Book details
Man in the Dark
A Novel
Author: Paul Auster; Read by the author
Man in the Dark
$10.99
About This Book
Book Details
This program is read by the author.
"Man in the Dark is an undoubted pleasure to read. Auster really does possess the wand of the enchanter." —Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books
From Paul Auster, a "literary original" (Wall Street Journal) comes a novel that forces us to confront the blackness of night even as it celebrates the existence of ordinary joys in a world capable of the most grotesque violence.
Seventy-two-year-old August Brill is recovering from a car accident at his daughter's house in Vermont. When sleep refuses to come, he lies in bed and tells himself stories, struggling to push back thoughts about things he would prefer to forget: his wife's recent death and the horrific murder of his granddaughter's boyfriend, Titus. The retired book critic imagines a parallel world in which America is not at war with Iraq but with itself. In this other America the twin towers did not fall and the 2000 election results led to secession, as state after state pulled away from the union and a bloody civil war ensued.
As the night progresses, Brill's story grows increasingly intense, and what he is desperately trying to avoid insists on being told.
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
Imprint Publisher
Macmillan Audio
ISBN
9781427205520
Reading Guide
In The News
“Auster's rueful monotone...seems perfectly suited for a character yanked out of 2007 and into an alternate, post-apocalyptic America... [He] does better than any actor could in articulating his skewed imagination.” —Winston-Salem Journal
“With just the right pace and modulation, [Auster] reveals events that explain the complex mind of the memorable protagonist.” —Library Journal, starred review
“Auster's appropriately detached narration penetrates the mind of retired book critic August Brill, who is recovering from a recent injury and the loss of his wife.... Auster's mesmerizing performance captures the listener as he delivers his hypnotic tale of political intrigue.” —AudioFile magazine