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Sunset Park

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Sunset Park Cover

ISBN13: 9780805092868
ISBN10: 0805092862
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Awards

Staff Top 5s 2010 2010 Powell's Staff Top 5s
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Review:

"Auster (Invisible) is in excellent form for this foray into the tarnished, conflicted soul of Brooklyn. New York native Miles Heller now cleans out foreclosed south Florida homes, but after falling in love with an underage girl and stirring the wrath of her older sister, he flees to Brooklyn and shacks up with a group of artists squatting in the borough's Sunset Park neighborhood. As Miles arrives at the squat, the narrative broadens to take in the lives of Miles's roommates — among them Bing, 'the champion of discontent,' and Alice, a starving writer — and the unlikely paths that lead them to their squat. Then there's the matter of Miles's estranged father, Morris, who, in trying to save both his marriage and the independent publishing outfit he runs, may find the opportunity to patch things up with Miles. The fractured narrative takes in an impressive swath of life and history — Vietnam, baseball trivia, the WWII coming-home film The Best Years of Our Lives — and even if a couple of the perspectives feel weak, Auster's newest is a gratifying departure from the postmodern trickery he's known for, one full of crisp turns of phrase and keen insights. (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Review:

"With a plot that encompasses war in the Middle East, economic recession and the perils of the publishing industry, a contemporary vitality distinguishes the latest from the veteran author....Sure to please Auster fans and likely to attract new readers as well." Kirkus (Starred Review)

Review:

"Passionately literary… every element is saturated with implication as each wounded, questing character's story illuminates our tragic flaws and profound need for connection, coherence, and beauty. In a time of daunting crises and change, Auster reminds us of lasting things, of love, art, and ‘the miraculous strangeness of being alive.'" Booklist (Starred Review)

Review:

"Auster deftly balances minute details that evoke New York City, post-financial meltdown, with marvelously drawn characters bruised but unbowed by life's vicissitudes. He has an impressive array of literary nominations to his credit, but this should be the novel that brings him a broader readership." Library Journal (Starred Review)

Review:

"Paul Auster is one of those sages with confounding talent — confounding for one because he's simply that good....He belongs among Vonnegut, Roth, and DeLillo....Now is the time to herald the Post-Recession Novel. Sunset Park looks to be it." The Daily Beast

Review:

"The latest and arguably most user-friendly among the whip-smart fiction canon of Paul Auster....[A] winning novel....In Sunset Park, Auster seems to carry all of humanity inside him." Jan Stuart, The Boston Globe

Review:

"Unexpectedly searing....Sunset Park's prodigal-son tale is somberly poignant, a study of how deeply the urge to connect runs." Salon.com

Review:

"As remarkable as are Auster's skill and experience, this kind of writing — this kind of ending — takes another, rarer attribute: tremendous courage." The Seattle Times

Review:

"Exquisitely crafted, surprisingly tender....A story grounded in the potent emotions of love, loss, regret and vengeance, and the painful reality of current day calamities.....Auster fans and newcomers will find in Sunset Park his usual beautifully nuanced prose...[and] a tremendous crash bang of an ending." NPR.org

Synopsis:

Luminous, passionate, expansive, and 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.

Synopsis:

A New York Times Bestseller

From the bestselling author of Invisible and The New York Trilogy comes a new novel set during the 2008 economic collapse. 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” (Jan Stuart, The Boston Globe).

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About the Author

Paul Auster is the bestselling author of Invisible, Man in the Dark, Travels in the Scriptorium, The Brooklyn Follies, and Oracle Night. I Thought My Father Was God, the NPR National Story Project anthology, which he edited, was a national bestseller. His work has been translated into thirty-five languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
efectegerundi, September 1, 2011 (view all comments by efectegerundi)
Another one of Auster's wonders. Intriguing, convoluted and with the right amount of drama. A great suspense novel. Once more in his dear Brooklyn, described oh so perfectly! You won't be able to stop reading.
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nwmariner, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by nwmariner)
The best from Paul Auster in years. A searing comment on the current economic hardships faced by so many in today's United States.
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Tyler Jones, August 31, 2010 (view all comments by Tyler Jones)
Paul Auster is not a writer who reinvents himself with each book, rather he continues to build a world with his novels, some of which share characters, themes, and style.

Auster has created a universe populated with the characters of his imagination – a universe of randomness and coincidence, heartbreak and redemption.

Sunset Park is a worthy addition to the Auster cannon, a very human and emotionally driven story of the young and the aging, and the similar difficulties we face. Auster presents us with a cast of characters, all very real and well drawn, whose lives intersect – not in random ways necessarily, but in the common ways that we as humans enter one another’s lives.

I will not repeat the plot summary, as you can read that on whatever site you happen to view. I will say however, that I love the way Auster draws parallels between the younger characters and their older counterparts. We see Miles Heller struggle with guilt and self doubt, only to witness both his father and mother experience the same feelings and emotions. Or the way that Ellen discovers who she is and how she needs to be loved, then we see Miles’ step mother in need of the same reassurance. Auster seems to be saying, “We are all human and essentially need the same things, maybe in different ways and styles, but we all need to be loved.”

That is a central theme of this novel, that we are all distinctly different, but we are still very much the same.

I find Auster to be a brave writer in that he never shies away from love and all its manifestations. He gives the same time and attention to each character until we feel that we can see them clearly and understand all their various predicaments and hardships.

“Sunset Park” is a more straight forward narrative then we’ve seen from him in the past few years. Written in the present tense, it lends a quality of urgency to the story, as though everything is happening now, not in the distant past.

As with most Auster novels, I look forward to reading it again and picking up on the subtle nuances I may have missed the first time around.

And on a side note, his vivid description of William Wyler’s 1946 film “The Best Years of Our Lives” was so impacting that I went and bought the DVD the next day.

*This review is based on an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy)*
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780805092868
Author:
Auster, Paul
Publisher:
Henry Holt & Company
Subject:
Young adults
Subject:
Brooklyn (new york, n.y.)
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
20101131
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
7 CDs, 8.5 hours
Pages:
320
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.50 in
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

Sunset Park Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$7.95 In Stock
Product details 320 pages Henry Holt and Co. - English 9780805092868 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Auster (Invisible) is in excellent form for this foray into the tarnished, conflicted soul of Brooklyn. New York native Miles Heller now cleans out foreclosed south Florida homes, but after falling in love with an underage girl and stirring the wrath of her older sister, he flees to Brooklyn and shacks up with a group of artists squatting in the borough's Sunset Park neighborhood. As Miles arrives at the squat, the narrative broadens to take in the lives of Miles's roommates — among them Bing, 'the champion of discontent,' and Alice, a starving writer — and the unlikely paths that lead them to their squat. Then there's the matter of Miles's estranged father, Morris, who, in trying to save both his marriage and the independent publishing outfit he runs, may find the opportunity to patch things up with Miles. The fractured narrative takes in an impressive swath of life and history — Vietnam, baseball trivia, the WWII coming-home film The Best Years of Our Lives — and even if a couple of the perspectives feel weak, Auster's newest is a gratifying departure from the postmodern trickery he's known for, one full of crisp turns of phrase and keen insights. (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)
"Review" by , "With a plot that encompasses war in the Middle East, economic recession and the perils of the publishing industry, a contemporary vitality distinguishes the latest from the veteran author....Sure to please Auster fans and likely to attract new readers as well."
"Review" by , "Passionately literary… every element is saturated with implication as each wounded, questing character's story illuminates our tragic flaws and profound need for connection, coherence, and beauty. In a time of daunting crises and change, Auster reminds us of lasting things, of love, art, and ‘the miraculous strangeness of being alive.'"
"Review" by , "Auster deftly balances minute details that evoke New York City, post-financial meltdown, with marvelously drawn characters bruised but unbowed by life's vicissitudes. He has an impressive array of literary nominations to his credit, but this should be the novel that brings him a broader readership."
"Review" by , "Paul Auster is one of those sages with confounding talent — confounding for one because he's simply that good....He belongs among Vonnegut, Roth, and DeLillo....Now is the time to herald the Post-Recession Novel. Sunset Park looks to be it."
"Review" by , "The latest and arguably most user-friendly among the whip-smart fiction canon of Paul Auster....[A] winning novel....In Sunset Park, Auster seems to carry all of humanity inside him."
"Review" by , "Unexpectedly searing....Sunset Park's prodigal-son tale is somberly poignant, a study of how deeply the urge to connect runs."
"Review" by , "As remarkable as are Auster's skill and experience, this kind of writing — this kind of ending — takes another, rarer attribute: tremendous courage."
"Review" by , "Exquisitely crafted, surprisingly tender....A story grounded in the potent emotions of love, loss, regret and vengeance, and the painful reality of current day calamities.....Auster fans and newcomers will find in Sunset Park his usual beautifully nuanced prose...[and] a tremendous crash bang of an ending."
"Synopsis" by , Luminous, passionate, expansive, and 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.
"Synopsis" by , A New York Times Bestseller

From the bestselling author of Invisible and The New York Trilogy comes a new novel set during the 2008 economic collapse. 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” (Jan Stuart, The Boston Globe).

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