors, and at times I believe he does not receive the recognition he so rightly deserves. I would not hesitate to buy this book and if you have not read any of his other works I suggest you check them out. This book kept me interested from the first page to the end. I would rather not give any of the plot away, but let you go on this journey yourself. GP
  • Provocative

    5
    By chvgt
    This book is beautifully written. I cared deeply for all of the characters and loved the way it switched personal stories. Auster describes an internal life for each, all of whom were trying to make sense of an almost desperate, and yet universal angst. Even so, I felt the ending was a little too grim. Miles deserves a glimmer of possibility. The interesting thing is that the author clearly loves him but leaves him, and thus us, without hope.