What do you think?
Rate this book
Sunset Park
Miles Heller es un joven introvertido que a los veinte años decidió dejar Nueva York y romper toda relación con sus padres. Siete años después no ha retomado el contacto y reside en Florida, donde trabaja en una empresa que se dedica a vaciar y a limpiar los pisos de los desahuciados para venderlos de nuevo. A diferencia de sus compañeros, que saquean lo que pueden, Miles fotografía los objetos abandonados para demostrar que las familias desaparecidas estuvieron alguna vez allí.Cuando Pilar Sánchez, de dieciséis años, entra en su vida, trunca todos sus planes. Mantener una relación con una menor puede costarle la cárcel, y la hermana mayor de Pilar no duda en chantajearlos con ello. Por eso Miles decide volver a Nueva York hasta que la joven cumpla dieciocho años y mientras tanto vivir en una casa okupa en Sunset Park junto con unos amigos. La vuelta a la gran ciudad desata un viaje interior que lo enfrentará a antiguos fantasmas y abrirá heridas del pasado.
Audio CD
First published November 9, 2010
430 people are currently reading
6787 people want to read
About the author
Paul Auster
359 books12k followersPaul Auster was the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Bloodbath Nation, Baumgartner, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He was also a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). Auster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He died at age seventy-seven in 2024.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,469 reviews
June 6, 2017
As with most of Paul Auster's novels, he glitters and glides beneath the surface of the text, mixing the obscure with the dazzling, here with Sunset Park, although it may read like Auster, it also doesn't.
The protagonist, 27 year old Miles Heller has abandoned his well-connected New York family and gone into the wilderness to deal with the death of his stepbrother Bobby who died in a car accident, Miles overcome with grief and guilt, believes he was the cause of it, but this he never reveals to his father, who runs a publishing firm, his estranged actress mother, or Bobby’s real mother. He finds salvation in Florida working as a house clearer, and has a fascination with taking photos of abandoned things. By chance he meets a younger girl in a park – they’re both reading The Great Gatsby, and begin a risky relationship.
Auster, whose plots are usually compelling, seems to have mislaid his sense of drive in terms of storytelling here, the narrative ebbs and flows sublimely, but never really takes hold like some other of his novels, by his standards Sunset Park reads pretty normal. There are long passages of workmanlike prose: “Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday she takes the subway into Manhattan and goes to her part-time job at the PEN American Center at 588 Broadway, just south of Houston Street. She started working there last summer…” And so on.
Circumstances force Miles to flee again, this time back to New York, where he and girlfriend end up sharing a squat in the Sunset Park area with his old pal Bing, and a sexually frustrated artist called Ellen.
The narrative unexpectedly widens and we are given long sections from the point of view of each of these characters, creating an intimate viewpoint of their shared and cramped existence. The second half of the novel is far more heartfelt, with Miles aware he must re-establish contact with his estranged family and confront his past, but he isn't the only one with problems.
What's great about Sunset Park is there are no minor characters in Auster's world, everyone else has a rich, complicated inner life of their own, and when the mother and father of Miles start to enter the story, your mindset switches over to them, leading to some poignant moments towards the end.
Overall there isn't the substance of previous work, however, it's uncluttered approach still makes for a compulsive read, driven by Auster's incongruous, infectious and sheer damned interest in his subject matter. 4/5
The protagonist, 27 year old Miles Heller has abandoned his well-connected New York family and gone into the wilderness to deal with the death of his stepbrother Bobby who died in a car accident, Miles overcome with grief and guilt, believes he was the cause of it, but this he never reveals to his father, who runs a publishing firm, his estranged actress mother, or Bobby’s real mother. He finds salvation in Florida working as a house clearer, and has a fascination with taking photos of abandoned things. By chance he meets a younger girl in a park – they’re both reading The Great Gatsby, and begin a risky relationship.
Auster, whose plots are usually compelling, seems to have mislaid his sense of drive in terms of storytelling here, the narrative ebbs and flows sublimely, but never really takes hold like some other of his novels, by his standards Sunset Park reads pretty normal. There are long passages of workmanlike prose: “Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday she takes the subway into Manhattan and goes to her part-time job at the PEN American Center at 588 Broadway, just south of Houston Street. She started working there last summer…” And so on.
Circumstances force Miles to flee again, this time back to New York, where he and girlfriend end up sharing a squat in the Sunset Park area with his old pal Bing, and a sexually frustrated artist called Ellen.
The narrative unexpectedly widens and we are given long sections from the point of view of each of these characters, creating an intimate viewpoint of their shared and cramped existence. The second half of the novel is far more heartfelt, with Miles aware he must re-establish contact with his estranged family and confront his past, but he isn't the only one with problems.
What's great about Sunset Park is there are no minor characters in Auster's world, everyone else has a rich, complicated inner life of their own, and when the mother and father of Miles start to enter the story, your mindset switches over to them, leading to some poignant moments towards the end.
Overall there isn't the substance of previous work, however, it's uncluttered approach still makes for a compulsive read, driven by Auster's incongruous, infectious and sheer damned interest in his subject matter. 4/5
December 1, 2024
سانست پارک رمانی ایست از پل استر نویسنده آمریکایی . او در این کتاب و در قالب داستانی کوتاه کوشیده به بررسی موضوعاتی مانند هویت، امید ، تاب آوری ، تنهایی و از همه مهمتر گذشته و اثرات خُرد کننده آن بپردازد .
قهرمان داستان او مایلزهلر ، جوانی ایست که به سبب آنچه در گذشته رُخ داده ، اکنون و پس از گذشت سالهای طولانی از آن فاجعه همچنان پوچ ، گیج و آشفته است .
آستر که خود متولد و بزرگ شده نیویورک است ، در سانست پارک هم کوشیده تاکید زیادی بر عناصر سبک نیویورک داشته باشد ، از این روکتاب او سرشار از عناصری مانند بیسبال و سینما ، به ویژه فیلمی مانند بهترین سالهای عمر ما ست که شاید این گونه نویسنده به زندگی به سبک نیویورکی و عناصر فرهنگی آن ادای دِین کرده باشد .
در پایان سانست پارک را می توان داستان بقا یا تلاشی برای زنده ماندن در کلان شهرنیویورک دانست ، داستانی که با بحران اقتصادی و تلاش مایلز هلر برای شروعی دوباره و رهایی از گذشته هم زمان شده است .
قهرمان داستان او مایلزهلر ، جوانی ایست که به سبب آنچه در گذشته رُخ داده ، اکنون و پس از گذشت سالهای طولانی از آن فاجعه همچنان پوچ ، گیج و آشفته است .
آستر که خود متولد و بزرگ شده نیویورک است ، در سانست پارک هم کوشیده تاکید زیادی بر عناصر سبک نیویورک داشته باشد ، از این روکتاب او سرشار از عناصری مانند بیسبال و سینما ، به ویژه فیلمی مانند بهترین سالهای عمر ما ست که شاید این گونه نویسنده به زندگی به سبک نیویورکی و عناصر فرهنگی آن ادای دِین کرده باشد .
در پایان سانست پارک را می توان داستان بقا یا تلاشی برای زنده ماندن در کلان شهرنیویورک دانست ، داستانی که با بحران اقتصادی و تلاش مایلز هلر برای شروعی دوباره و رهایی از گذشته هم زمان شده است .
April 24, 2021
يجمع بول أوستر شخصيات روايته في بيت صنست بارك الخشبي في نيويورك
يحكي في سرد هادئ عن الفقد والخسارة في الحياة بمختلف أشكالها المادية والمعنوية
واختلاف طرق التعامل معها بين الهروب والمواجهة
عدم منطقية الاختيارات وتناقض المشاعر واختلاف الرغبات والعلاقات خلال مراحل العمر
الرواية مقسمة لفصول بأسماء الشخصيات فيها التفاصيل الحياتية والنفسية والعاطفية لكل منهم
سرد متنوع ما بين الواقع وذكريات الماضي وملامح عن الرياضة والأدب والفن
يحكي في سرد هادئ عن الفقد والخسارة في الحياة بمختلف أشكالها المادية والمعنوية
واختلاف طرق التعامل معها بين الهروب والمواجهة
عدم منطقية الاختيارات وتناقض المشاعر واختلاف الرغبات والعلاقات خلال مراحل العمر
الرواية مقسمة لفصول بأسماء الشخصيات فيها التفاصيل الحياتية والنفسية والعاطفية لكل منهم
سرد متنوع ما بين الواقع وذكريات الماضي وملامح عن الرياضة والأدب والفن
January 3, 2011
I understand all of the praise for Paul Auster. Beautiful writing, well-drawn characters. Definitely told from a male perspective; I have a hard time falling for the romance of baseball history, and felt like Ellen's extreme sexual fascination was male fantasy rather than reality. But I found myself very compelled by the characters. I wanted to know how they would come through it all. Morris was definitely the most sympathetic character for me; a very decent man, torn between forgiving his son, and fearing that by doing so, he would put his marriage at risk. His son, Miles, was also a fascinating protoganist: a young man who has gone off the rails, but is at heart, a good person, who is poised to get his life back on track. I thought Auster's portrayal of the impact of the economic crisis was very well done. He offers an unflinching look at an economy that pushes a group of young people to act as modern outlaws with their risky plan to squat in an abandoned house. As a passionate reader, I loved the writing about publishing, the work the PEN does to try to protect writers, and Miles love for literature. But, I was so disappointed in the ending. It felt too sudden and far too hopeless. I didn't need complete resolution, but I felt so frustrated that all of the progress the characters made was instantly reversed. Kind of a "why bother?" conclusion. I liked Auster's theme about wounds being a part of becoming a mature adult. But I hate the idea of his characters giving up because of their wounds.
August 28, 2012
SPOILER ALERT: Is it just me, or did Paul Auster write two thirds of a book? He's created a more populous novel than usual, and manages to supply satisfying narrative arcs for the majority of those characters. I wonder if he found such atypical conventionality alarming, for he certainly shied away providing any such satisfying resolution for his main character, Miles.
Miles has spent his entire adult life running away from the fatal consequences of an impulsive shove during what ought to have been an ordinary argument between stepbrothers. After years of doing the penance of an itinerant lifestyle, Miles finally appears ready to heal; he finds love and seeks reconciliation with his long estranged family. When an entirely optional, seemingly inevitable confrontation with the police arises, he takes another impulsive swing, which threatens to destroy all. I can't help but think this is the juncture where a writer like Dostoevsky would have rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work. Auster is too cool a customer for that. He merely nods in the direction of his character coming to terms with the consequences of his temper, and leaves it at that.
Miles has spent his entire adult life running away from the fatal consequences of an impulsive shove during what ought to have been an ordinary argument between stepbrothers. After years of doing the penance of an itinerant lifestyle, Miles finally appears ready to heal; he finds love and seeks reconciliation with his long estranged family. When an entirely optional, seemingly inevitable confrontation with the police arises, he takes another impulsive swing, which threatens to destroy all. I can't help but think this is the juncture where a writer like Dostoevsky would have rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work. Auster is too cool a customer for that. He merely nods in the direction of his character coming to terms with the consequences of his temper, and leaves it at that.
February 8, 2025
أسلوب كتابة غير مألوف لقارئي بول أوستر. فمن إعتاد عوالمه الغرائبية، سيتعجب حتماً من سرد الرواية البسيط الذي يتقدم للأمام بدون حبكات مُحيرة تجهد عقلك في فهمها.
في إيقاع سريع تتحرك أحداث الرواية في فترة زمنية لا تزيد عن ستة أشهر تقريبا. مع لقطات تعود فيه كل شخصية بالزمن إلى الوراء بنفس إيقاع الحاضر الرشيق بدون ترهل أو استرسال في وصف لا داع له.
وبفعل سحر ذلك الإيقاع، خطفتني الرواية ولم أتركها حتى أنهيتها.
كان بمعظم شخصيات الكتاب ضعفاً وتعاسة جعلاني أتعلق بهم وأشعر بمدى قربهم لي. فضياع كل منهم في ظل أزمة اقتصادية-كساد عام 2008-عصفت بحياتهم المتهالكة جعلني أتوحد معهم تماما ومع احباطاتهم وعدم مبالاتهم بحياة لا تبشر بأي نور في نهاية النفق. وكانت "إيلين" هى اقربهم إلى قلبي. كما تأثرت كثيرا بمشاعر الأب "موريس" وهو يراقب ابنه "مايلز"الهارب طوال سبع سنين بدون أن يشعره بذلك.
كل شخصيات الرواية شخصيات لا تملك إلا أن تحبها. فأخطاؤهم غير مقصودة مهما كان حجمها. وحتى تلك الأخطاء ينتج عنها ندم يقتل جزءا كبيرا من الروح تكفيرا عن تلك الخطأ.
وعلى قدر "عادية" الرواية بالنسبة لكاتب غير اعتيادي كبول أوستر، على قدر ما كانت النهاية مفاجئة وغير متوقعة. وكأن أوستر أراد أن يضيف "لمسته العبثية" في أخر لحظة ليذكر القارئ بأنه لا يقرأ لمؤلف ممن يحبون النهايات السعيدة.
في إيقاع سريع تتحرك أحداث الرواية في فترة زمنية لا تزيد عن ستة أشهر تقريبا. مع لقطات تعود فيه كل شخصية بالزمن إلى الوراء بنفس إيقاع الحاضر الرشيق بدون ترهل أو استرسال في وصف لا داع له.
وبفعل سحر ذلك الإيقاع، خطفتني الرواية ولم أتركها حتى أنهيتها.
كان بمعظم شخصيات الكتاب ضعفاً وتعاسة جعلاني أتعلق بهم وأشعر بمدى قربهم لي. فضياع كل منهم في ظل أزمة اقتصادية-كساد عام 2008-عصفت بحياتهم المتهالكة جعلني أتوحد معهم تماما ومع احباطاتهم وعدم مبالاتهم بحياة لا تبشر بأي نور في نهاية النفق. وكانت "إيلين" هى اقربهم إلى قلبي. كما تأثرت كثيرا بمشاعر الأب "موريس" وهو يراقب ابنه "مايلز"الهارب طوال سبع سنين بدون أن يشعره بذلك.
كل شخصيات الرواية شخصيات لا تملك إلا أن تحبها. فأخطاؤهم غير مقصودة مهما كان حجمها. وحتى تلك الأخطاء ينتج عنها ندم يقتل جزءا كبيرا من الروح تكفيرا عن تلك الخطأ.
وعلى قدر "عادية" الرواية بالنسبة لكاتب غير اعتيادي كبول أوستر، على قدر ما كانت النهاية مفاجئة وغير متوقعة. وكأن أوستر أراد أن يضيف "لمسته العبثية" في أخر لحظة ليذكر القارئ بأنه لا يقرأ لمؤلف ممن يحبون النهايات السعيدة.
March 21, 2020
My gosh .... I’m
still loving Paul Auster.
Perfect ‘go to’ read at a time when I ‘really’ needed a book to engage me - a book to easily enjoy!
This novel did the trick...
Got me out of my own distracted head.
It gets my ‘trim-tab’ - thumbs up 👍🏻 👍🏻 LIKED IT - short review-
during this unsettling time of our lives. I don’t have a desire right now to be counted on writing full reviews for every book I read right now....
But....
If I did… This would be one worth writing about.
....GREAT character development (loved the leading protagonist in the young woman he meets in the park when they were both reading “The Great Gatsby”....
Wonderful STORYTELLING JOURNEY we follow!!!
....ENJOYABLE NOVEL!!!
With the crisis of the Coronavirus- the shock, the number of people affected around the world, the fears- ( we have no income during this time, are living ‘smack-in-the-neighborhood’ of a heavy hit area of people with virus, a compromised medical condition myself, family members in their late 80’s, deaths, nurses at my hospital on strike ( not feeling safe without enough needed medical supplies), the bleak economy, people unemployed, generation wars,social distancing, the worries: emotions high one minute, numb the next minute....
Update facts coming down the pipes every hour.....
hooked on reading everything going on in every state and country around the world....
Shall I go on?
Got the idea?
Life is not as we knew it....
And.....
while watching movies on TV for more well being release.....
Actors on the screen ( Netflix, HBO, etc.) are touching , socializing, kissing, hugging...
....it looks like a ‘time in the past’....
I tossed out a dozen books that just were not able to ‘hold-my-interest’ during this time ( perfectly readable books too)....
I was ready to give up reading for a few weeks, if need be....
Then I asked myself...
“WHO DO YOU REALLY NEED RIGHT NOW?”
“What authors — have kept me interested in their books?”
Paul Auster came through!
Thank you!!!
This was just what I needed!
Loved it!!!
still loving Paul Auster.
Perfect ‘go to’ read at a time when I ‘really’ needed a book to engage me - a book to easily enjoy!
This novel did the trick...
Got me out of my own distracted head.
It gets my ‘trim-tab’ - thumbs up 👍🏻 👍🏻 LIKED IT - short review-
during this unsettling time of our lives. I don’t have a desire right now to be counted on writing full reviews for every book I read right now....
But....
If I did… This would be one worth writing about.
....GREAT character development (loved the leading protagonist in the young woman he meets in the park when they were both reading “The Great Gatsby”....
Wonderful STORYTELLING JOURNEY we follow!!!
....ENJOYABLE NOVEL!!!
With the crisis of the Coronavirus- the shock, the number of people affected around the world, the fears- ( we have no income during this time, are living ‘smack-in-the-neighborhood’ of a heavy hit area of people with virus, a compromised medical condition myself, family members in their late 80’s, deaths, nurses at my hospital on strike ( not feeling safe without enough needed medical supplies), the bleak economy, people unemployed, generation wars,social distancing, the worries: emotions high one minute, numb the next minute....
Update facts coming down the pipes every hour.....
hooked on reading everything going on in every state and country around the world....
Shall I go on?
Got the idea?
Life is not as we knew it....
And.....
while watching movies on TV for more well being release.....
Actors on the screen ( Netflix, HBO, etc.) are touching , socializing, kissing, hugging...
....it looks like a ‘time in the past’....
I tossed out a dozen books that just were not able to ‘hold-my-interest’ during this time ( perfectly readable books too)....
I was ready to give up reading for a few weeks, if need be....
Then I asked myself...
“WHO DO YOU REALLY NEED RIGHT NOW?”
“What authors — have kept me interested in their books?”
Paul Auster came through!
Thank you!!!
This was just what I needed!
Loved it!!!
May 14, 2024
This is an intimate novel, in the style of Leviathan, about the ravages and impasses in which post-subprime America has locked up its citizens.
We follow Miles, who had racked with guilt after the death of his half-brother, fled his life and his family to find himself in a squatted house in Sunset Park, New York, with Alice, the luminous who questions the silence of the generation in her thesis. In the post-war period, Bing was rebellious and energetically sought another way to live in a dead-end society. Ellen is an introvert trying to get back on her axis. And finally, Morris, Miles' father, who is expecting his son, sees the friends living around him without understanding what this world has become.
We follow Miles, who had racked with guilt after the death of his half-brother, fled his life and his family to find himself in a squatted house in Sunset Park, New York, with Alice, the luminous who questions the silence of the generation in her thesis. In the post-war period, Bing was rebellious and energetically sought another way to live in a dead-end society. Ellen is an introvert trying to get back on her axis. And finally, Morris, Miles' father, who is expecting his son, sees the friends living around him without understanding what this world has become.
February 13, 2024
3 stars
short review for busy readers: Wonderfully written literary non-story about the Hiller family of New York and a few of their friends. Pretty much just long, in-depth character descriptions and the history each character has with the others. Nothing terribly exciting happens. Semi-fast read.
in detail:
This is a novel for fans of Jonathan Franzen.
I’m not a fan of Franzen, unfortunately, so while I can appreciate Auster’s mastery of language and characterisation, I felt slightly bored most of the time and skimmed the last 50 pages.
The hinge character is Miles Heller, an intelligent, sensitive young coward who runs away and hides from anything and everyone he can’t emotionally deal with.
After an accident which leaves his step-brother dead and him blaming himself, Miles drops out of university, packs his bags and tramps all over America, cutting off communication with his parents (for whom he just disappears one day) and giving up all aspirations and ambitions. That is until one day he....oh gosh...meets a girl he falls in love with.
Sort of a sober, Buddhist-light Kerouac, if you will.
That’s one of the themes in the novel: loss and a feeling of being at a dead end where no real future exists. Almost all of the characters has lost big in some way, and may perhaps still take bigger losses in the future. But they all find reasons to keep going through the crisis.
Most of what goes on in this novel is really normal, everyday stuff, however. Miles goes about his life. His parents go about their lives. His only friend, Bing, goes about his life. Things don’t quite work out, or they do. People die, or people go on living. People fall in love, or out of love.
No biggie, really.
short review for busy readers: Wonderfully written literary non-story about the Hiller family of New York and a few of their friends. Pretty much just long, in-depth character descriptions and the history each character has with the others. Nothing terribly exciting happens. Semi-fast read.
in detail:
This is a novel for fans of Jonathan Franzen.
I’m not a fan of Franzen, unfortunately, so while I can appreciate Auster’s mastery of language and characterisation, I felt slightly bored most of the time and skimmed the last 50 pages.
The hinge character is Miles Heller, an intelligent, sensitive young coward who runs away and hides from anything and everyone he can’t emotionally deal with.
After an accident which leaves his step-brother dead and him blaming himself, Miles drops out of university, packs his bags and tramps all over America, cutting off communication with his parents (for whom he just disappears one day) and giving up all aspirations and ambitions. That is until one day he....oh gosh...meets a girl he falls in love with.
Sort of a sober, Buddhist-light Kerouac, if you will.
That’s one of the themes in the novel: loss and a feeling of being at a dead end where no real future exists. Almost all of the characters has lost big in some way, and may perhaps still take bigger losses in the future. But they all find reasons to keep going through the crisis.
Most of what goes on in this novel is really normal, everyday stuff, however. Miles goes about his life. His parents go about their lives. His only friend, Bing, goes about his life. Things don’t quite work out, or they do. People die, or people go on living. People fall in love, or out of love.
No biggie, really.
October 9, 2018
Sunset Park is an area in Brooklyn where an uninhabited house attracts several peoples..
Every single one of them has a history to tell, and inner demons to be conquer!!!
** Miles Heller**
After he has suffered a traumatic event with his half-brother that cost his life, he flees to find the love of his life!!
**Alice Bergstrom**
A young and beautiful girl that having had an abortion, must face pangs of conscience that threaten to destroy her life..
**Ellen Brice**
Discovering a dark secret overshadowing the relation to her boyfriend, which will jeopardize more than she can bear!!
**Bing Nathan**
His friendship to Miles means the world to him, he will be toss into an abyss of bewildering feelings!!
All of them Loosers!!!
Human beings struggling in an ocean of forlornness!!!
All of them in search for meaning , a future, and a reason to get on against and despite all odds..
This is a character driven novel. The persons in it feels so damn real, that I found myself pondering over them even at my work and doing my household and shopping..
It's a touching and moving book, tell with much passion and truth!!
I cannot recommend it highly enough..
Paul Auster has advance in my life as to become my favorite writer.
Sunset Park is more than a well told story about a bunch of people, its also full of insight and truth!!!
I can only say:
Read and experience it for yourself!!!
Happy readings to all my goodreads friends..
Dean;)))
Every single one of them has a history to tell, and inner demons to be conquer!!!
** Miles Heller**
After he has suffered a traumatic event with his half-brother that cost his life, he flees to find the love of his life!!
**Alice Bergstrom**
A young and beautiful girl that having had an abortion, must face pangs of conscience that threaten to destroy her life..
**Ellen Brice**
Discovering a dark secret overshadowing the relation to her boyfriend, which will jeopardize more than she can bear!!
**Bing Nathan**
His friendship to Miles means the world to him, he will be toss into an abyss of bewildering feelings!!
All of them Loosers!!!
Human beings struggling in an ocean of forlornness!!!
All of them in search for meaning , a future, and a reason to get on against and despite all odds..
This is a character driven novel. The persons in it feels so damn real, that I found myself pondering over them even at my work and doing my household and shopping..
It's a touching and moving book, tell with much passion and truth!!
I cannot recommend it highly enough..
Paul Auster has advance in my life as to become my favorite writer.
Sunset Park is more than a well told story about a bunch of people, its also full of insight and truth!!!
I can only say:
Read and experience it for yourself!!!
Happy readings to all my goodreads friends..
Dean;)))
September 11, 2024
پل استر نویسنده ی خوبیست.. نویسنده ی خوبی که خیلی خوب بلد است قصه بگوید و خواننده را با خودش همراه کند..
نویسنده ای که کتابهای خیلی خوبی خوانده، فیلمهای خیلی خوبی دیده، اطلاعات بالایی دارد و عاشق بیسبال است!
این ششمین کتابی بود که از پل استر خواندم و بعد از هر کتاب بیشتر به قدرت نوشتن این نویسنده ی معاصر امریکایی پی میبرم.
کتاب سانست پارک درباره ی زندگی چندین نفر است که توسط خانه ای در سانست پارک به هم مربوط شده اند. مایلز، آلیس، بینگ، الن، موریس، مری لی، و شخصیت های حاشیه ای تر یعنی پیلار، بابی، ویلا و... شخصیت هایی در زمان بحران اقتصادی امریکا. بینگ، آلیس، الن و مایلز هر کدام به دلایلی در خانه ای متروکه در سانست پارک با یکدیگر همخانه میشوند.
کتاب به بخش های جداگانه تقسیم شده که در هر بخش بر زندگی یکی از افراد اصلی تمرکز میکند. لحن کتاب سوم شخص و دوم شخص است.
داستان کتاب داستان خیلی پرفراز و نشیب و هیجان انگیزی نیست. که درواقع هیچ کدام از کتابهای پل استر اینگونه نیست که ماجرایی مطرح شود و در آخر حل شود یا به پایان برسد. کتاب های استر همیشه پایان متفاوتی از چیزی که فکر میکنید و انتظار دارید دارد. اما جادوی قلم استر خواننده را با خود همراه میکند. و نه فقط همراه میکند، که به فکر هم فرو میبرد، درگیر میکند و در خود غرق میکند...
نویسنده ای که کتابهای خیلی خوبی خوانده، فیلمهای خیلی خوبی دیده، اطلاعات بالایی دارد و عاشق بیسبال است!
این ششمین کتابی بود که از پل استر خواندم و بعد از هر کتاب بیشتر به قدرت نوشتن این نویسنده ی معاصر امریکایی پی میبرم.
کتاب سانست پارک درباره ی زندگی چندین نفر است که توسط خانه ای در سانست پارک به هم مربوط شده اند. مایلز، آلیس، بینگ، الن، موریس، مری لی، و شخصیت های حاشیه ای تر یعنی پیلار، بابی، ویلا و... شخصیت هایی در زمان بحران اقتصادی امریکا. بینگ، آلیس، الن و مایلز هر کدام به دلایلی در خانه ای متروکه در سانست پارک با یکدیگر همخانه میشوند.
کتاب به بخش های جداگانه تقسیم شده که در هر بخش بر زندگی یکی از افراد اصلی تمرکز میکند. لحن کتاب سوم شخص و دوم شخص است.
داستان کتاب داستان خیلی پرفراز و نشیب و هیجان انگیزی نیست. که درواقع هیچ کدام از کتابهای پل استر اینگونه نیست که ماجرایی مطرح شود و در آخر حل شود یا به پایان برسد. کتاب های استر همیشه پایان متفاوتی از چیزی که فکر میکنید و انتظار دارید دارد. اما جادوی قلم استر خواننده را با خود همراه میکند. و نه فقط همراه میکند، که به فکر هم فرو میبرد، درگیر میکند و در خود غرق میکند...
March 11, 2021
I thought it was an OK read. He used a big word on me. Well, it was big to me.
• effulgence: radiant splendor, brilliant
And he had one of the characters own a little shop that repaired things from the middle of last century (1930s-1970s) and it brought back a lot of pleasant memories because these were things I had grown up with:
• Manual typewriters…fountain pens…mechanical watches…vacuum tube radios…record player…wind-up toys…gumball machines…rotary telephone (we thought it was the dawning of a modern age when push-button telephones came into being)
I will continue to read this author…he certainly has a following and this is high praise from Umberto Eco:
• Nabokov once said, ‘I divide literature into two categories, the books I wish I had written and the books I have written.’ In the former category I would put books by Kurt Vonnegut, Don DeLillo, Philip Roth, and Paul Auster.” (The Paris Review)
There was an instance, in which a young women is writing a dissertation on a film by William Wylie, ‘The Best Year of Our Loves’ (1946, a movie about WW II vets returning home to the States and realizing they don’t fit in…and the people who were not fighting in the war don’t seem to give a hoot about what they went through…I liked it a lot), and she is thinking in her head and we are privy to her thoughts. It goes on for over 2 pages—a very long sentence—and the very long sentence becomes noticeable to me but it is just perfect…that very long sentence. I wrote down in my notes “perfect writing”. It was captivating to me.
There are a couple of things about this book that puzzled me.
• There was some weird sex in this book. I don’t know if anybody else who read this book noticed that. I wouldn’t say it detracted from the novel, but neither did it enhance it.
• The main protagonist is 28 year-old Miles Heller. Early on in the novel he is at a small dinner party with some people, and another young man his age annoys him, and annoys him to the point he is feeling he wants to get up and smash his face in. Like, whoa, it’s just a dinner party. The guy was not being too much of an asshole to merit getting his face smashed in. Anger management issues for Miles. We learned earlier he was guilty over an incident in which he was walking by the side of a highway with his stepbrother, and he was in a verbal mud-slinging fight with his stepbrother and he pushed him into the road and, unfortunately, he got run over and killed by a car that was just coming around the bend (Miles had no way of knowing this). Then at the end of the novel he has an altercation with a cop in which he is blinding mad again.
Throughout most of the novel he is presented in a reasonable light and he seems to be a good match for another character in the novel, the much younger Pilar Sanchez (not even 18). But the incidents in which he goes apeshit…I am not sure what the point of this was...it made him less endearing to me, and for an altercation to happen at the very end of the novel, Paul Auster did that on purpose…that’s what he wanted to leave the reader with. So what is the reader to make of this? That he will beat the hell out of his soon-to-be wife Pilar during their marriage? I have no idea… I hope I read an interview by Paul Auster in which he reveals his motive, or a GR reviewer opines on this.
Reviews:
• https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/131189...
• https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
• https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/131189...
• effulgence: radiant splendor, brilliant
And he had one of the characters own a little shop that repaired things from the middle of last century (1930s-1970s) and it brought back a lot of pleasant memories because these were things I had grown up with:
• Manual typewriters…fountain pens…mechanical watches…vacuum tube radios…record player…wind-up toys…gumball machines…rotary telephone (we thought it was the dawning of a modern age when push-button telephones came into being)
I will continue to read this author…he certainly has a following and this is high praise from Umberto Eco:
• Nabokov once said, ‘I divide literature into two categories, the books I wish I had written and the books I have written.’ In the former category I would put books by Kurt Vonnegut, Don DeLillo, Philip Roth, and Paul Auster.” (The Paris Review)
There was an instance, in which a young women is writing a dissertation on a film by William Wylie, ‘The Best Year of Our Loves’ (1946, a movie about WW II vets returning home to the States and realizing they don’t fit in…and the people who were not fighting in the war don’t seem to give a hoot about what they went through…I liked it a lot), and she is thinking in her head and we are privy to her thoughts. It goes on for over 2 pages—a very long sentence—and the very long sentence becomes noticeable to me but it is just perfect…that very long sentence. I wrote down in my notes “perfect writing”. It was captivating to me.
There are a couple of things about this book that puzzled me.
• There was some weird sex in this book. I don’t know if anybody else who read this book noticed that. I wouldn’t say it detracted from the novel, but neither did it enhance it.
• The main protagonist is 28 year-old Miles Heller. Early on in the novel he is at a small dinner party with some people, and another young man his age annoys him, and annoys him to the point he is feeling he wants to get up and smash his face in. Like, whoa, it’s just a dinner party. The guy was not being too much of an asshole to merit getting his face smashed in. Anger management issues for Miles. We learned earlier he was guilty over an incident in which he was walking by the side of a highway with his stepbrother, and he was in a verbal mud-slinging fight with his stepbrother and he pushed him into the road and, unfortunately, he got run over and killed by a car that was just coming around the bend (Miles had no way of knowing this). Then at the end of the novel he has an altercation with a cop in which he is blinding mad again.
Throughout most of the novel he is presented in a reasonable light and he seems to be a good match for another character in the novel, the much younger Pilar Sanchez (not even 18). But the incidents in which he goes apeshit…I am not sure what the point of this was...it made him less endearing to me, and for an altercation to happen at the very end of the novel, Paul Auster did that on purpose…that’s what he wanted to leave the reader with. So what is the reader to make of this? That he will beat the hell out of his soon-to-be wife Pilar during their marriage? I have no idea… I hope I read an interview by Paul Auster in which he reveals his motive, or a GR reviewer opines on this.
Reviews:
• https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/131189...
• https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
• https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/131189...
February 25, 2017
داستان به نظرم جالب بود و انسانی - انسانی به همه ی معانی کلمه هم عاطفی، هم اقتصادی، هم جسمانی. البته جزو بهترین هایی نیست که از استر خوندم اما به نظرم به خوندنش می ارزه. اگه ترجمه اش خوب بود سه ستاره و نیم بهش می دادم
ترجمه
بعد از بخور و نمیر و سفر در اتاق تحریر این سومین کتابی بود که با ترجمه ی مهسا ملک مرزبان می خوندم. ذیل او دوتا کتاب تجربه ی نه چندان خوبی رو که از این مترجم داشتم بیان کردم. این کتاب هم مثل همونا است. قطعا نیاز به ویرایش داره اما اکثر جاها متن فارسی روونه. مترجم تذکر داده که نقطه گذاری نویسنده رو رعایت کرده اما به نظرم این ترجمه هنوز به اون سطح نرسیده که دغدغه ی نقطه گذاری بخواد واسش مطرح بشه
سوای اشکالات ترجمه دو موضوع منو آزار می ده: یکی بی توجهی مترجم به توضیح دادن اشارات فرهنگیه - همه رو همینجوری ترجمه یا بازنویسی کرده بی هیچ دغدغه ای برای خواننده ی فارسی زبان - و دیگری سانسورهای هردنبیلی - یعنی یه چیزی رو می تونسته با تغییر بیاره ولی نیاورده اما یه جای دیگه بدتر از اونو ترجمه کرده (یه خودسانسوری تلخ و بی قاعده ای داره). خلاصه اینکه کتابو گذاشته جلوشو تا ته رفته و واسه اینکه به مشکل نخوره توضیحو بی خیال شده و بخش های نامناسب احتمالیو ماس مالی کرده. اشتباهاتشو در ترجمه بعضا مشخص کردم اما دیگه حوصله ی ذکرشو ندارم - به قول نشریات جزئیات ایرادها در نزد نویسنده ی نقد موجوده
سانسورها
آلیس در موسسه ی پن برای کمک به نویسندگان در خطر فعالیت می کنه و واقعه ی سلمان رشدی از نقاط عطف زندگیشه - چند بند مربوط به این مطلب حذف شده (البته در رفتاری عجیب مترجم چند جمله ای از بخش محذوف را چندین صفحه بعد در جایی دیگر آورده). الن نقاشی برهنه می کشه و مدتی که رابطه ای نداره نیازای بدنیش خیلی جدی شده - عمده ی مطالب مربوط به این موضوع در حد اشاره ترجمه شده اند. بینگ در اواخر داستان شک می کنه نکنه همجنسگرا باشه - خاطره اش از سفرش با مایلز و برخی اشارات به این موضوع حذف شده ان. و اینجا و اونجا هم حذفیاتی وجود دارن. احتمالا در کل کتاب یه ده بیست صفحه ای حذف شده
March 28, 2024
Нареждам новия роман на Пол Остър до “Ню-Йоркска трилогия” и “4321”. Толкова любим ми стана. Абсолютно удоволствие за четене и преживяване. За пореден път съм влюбена в героите и историята, която ни поднася. Стилът е абсолютен 🔝. Да не забравяме също и факта, че преводът е на Иглика Василева.
Попадаме в Сънсет парк - бедняшки район на Бруклин, Ню-Йорк през 2008 (време на икономическа криза в Америка), където се срещаме с група странници, хора на изкуството, всеки със своите травми, търсения и депресии. Алис, Елън, Морис и Бинг се настаняват нелегално в необитаема къща и я превръщат в дом. Ако сте чели Остър няма да ви изненадам като кажа колко много изкуство, музика и литература ще откриете в тези 278 страници. Имаме издател, актриса, художник, барабанист, писател - истинско гурме.
Темите, които откриваме са ми любими - отношения родители деца (с акцент баща-син) любовта в различните и проявления, творческото вдъхновение. Толкова много харесах героите ни, че не исках да стигам до финалните страници и за пръв път от много време умишлено забавях четенето. Абсолютен любимец ми стана Майлс, около когото се завърта сюжета. Син на книгоиздател и актриса, той е отгледан от баща си и втората му съпруга. Инцидент с доведения му брат е повратна точка в жи��ота му и след него Майлс изчезва за цели 7 години. Тук сърцето ми на майка се пръсна на милион парчета и искрено се възхитих на стоицизна на родителите му, които знаеха къде е и успяха да устоят на порива да отидат при него.
Открих и една Америка, която е изтръскана от всички клишета и ни е представена без захар и канела. Обичам, когато Остър (а също и Франзен) го правят по точно този начин.
През цялото време, докато четях в главата ми звучеше музиката на любима група - Brooklyn Funk Essentials. Чудесна комбинация между книга и музика.
“Ако изобщо бе постигнал нещо през онези седем години и половина след напускането на колежа, когато пое по собствен път, то е именно тази способност да живее “тук и сега”, и макар това да не е най-забележителното завоевание, с което може да се похвали човек, осъществяването му бе изисквало от него желязна дисциплина и самоконтрол. Да не кроиш планове, което ще рече да нямаш копнежи или надежди, да си доволен от съдбата си, да приемаш това, което светът ти е отредил от единия изгрев до следващия - за да си в състояние да живееш по този начин, трябва да искаш толкова малко, колкото изобщо е по силите на човек.”
Попадаме в Сънсет парк - бедняшки район на Бруклин, Ню-Йорк през 2008 (време на икономическа криза в Америка), където се срещаме с група странници, хора на изкуството, всеки със своите травми, търсения и депресии. Алис, Елън, Морис и Бинг се настаняват нелегално в необитаема къща и я превръщат в дом. Ако сте чели Остър няма да ви изненадам като кажа колко много изкуство, музика и литература ще откриете в тези 278 страници. Имаме издател, актриса, художник, барабанист, писател - истинско гурме.
Темите, които откриваме са ми любими - отношения родители деца (с акцент баща-син) любовта в различните и проявления, творческото вдъхновение. Толкова много харесах героите ни, че не исках да стигам до финалните страници и за пръв път от много време умишлено забавях четенето. Абсолютен любимец ми стана Майлс, около когото се завърта сюжета. Син на книгоиздател и актриса, той е отгледан от баща си и втората му съпруга. Инцидент с доведения му брат е повратна точка в жи��ота му и след него Майлс изчезва за цели 7 години. Тук сърцето ми на майка се пръсна на милион парчета и искрено се възхитих на стоицизна на родителите му, които знаеха къде е и успяха да устоят на порива да отидат при него.
Открих и една Америка, която е изтръскана от всички клишета и ни е представена без захар и канела. Обичам, когато Остър (а също и Франзен) го правят по точно този начин.
През цялото време, докато четях в главата ми звучеше музиката на любима група - Brooklyn Funk Essentials. Чудесна комбинация между книга и музика.
“Ако изобщо бе постигнал нещо през онези седем години и половина след напускането на колежа, когато пое по собствен път, то е именно тази способност да живее “тук и сега”, и макар това да не е най-забележителното завоевание, с което може да се похвали човек, осъществяването му бе изисквало от него желязна дисциплина и самоконтрол. Да не кроиш планове, което ще рече да нямаш копнежи или надежди, да си доволен от съдбата си, да приемаш това, което светът ти е отредил от единия изгрев до следващия - за да си в състояние да живееш по този начин, трябва да искаш толкова малко, колкото изобщо е по силите на човек.”
June 7, 2018
ذكرتني هذه الرواية بمقولة فوكنر "إنهم يكتبون كتابة جيدة غير أنه ليس لديهم ما يقولونه" ، نعم... لم يكن لديّ شك في ان بول اوستر سيقدم رائعة اخرى مليئة بالسحر والسوريالية والجاذبية الادبية... لكن هيهات، انه مجرد عمل سردي لبناء شخصيات بالكاد تتصارع او تتشابك فيما بينها.
معضلة هذه الرواية انها محشورة في زاوية الكتابة الجيدة وانتقاء اللغة الشعرية الجذابة على حساب المعنى والمضمون المبني على تفاهة القصة والمعالجة
النجمتين لسامر ابو هواش حقيقة الامر
معضلة هذه الرواية انها محشورة في زاوية الكتابة الجيدة وانتقاء اللغة الشعرية الجذابة على حساب المعنى والمضمون المبني على تفاهة القصة والمعالجة
النجمتين لسامر ابو هواش حقيقة الامر
November 8, 2017
كم هو مخيب أن تقرأ لأوستر رواية بهذا السوء, ندمت على قرائتها فعلاً وأتمنى أن أعود للقراءة لأوستر في أقرب وقت مع رواية أفضل
September 28, 2021
Di ferite, fallimenti e cerotti
Paul Auster è un autore che, in un modo o nell’altro, riesce sempre a colpirmi.
Mi piacciono le sue idee narrative ma, soprattutto, il fatto che la sua penna scavi nei personaggi non lasciando solo linee che tratteggiano.
Qui si comincia in Florida dove vive il ventottenne Miles Hiller dopo una sorta di fuga da New York.
Il suo lavoro consiste nello sgomberare da mobili ed oggetti le case abbandonate.
Sono immobili spesso lasciati in fretta e furia da insolventi o altro e di cui lui fotografa gli oggetti lasciati come testimoni silenziosi di sconfitte e fallimenti.
Il destino condurrà, tuttavia, Miles a fare ritorno a New York e precisamente nel quartiere di Sunset Park e, ironicamente, proprio in una casa abbandonata che occuperà assieme a altri tre personaggi.
Auster è, per me, un maestro delle geografie umane.
Le sue storie occupano spazi per raccontare quanto sia intricato, profondo e doloroso il mondo delle relazioni.
Fratelli, sorelle, amanti, mogli, mariti e, soprattutto, madri e padri.
Una mappa dove ci si posiziona spesso arenandosi nei silenzi che si tramutano in rabbia finchè si raggiunge la consapevolezza che le ferite sono una parte essenziale della vita.
"Questa è l’idea che sta accarezzando, dice Renzo, scrivere un saggio sulle cose che non succedono, le vite non vissute, le guerre non combattute, i mondi-ombra che corrono paralleli a quello che prendiamo per il mondo reale, il non-detto e il non-fatto, il non-ricordato. Un terreno infido, forse, ma potrebbe valere la pena di esplorarlo."
(e sette anni dopo Auster pubblicherà 4321)
Paul Auster è un autore che, in un modo o nell’altro, riesce sempre a colpirmi.
Mi piacciono le sue idee narrative ma, soprattutto, il fatto che la sua penna scavi nei personaggi non lasciando solo linee che tratteggiano.
Qui si comincia in Florida dove vive il ventottenne Miles Hiller dopo una sorta di fuga da New York.
Il suo lavoro consiste nello sgomberare da mobili ed oggetti le case abbandonate.
Sono immobili spesso lasciati in fretta e furia da insolventi o altro e di cui lui fotografa gli oggetti lasciati come testimoni silenziosi di sconfitte e fallimenti.
Il destino condurrà, tuttavia, Miles a fare ritorno a New York e precisamente nel quartiere di Sunset Park e, ironicamente, proprio in una casa abbandonata che occuperà assieme a altri tre personaggi.
Auster è, per me, un maestro delle geografie umane.
Le sue storie occupano spazi per raccontare quanto sia intricato, profondo e doloroso il mondo delle relazioni.
Fratelli, sorelle, amanti, mogli, mariti e, soprattutto, madri e padri.
Una mappa dove ci si posiziona spesso arenandosi nei silenzi che si tramutano in rabbia finchè si raggiunge la consapevolezza che le ferite sono una parte essenziale della vita.
"Questa è l’idea che sta accarezzando, dice Renzo, scrivere un saggio sulle cose che non succedono, le vite non vissute, le guerre non combattute, i mondi-ombra che corrono paralleli a quello che prendiamo per il mondo reale, il non-detto e il non-fatto, il non-ricordato. Un terreno infido, forse, ma potrebbe valere la pena di esplorarlo."
(e sette anni dopo Auster pubblicherà 4321)
October 11, 2016
Παράξενο βιβλίο… Έντονο και συναρπαστικό που δεν το αφήνεις από τα χέρια σου λένε οι κριτικές στο οπισθόφυλλο, καθώς και πως ο Auster έχει έμφυτο το χάρισμα της αφήγησης. Δεν θα μπορούσα να συμφωνήσω περισσότερο με αυτά.
Δυσάρεστο βιβλίο… Αναφέρεται σε αληθινούς ανθρώπους της γενιάς μας, που αντιμετωπίζουν πολλά οικονομικά και προσωπικά προβλήματα στην αναζήτηση του εαυτού τους. Νομίζω ότι ταυτίστηκα με τους περισσότερους από αυτούς σε συγκεκριμένα σημεία και πιστεύω πως – εντάξει, δεν νομίζω να είχα το στομάχι να γίνω καταληψίας – σίγουρα αν ζούσα στην Αμερική θα πέρναγα κι εγώ από δουλειές σαν αυτές που κάνουν οι πρωταγωνιστές μας: κακοπληρωμένες, χωρίς νόημα και ανειδίκευτες, κάπως σαν ισοδύναμο του να γίνεις σερβιτόρος στην Ελλάδα δηλαδή.
Ταυτόχρονα ήταν ένα αληθινό βιβλίο. Οι ήρωες, νεαροί ενήλικες που θα έπρεπε να έχουν κατασταλάξει στο τι θέλουν από τη ζωή τους, ενώ οι συνομήλικοί τους είναι παντρεμένοι με υποθήκη, κερδοφόρα δουλειά, παιδιά και συνταξιοδοτικό πλάνο, αυτοί επιμένουν να κυνηγούν τα όνειρά τους, την κατάθλιψή τους, να γνωρίσουν τον εαυτό τους και τα θέλω τους. Κεντρικός ήρωας παρουσιάζεται ο Μάιλς, ο οποίος επιστρέφει στην πόλη του μετά από 7 χρόνια αυτοεξορίας, τιμωρώντας τον εαυτό του, φορτώνοντάς τον τύψεις για ένα ατυχές περιστατικό που είχε συμβεί. Η ιστορία του Μάιλς, αφηγούμενη και από τη σκοπιά των γονιών του, αναδεικνύει το ζήτημα της επιστροφής του «άσωτου υιού» και τον τρόπο υποδοχής του.
Το βιβλίο είναι απόλυτα ειλικρινές, αποκαλύπτοντας όλα τα συναισθήματα των ηρώων του. Δεν έχω διαβάσει άλλο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, η αφήγησή του πάντως πράγματι είναι έντονη, συναρπαστική, σαν να ακούς ένα εξαιρετικό παραμυθά να μιλάει – μόνο που αυτά που λέει απέχουν πολύ από παραμύθια. Λόγω του βιβλίου κόντεψα τη Δευτέρα να τρακάρω 3 φορές από την αϋπνία πηγαίνοντας στη δουλειά, και σήμερα (Τρίτη) ξύπνησα από τις 7 για να είμαι συνεπής σε αυτά που έπρεπε να ετοιμάσω για τη δουλειά μου. Αύριο (Τετάρτη) επίσης με περιμένει πολύ πρωινό ξύπνημα, την έκανα και στα βιαστικά κάποια στιγμή το μεσημέρι για να διαβάσω κάποιες σελίδες ακόμα… Δεν ήταν ότι είχα αγωνία για την εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης, ούτε είχε ο συγγραφέας να το πάει κάπου… Απλά όλοι οι ήρωες έμοιαζαν σαν να είναι φιλαράκια μου που ήθελα να τους ακούσω… είχα καιρό να βρω τόση αμεσότητα ηρώων σε ένα βιβλίο (είναι βέβαια θα μου πείτε που όλοι οι 30 συν – πλην που έχουμε παραμείνει στην Ελλάδα ψαχνόμαστε τι στην ευχή κάνουμε με τις δουλειές μας και τι ονειρευόμασταν κάποτε. Καταλήψεις πάντως δεν έχουμε κάνει ακόμα, η ΥΦΑΝΕΤ και το εργοστάσιο ΑΛΑΤΙΝΗ παραμένουν στα χέρια των παραδοσιακών αναρχικών!)
Δυσάρεστο βιβλίο… Αναφέρεται σε αληθινούς ανθρώπους της γενιάς μας, που αντιμετωπίζουν πολλά οικονομικά και προσωπικά προβλήματα στην αναζήτηση του εαυτού τους. Νομίζω ότι ταυτίστηκα με τους περισσότερους από αυτούς σε συγκεκριμένα σημεία και πιστεύω πως – εντάξει, δεν νομίζω να είχα το στομάχι να γίνω καταληψίας – σίγουρα αν ζούσα στην Αμερική θα πέρναγα κι εγώ από δουλειές σαν αυτές που κάνουν οι πρωταγωνιστές μας: κακοπληρωμένες, χωρίς νόημα και ανειδίκευτες, κάπως σαν ισοδύναμο του να γίνεις σερβιτόρος στην Ελλάδα δηλαδή.
Ταυτόχρονα ήταν ένα αληθινό βιβλίο. Οι ήρωες, νεαροί ενήλικες που θα έπρεπε να έχουν κατασταλάξει στο τι θέλουν από τη ζωή τους, ενώ οι συνομήλικοί τους είναι παντρεμένοι με υποθήκη, κερδοφόρα δουλειά, παιδιά και συνταξιοδοτικό πλάνο, αυτοί επιμένουν να κυνηγούν τα όνειρά τους, την κατάθλιψή τους, να γνωρίσουν τον εαυτό τους και τα θέλω τους. Κεντρικός ήρωας παρουσιάζεται ο Μάιλς, ο οποίος επιστρέφει στην πόλη του μετά από 7 χρόνια αυτοεξορίας, τιμωρώντας τον εαυτό του, φορτώνοντάς τον τύψεις για ένα ατυχές περιστατικό που είχε συμβεί. Η ιστορία του Μάιλς, αφηγούμενη και από τη σκοπιά των γονιών του, αναδεικνύει το ζήτημα της επιστροφής του «άσωτου υιού» και τον τρόπο υποδοχής του.
Το βιβλίο είναι απόλυτα ειλικρινές, αποκαλύπτοντας όλα τα συναισθήματα των ηρώων του. Δεν έχω διαβάσει άλλο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, η αφήγησή του πάντως πράγματι είναι έντονη, συναρπαστική, σαν να ακούς ένα εξαιρετικό παραμυθά να μιλάει – μόνο που αυτά που λέει απέχουν πολύ από παραμύθια. Λόγω του βιβλίου κόντεψα τη Δευτέρα να τρακάρω 3 φορές από την αϋπνία πηγαίνοντας στη δουλειά, και σήμερα (Τρίτη) ξύπνησα από τις 7 για να είμαι συνεπής σε αυτά που έπρεπε να ετοιμάσω για τη δουλειά μου. Αύριο (Τετάρτη) επίσης με περιμένει πολύ πρωινό ξύπνημα, την έκανα και στα βιαστικά κάποια στιγμή το μεσημέρι για να διαβάσω κάποιες σελίδες ακόμα… Δεν ήταν ότι είχα αγωνία για την εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης, ούτε είχε ο συγγραφέας να το πάει κάπου… Απλά όλοι οι ήρωες έμοιαζαν σαν να είναι φιλαράκια μου που ήθελα να τους ακούσω… είχα καιρό να βρω τόση αμεσότητα ηρώων σε ένα βιβλίο (είναι βέβαια θα μου πείτε που όλοι οι 30 συν – πλην που έχουμε παραμείνει στην Ελλάδα ψαχνόμαστε τι στην ευχή κάνουμε με τις δουλειές μας και τι ονειρευόμασταν κάποτε. Καταλήψεις πάντως δεν έχουμε κάνει ακόμα, η ΥΦΑΝΕΤ και το εργοστάσιο ΑΛΑΤΙΝΗ παραμένουν στα χέρια των παραδοσιακών αναρχικών!)
January 14, 2019
3 αστέρια για το Σανσετ Παρκ γτ αναπόφευκτα το συγκρίνω με άλλα του Οστερ, όπως το βιβλίο των ψευδαισθήσεων ή την τριλογία της Νέας Υόρκης. Οι αναγνωστικές απαιτήσεις/ανάγκες διαμορφώνονται ήδη από την επαφή με τα άλλα βιβλία του και έτσι μοιραία το συγκεκριμένο χάνει στα σημεία καθώς και στο τέλος.
Ένας μέτριος Όστερ όμως επουδενί δεν σημαίνει ότι δεν αξίζει να διαβαστεί. Είναι δεξιοτέχνης στη γραφή και η οικειότητα που νιώθεις στις σελίδες του είναι πάντα ανεκτίμητη.
Ένας μέτριος Όστερ όμως επουδενί δεν σημαίνει ότι δεν αξίζει να διαβαστεί. Είναι δεξιοτέχνης στη γραφή και η οικειότητα που νιώθεις στις σελίδες του είναι πάντα ανεκτίμητη.
June 28, 2023
CRITIQUE:
Narrative Exercises
Once again, in this novel, Paul Auster explores the nature of narrative, though he approaches it from the point of view of an exercise rather than an experiment.
The novel is divided more or less into two halves: in the first, Auster invents his characters, painting deft portraits of each one. In the second (called "All"), he flips the switch, turns them on, and stands by, while they interact with each other, as members of either a fractured family or a splintered peer group.
The Global Financial Crisis
The novel is set in 2008 in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.
The GFC impacted greatly on people's housing arrangements.
The only people who were safe were those whose homes were unencumbered. Those with mortgages were soon unable to make their payments, and many of their homes were foreclosed, quickly creating a trail of homeless to the cities.
Foreclosure Trash-Out (or Clean-Out) Services Source:
Squatters, the Homeless and the Homely
Seven and a half years before, the protagonist, 28 year old Miles Heller (an English major), dropped out of college at Brown after three years, left his parents' home in the West Village, and moved to South Florida, where he eventually obtained work "trashing out" foreclosed homes:
A member, like most of his New York friends, of the creative middle class, he documents on a digital camera what remains of the mortgagors' personal effects. He's a latter-day Dorothea Lange.
His father, Morris Heller, owns a successful publishing house (Heller Books), the output of which has been severely reduced by the GFC. Morris has divorced Miles' blood mother, Mary-Lee Swann, an actress ("they loved each other, but they couldn't get along"), and remarried to Willa, a Professor of English at NYU.
Miles' girlfriend, 17 year old Pilar (she's constantly referred to as underage), lives in a share house with her three sisters, following the death of both parents in a car accident. She's proposed that she move into Miles' modest apartment in a poor neighbourhood, but her oldest sister objects.
Miles and Pilar share a passion for literature. They met when both were reading "The Great Gatsby" in a public park:
Dorothea Lange: "Stop Sign" Source:
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
Just when Miles is contemplating returning to New York ("there is no question that he has had his fill of the Florida sun"), his school friend, Bing Nathan (now a contrarian, activist and jazz drummer), invites him to replace the fourth person in a household that has taken shape in an abandoned house in the eponymous neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
One of the other squatters, Alice Bergstrom, is doing a thesis about William Wyler's film, "The Best Years of Our Lives". She's -
The other squatter, Ellen Brice, is an artist who specialises in "full nude sketches...similar to the ones she did in her life classes at art school."
"Each House is a Story of Failure"
You'll have to read the novel to appreciate what Auster does with this ensemble of "illegal trespassers, squatters, [and] freeloading bums". One hopes that these aren't the best years of their lives, even if it paints an accurate picture of 2008 and the years that followed.
SOUNDTRACK:
Narrative Exercises
Once again, in this novel, Paul Auster explores the nature of narrative, though he approaches it from the point of view of an exercise rather than an experiment.
The novel is divided more or less into two halves: in the first, Auster invents his characters, painting deft portraits of each one. In the second (called "All"), he flips the switch, turns them on, and stands by, while they interact with each other, as members of either a fractured family or a splintered peer group.
The Global Financial Crisis
The novel is set in 2008 in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.
The GFC impacted greatly on people's housing arrangements.
The only people who were safe were those whose homes were unencumbered. Those with mortgages were soon unable to make their payments, and many of their homes were foreclosed, quickly creating a trail of homeless to the cities.
Foreclosure Trash-Out (or Clean-Out) Services Source:
Squatters, the Homeless and the Homely
Seven and a half years before, the protagonist, 28 year old Miles Heller (an English major), dropped out of college at Brown after three years, left his parents' home in the West Village, and moved to South Florida, where he eventually obtained work "trashing out" foreclosed homes:
"Each house is a story of failure."
A member, like most of his New York friends, of the creative middle class, he documents on a digital camera what remains of the mortgagors' personal effects. He's a latter-day Dorothea Lange.
His father, Morris Heller, owns a successful publishing house (Heller Books), the output of which has been severely reduced by the GFC. Morris has divorced Miles' blood mother, Mary-Lee Swann, an actress ("they loved each other, but they couldn't get along"), and remarried to Willa, a Professor of English at NYU.
Miles' girlfriend, 17 year old Pilar (she's constantly referred to as underage), lives in a share house with her three sisters, following the death of both parents in a car accident. She's proposed that she move into Miles' modest apartment in a poor neighbourhood, but her oldest sister objects.
Miles and Pilar share a passion for literature. They met when both were reading "The Great Gatsby" in a public park:
"In the end books are not luxuries so much as necessities, and reading is an addiction he has no wish to be cured of."
Dorothea Lange: "Stop Sign" Source:
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
Just when Miles is contemplating returning to New York ("there is no question that he has had his fill of the Florida sun"), his school friend, Bing Nathan (now a contrarian, activist and jazz drummer), invites him to replace the fourth person in a household that has taken shape in an abandoned house in the eponymous neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
One of the other squatters, Alice Bergstrom, is doing a thesis about William Wyler's film, "The Best Years of Our Lives". She's -
"a tall, big-boned Scandinavian girl from Wisconsin with a round face and meaty arms, a person of heft and seriousness who happened to have a quick mouth and a sharp sense of humour - a rare combination ... which made her a shoo-in from the word go."
The other squatter, Ellen Brice, is an artist who specialises in "full nude sketches...similar to the ones she did in her life classes at art school."
"Each House is a Story of Failure"
You'll have to read the novel to appreciate what Auster does with this ensemble of "illegal trespassers, squatters, [and] freeloading bums". One hopes that these aren't the best years of their lives, even if it paints an accurate picture of 2008 and the years that followed.
SOUNDTRACK:
September 19, 2010
Paul Auster is one of my favorite writers; always able to paint his characters with taut, finely-detailed, yet propulsive brush strokes. And in Sunset Park, he does not disappoint.
This novel is less postmodern than his recent book Invisible. It focuses on debris: physical debris from trashed-out foreclosed homes in Florida that Miles Heller, a Brown University drop-out, rescues through his camera. And mental debris that Miles wrestles with after a spontaneous action on his part results in an accidental death, causing him to run from his New York family and live in self-imposed exile.
Eventually, we will meet the other characters: four flat-broke twentysomethings who are searching for their more authentic selves, illegally squatting in an abandoned house in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. And we will meet Morris Heller, Miles’ father, the “Can Man” and an independent publisher, who has never quite given up that his son will eventually find his way back home.
The fractured narrative, told sequentially in the third-person POV, weaves together a number of elements: baseball trivia including the economic recession foreclosure crisis, Jack Lohrke (“Lucky”) who cheated death repeatedly until the very end, William Wyler’s 1946 coming-home classic The Best Years of Our Lives, the demise of the literary publishing houses, and the Hospital of Broken Things, which repairs artifacts of a world that once was. The themes that Auster has explored in the past – art, rebellion, and soltitude – are all here again, this time dealt with directly and swiftly.
These disparate elements all come together in an ending that took my breath away. In essence, Auster is asking: “Is luck random or is it within our control? How much responsibility can we take for occurrences? Is it worth hoping for a future when there is no future? Should we live for the passing moment or take the big picture into consideration? These questions will have you ruminating long after you read the last pages.
This novel is less postmodern than his recent book Invisible. It focuses on debris: physical debris from trashed-out foreclosed homes in Florida that Miles Heller, a Brown University drop-out, rescues through his camera. And mental debris that Miles wrestles with after a spontaneous action on his part results in an accidental death, causing him to run from his New York family and live in self-imposed exile.
Eventually, we will meet the other characters: four flat-broke twentysomethings who are searching for their more authentic selves, illegally squatting in an abandoned house in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. And we will meet Morris Heller, Miles’ father, the “Can Man” and an independent publisher, who has never quite given up that his son will eventually find his way back home.
The fractured narrative, told sequentially in the third-person POV, weaves together a number of elements: baseball trivia including the economic recession foreclosure crisis, Jack Lohrke (“Lucky”) who cheated death repeatedly until the very end, William Wyler’s 1946 coming-home classic The Best Years of Our Lives, the demise of the literary publishing houses, and the Hospital of Broken Things, which repairs artifacts of a world that once was. The themes that Auster has explored in the past – art, rebellion, and soltitude – are all here again, this time dealt with directly and swiftly.
These disparate elements all come together in an ending that took my breath away. In essence, Auster is asking: “Is luck random or is it within our control? How much responsibility can we take for occurrences? Is it worth hoping for a future when there is no future? Should we live for the passing moment or take the big picture into consideration? These questions will have you ruminating long after you read the last pages.
December 14, 2010
Miles Heller is a one-man gloomfest. He’s haunted by the death of his stepbrother, estranged from his family and facing blackmail for conducting an under-age relationship. The 28 year-old flees Florida for a Brooklyn squat. There he joins a bunch of flatmates, each with their own personal raincloud: Bing is sexually confused, Ellen sex-starved, Alice in a dying relationship. Depression, suicide, infidelity, abortion and chlamydia all feature in a book that takes the 2008 economic crisis as its backdrop. Punctuated by rare moments of tenderness, Heller’s sorry story continues as he makes the transition from emptying repossessed properties to living in one. The sadness permeating his life, and those around him, should touch the reader. But because the story is narrated in a cool, detached voice, it's hard to feel sorry, to feel anything, for the book’s damaged characters. All of which might have been defensible were it not for the dismal conclusion. Sunset Park doesn’t so much draw to a close as screech to a standstill. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle and a gaping hole where the end should be. In a book groaning with glumness, the last page is the grimmest part of all.
November 25, 2010
At the best times it is hard to put down a Paul Auster novel. He's a writer who writes for his readers. A goes to B and that will eventually come to C. My problem with his work is that I can picture the outline or map while reading his works.
The early Paul Auster I love, and its cool that he uses his home base Brooklyn as a guide or representation in his later novels, but then again, a lot of his work is like a math proposition. And although I don't put the book down, I could easily do so as well. Because I just don't care. And that sort of pains me with respect to Paul Auster, because I admire him for his taste (I love his translations of French poetry), and he's an interesting writer to a point, but.....
He churns so much books out now, and his last one "Invisible" is a novel i enjoyed very much. Maybe because it reminded me of a Patricia Highsmith yarn - but it jelled for me. "Sunset Park" is neither horrible or decent - it's just there. And there are so many more important books to read, you don't want to spend time with something that is ....just there on your table or book case.
There is no doubt in my mind that Auster will come up again with a winner, but till then...
The early Paul Auster I love, and its cool that he uses his home base Brooklyn as a guide or representation in his later novels, but then again, a lot of his work is like a math proposition. And although I don't put the book down, I could easily do so as well. Because I just don't care. And that sort of pains me with respect to Paul Auster, because I admire him for his taste (I love his translations of French poetry), and he's an interesting writer to a point, but.....
He churns so much books out now, and his last one "Invisible" is a novel i enjoyed very much. Maybe because it reminded me of a Patricia Highsmith yarn - but it jelled for me. "Sunset Park" is neither horrible or decent - it's just there. And there are so many more important books to read, you don't want to spend time with something that is ....just there on your table or book case.
There is no doubt in my mind that Auster will come up again with a winner, but till then...
November 19, 2017
صانست بارك.....بول أوستر
ما الذي جرى في المجتمع الأمريكي إبان أزمته الاقتصادية الطاحنة في 2008، كيف تركوا بيوتهم وطردوا منها، وكيف خلخلت تلك الأزمة مبادئ عدة عندهم؟
كل ذلك وأكثر يكشفه لنا بول أوستر بتقنيته المحترفة في الكتابة.
ما الذي جرى في المجتمع الأمريكي إبان أزمته الاقتصادية الطاحنة في 2008، كيف تركوا بيوتهم وطردوا منها، وكيف خلخلت تلك الأزمة مبادئ عدة عندهم؟
كل ذلك وأكثر يكشفه لنا بول أوستر بتقنيته المحترفة في الكتابة.
August 1, 2024
Update: I watched "The best years of our lives" yesterday and now I feel like reading this novel again 🤔
I absolutely loved it. This novel has become one of my favorites by Paul Auster. Maybe it's because he recently passed away... maybe.
I've noticed an evolution in his writing; it feels more mature. This time, he really "nailed it." Many of his usual themes are present in the book, with "chance" being prominent once again, but this time it feels more credible.
What an author! RIP.
I absolutely loved it. This novel has become one of my favorites by Paul Auster. Maybe it's because he recently passed away... maybe.
I've noticed an evolution in his writing; it feels more mature. This time, he really "nailed it." Many of his usual themes are present in the book, with "chance" being prominent once again, but this time it feels more credible.
What an author! RIP.
September 14, 2020
Το έτος είναι το 2008 και η κρίση χτυπά την Αμερική... Γουεχεεεεεεειιιι, σα να μην πέρασε μια μέρα λοιπόν... Είναι 2020 και η κρίση μας έχει ραπισει(sic) όλους.. Επιστρέφοντας όμως στα του βιβλίου, το 2008 4 νέοι κάνουν ουσιαστικά κατάληψη σε ένα σπίτι στο σανσετ παρκ.. Κανείς τους δε το κάνει τόσο από οικονομικούς λόγους, όσο γιατί ο καθένας έχει ένα παρελθόν από το οποίο τρέχει...το σπίτι αυτό λοιπόν κατά τη γνώμη μου λειτουργεί σαν ένα καταφύγιο, σαν μια ομπρέλα που τάχα θα τους προστατεύσει από την ενηλικίωση. Κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά.. Ο πρωταγωνιστής μας, ο Μάιλς κράτα ένα μυστικό μέσα του εδώ και πολλά χρόνια που τον απομάκρυνε από την οικογένεια του και άφησε γύρω του πληγές. Εκεί που νομίζει λοιπόν πως βρήκε επιτέλους τον τρόπο να υπάρξει μακρυά από ευθύνες και σκοτούρες του παρελθόντος, ανακαλύπτει πως αυτό τον καλεί πισω για να κλείσει τους λογαριασμούς του.
Δεν έχω πολλά να πω, αγαπώ τον Πολ ωστερ χρόνια τώρα, μου αρέσουν τα περισσότερα από τα βιβλία του και στενοχωριεμαι που βλεπω ότι και αυτό εδώ εχει σχετικά χαμηλή βαθμολογία στο goodreads. Για μένα ήταν ενα από τα καλύτερα του. Το απόλαυσα απίστευτα και το προτείνω. Καλέ, αγαπήστε τον Paul Auster.. #MakePaulAusterGreatAgain
Δεν έχω πολλά να πω, αγαπώ τον Πολ ωστερ χρόνια τώρα, μου αρέσουν τα περισσότερα από τα βιβλία του και στενοχωριεμαι που βλεπω ότι και αυτό εδώ εχει σχετικά χαμηλή βαθμολογία στο goodreads. Για μένα ήταν ενα από τα καλύτερα του. Το απόλαυσα απίστευτα και το προτείνω. Καλέ, αγαπήστε τον Paul Auster.. #MakePaulAusterGreatAgain
August 18, 2020
این یه ریویو نیست. درواقع هیچکدوم از ریویوهایی که مینویسم ریویو حرفهای نیستن. نظرمه برای خودم که یادم بمونه.
تا اینجا که از پل استر خوندم، از هوشش توی طرح داستان خوشم اومده. چیزی که باعث فاصله بینمون میشه (:)) سنگینی زیاده. خیلی سنگینه. باری که گذشته روی دوش شخصیتهاش میذاره خیلی سنگینه. و این سنگینی انگار میشینه روی سینهم. و انگار اندازه همون آدما تاریک و سرد میشم.و یه مقاومتی دارم نسبت به این قضیه.
توی شهر شیشهای ارجاعاتی به بهشت گمشده میلتون وجود داشت و توی سانست پارک ارجاعاتی به یه فیلم هالیوودی با موضوع بعد از جنگ که الان اسمشو یادم نمیاد. که جالب بودن.
بهرحال خیلی خوبه. خیلی خوبه که وقتی داری یه کتابی میخونی بدونی که احمق فرض نشدی. یا اصلا کتاب نوشته نشده برای خوشایند تو، نوشته شده چون باید نوشته میشده یا چون نویسنده بهش فکر میکرده.
شخصیتپردازی و راوی خیلی خوب بود. راوی هرفصل انگار سومشخص آیندهی همون آدم بود. و خیلی کنجکاو موسیقی متن هم شدم. احساس کردم متن اصلی باید موسیقی متناسبی داشته باشه.
در کل اگرچه حس میکنم طوری که استر فکر میکنه ازم دوره لکن همین برام چالش برانگیزه.که طور دیگهای نگاه کنم. اعلا.
تا اینجا که از پل استر خوندم، از هوشش توی طرح داستان خوشم اومده. چیزی که باعث فاصله بینمون میشه (:)) سنگینی زیاده. خیلی سنگینه. باری که گذشته روی دوش شخصیتهاش میذاره خیلی سنگینه. و این سنگینی انگار میشینه روی سینهم. و انگار اندازه همون آدما تاریک و سرد میشم.و یه مقاومتی دارم نسبت به این قضیه.
توی شهر شیشهای ارجاعاتی به بهشت گمشده میلتون وجود داشت و توی سانست پارک ارجاعاتی به یه فیلم هالیوودی با موضوع بعد از جنگ که الان اسمشو یادم نمیاد. که جالب بودن.
بهرحال خیلی خوبه. خیلی خوبه که وقتی داری یه کتابی میخونی بدونی که احمق فرض نشدی. یا اصلا کتاب نوشته نشده برای خوشایند تو، نوشته شده چون باید نوشته میشده یا چون نویسنده بهش فکر میکرده.
شخصیتپردازی و راوی خیلی خوب بود. راوی هرفصل انگار سومشخص آیندهی همون آدم بود. و خیلی کنجکاو موسیقی متن هم شدم. احساس کردم متن اصلی باید موسیقی متناسبی داشته باشه.
در کل اگرچه حس میکنم طوری که استر فکر میکنه ازم دوره لکن همین برام چالش برانگیزه.که طور دیگهای نگاه کنم. اعلا.
May 17, 2022
The Strangeness Of Being Alive
Set primarily in the Sunset Park community of Brooklyn following the financial crash of 2008, Paul Auster's novel "Sunset Park" combines elements of literary bohemia with reminders of "The Diary of Anne Frank". The book features four young people in their 20s who stryggle with themselves, with their artistic or literary ambitions, and with poverty. They find themselves squatting in a ramshackle abandoned small house in Brooklyn which New York City has seized for back taxes. The four young people live in fear of the inevitable day when the city discovers their illegal presence in the house and evicts them. During the process, they struggle and perhaps thrive in spite of appearances.
Of the four squatters, the primary character is a 28 year old man named Miles Heller, a college dropout who had been working in south Florida removing property from repossessed homes. While in Florida, Miles became involved with a precocious 17 year old high school student, Pilar. Events force him to flee Florida, as he had fled his parents and college years earlier, and to accept the invitation of his old friend Bing to join him and two women in Sunset Park after Bing's girlfriend moved out. Bing runs a small repair shop called "The Hospital for Broken Things", but his primary interest in life is playing in a small jazz band.
There are two women squatters. Ellen struggles with selling real estate but her passion is art and painting. She turns from working on still lifes and buildings, where her work appears stilted, to the human body. Ellen is alone and sexually frustrated. The other woman in the house, Alice, is pursuing her PhD in English and working part town for an activist group concerned with the plight of dissident writers. Her dissertation topic is the 1946 film "The Best Years of our Lives" which deals with the problems of American servicemen returning home after WW II. The book is heavily freighted with symbolism -- with the film's suggesting something of the role that the period of squatting will play in the lives of the protagonists and the title of Bing's shop suggesting something of each of their lives.
There is also a great deal of baseball symbolism in this book using players both famous and obscure. The great promising pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Herb Score, becomes emblematic of hard luck when his promising career ends as he is struck in the eye by a line drive. Auster also describes an obscure, undistinguished player, Jack "Lucky" Lohrke who faced three situations of almost certain death in WW II and lived to tell the tale. With baseball and bohemia the book is heavily atmospheric. It is at its best in the portrayal of the run-down neighborhoods of Brooklyn and of its struggling young people.
With all its symbolism and bohemian portraits, the book is short and a relatively fast read. It includes many characters besides the four young squatters. Most of this large group of secondary characters centers around Miles, and they include his father, who struggles to run a small publishing house, together with his stepmother, an academic, his mother, and actress, his stepbrother and his young girlfriend Pilar, the love of his life. The characters are well portrayed but the book is cluttered and has an almost dreamlike feel.
The book includes some highly poignant scenes and some beautifully lyrical writing. I was in love with much of the book and with its premise. As the book proceeds, the writing becomes overdone in places, with long, overly elaborate and mannered stringy sentences. There are also contrivances in the story line which make the book less effective. I liked the novel a great deal but was sorry my initial reaction was not fully sustained.
The novelist Siri Hustvedt, Auster's wife, suggested the phrase "the strangeness of being alive". When Ellen becomes deeply involved with the human figure the narrator of the tale observes: "She wants her human bodies to convey the miraculous strangeness of being alive -- no more than that, as much as all that. She doesn't concern herself with the idea of beauty. Beauty can take care of itself." The "strangeness of being alive", with all its enigmas, tragedy, coincidences and hope is the underlying theme of Paul Auster's novel.
Robin Friedman
Set primarily in the Sunset Park community of Brooklyn following the financial crash of 2008, Paul Auster's novel "Sunset Park" combines elements of literary bohemia with reminders of "The Diary of Anne Frank". The book features four young people in their 20s who stryggle with themselves, with their artistic or literary ambitions, and with poverty. They find themselves squatting in a ramshackle abandoned small house in Brooklyn which New York City has seized for back taxes. The four young people live in fear of the inevitable day when the city discovers their illegal presence in the house and evicts them. During the process, they struggle and perhaps thrive in spite of appearances.
Of the four squatters, the primary character is a 28 year old man named Miles Heller, a college dropout who had been working in south Florida removing property from repossessed homes. While in Florida, Miles became involved with a precocious 17 year old high school student, Pilar. Events force him to flee Florida, as he had fled his parents and college years earlier, and to accept the invitation of his old friend Bing to join him and two women in Sunset Park after Bing's girlfriend moved out. Bing runs a small repair shop called "The Hospital for Broken Things", but his primary interest in life is playing in a small jazz band.
There are two women squatters. Ellen struggles with selling real estate but her passion is art and painting. She turns from working on still lifes and buildings, where her work appears stilted, to the human body. Ellen is alone and sexually frustrated. The other woman in the house, Alice, is pursuing her PhD in English and working part town for an activist group concerned with the plight of dissident writers. Her dissertation topic is the 1946 film "The Best Years of our Lives" which deals with the problems of American servicemen returning home after WW II. The book is heavily freighted with symbolism -- with the film's suggesting something of the role that the period of squatting will play in the lives of the protagonists and the title of Bing's shop suggesting something of each of their lives.
There is also a great deal of baseball symbolism in this book using players both famous and obscure. The great promising pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Herb Score, becomes emblematic of hard luck when his promising career ends as he is struck in the eye by a line drive. Auster also describes an obscure, undistinguished player, Jack "Lucky" Lohrke who faced three situations of almost certain death in WW II and lived to tell the tale. With baseball and bohemia the book is heavily atmospheric. It is at its best in the portrayal of the run-down neighborhoods of Brooklyn and of its struggling young people.
With all its symbolism and bohemian portraits, the book is short and a relatively fast read. It includes many characters besides the four young squatters. Most of this large group of secondary characters centers around Miles, and they include his father, who struggles to run a small publishing house, together with his stepmother, an academic, his mother, and actress, his stepbrother and his young girlfriend Pilar, the love of his life. The characters are well portrayed but the book is cluttered and has an almost dreamlike feel.
The book includes some highly poignant scenes and some beautifully lyrical writing. I was in love with much of the book and with its premise. As the book proceeds, the writing becomes overdone in places, with long, overly elaborate and mannered stringy sentences. There are also contrivances in the story line which make the book less effective. I liked the novel a great deal but was sorry my initial reaction was not fully sustained.
The novelist Siri Hustvedt, Auster's wife, suggested the phrase "the strangeness of being alive". When Ellen becomes deeply involved with the human figure the narrator of the tale observes: "She wants her human bodies to convey the miraculous strangeness of being alive -- no more than that, as much as all that. She doesn't concern herself with the idea of beauty. Beauty can take care of itself." The "strangeness of being alive", with all its enigmas, tragedy, coincidences and hope is the underlying theme of Paul Auster's novel.
Robin Friedman
February 27, 2020
این دیگه چجور پایانی بود؟
جدیدا پل استر خون شدم و بعد از سفر در اتاق تحریر و سه گانه ی نیویورک رفتم سراغ این. روند داستانی کتاب رو دوست داشتم. راضی کننده بود. اما احساس می کنم به پایان کتاب کاملا گند زده. البته نمیشد همه چیز خوش و خرم تموم بشه ولی خب این پایان پوچ و باز اصلا مناسب نبود.
کتاب درباره ی بحران اقتصادی سال دوهزار و هشته. داستان درباره ی یک پسر بیست و هشت ساله به نام مایلز هلره. در ابتدای کتاب کارگره و در ادامه که پیش میره آروم آروم میفهمیم چرا کارگر و خانواده و سابقه و گذشتهش همه رو میشن. فضای ملموس و حتی جالبی داشت کتاب. ولی اصلا نمی تونم پایانو پذیرا باشم.
شمام اگه خوندین بگین پایانش چطور بوده بنظرتون؟
+در دوران کرونا کتاب چی میخونین؟
جدیدا پل استر خون شدم و بعد از سفر در اتاق تحریر و سه گانه ی نیویورک رفتم سراغ این. روند داستانی کتاب رو دوست داشتم. راضی کننده بود. اما احساس می کنم به پایان کتاب کاملا گند زده. البته نمیشد همه چیز خوش و خرم تموم بشه ولی خب این پایان پوچ و باز اصلا مناسب نبود.
کتاب درباره ی بحران اقتصادی سال دوهزار و هشته. داستان درباره ی یک پسر بیست و هشت ساله به نام مایلز هلره. در ابتدای کتاب کارگره و در ادامه که پیش میره آروم آروم میفهمیم چرا کارگر و خانواده و سابقه و گذشتهش همه رو میشن. فضای ملموس و حتی جالبی داشت کتاب. ولی اصلا نمی تونم پایانو پذیرا باشم.
شمام اگه خوندین بگین پایانش چطور بوده بنظرتون؟
+در دوران کرونا کتاب چی میخونین؟
dnf
January 3, 2024Sinto que deveria ter gostado mais deste livro do que gostei, mas a realidade é que não quero saber de nenhuma das personagens que Auster criou em Sunset Park e que, como matéria de interesse, apenas têm a oferecer umas histórias pessoais duvidosas e uns poucos factos curiosos sobre baseball. Eu sou uma pessoa aborrecida e quando acho os outros desinteressantes isso é um péssimo sinal. Ainda assim, talvez o ar desinteressante deste pessoal escapasse, não fosse toda a ênfase na crise económica/crise sexual que, honestamente, não faz o meu estilo. Talvez seja uma coisa muito "States" isto de sofrer castrações psicológicas relacionadas com a falta de dinheiro - a Europa tem um historial diferente e normalmente recorre ao deboche (e ao vinho) para combater o flagelo da fome - mas, como nenhuma destas soluções me é particularmente simpática, ficarei por aqui. Este livro é um festim de depressão de que não preciso em 2024, por isso, o melhor é pousá-lo antes que, como vidas num gato, gaste mais tempo precioso agarrada a uma leitura de que não gosto. Sunset Park leva o primeiro carimbo DNF do ano. 2024 promete!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,469 reviews