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Baumgartner

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About this listen

And then it started, little by little it started, until they were married five years later and his real life began.

'Exquisite ... A super-abundantly gifted, big-hearted novelist.' Ian McEwan

'A writer whose work shines with intelligence and originality.' Don DeLillo

The life of Sy Baumgartner - noted author, and soon-to-be retired philosophy professor - has been defined by his deep, abiding love for his wife. Now Anna is gone, and Baumgartner is trying to live with her absence. But Anna's voice is everywhere still, in every spiral of memory and reminiscence, in each recalled episode of the passionate forty years they shared.

Rich with feeling, wit and an eye for beauty in the smallest, most transient episodes of ordinary life, Baumgartner is a luminous work - a tender final masterpiece from one of the world's greatest writers.
'A master.' The Times

©2023 Faber & Faber (P)2023 Faber & Faber Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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A very fond 4 stars for the latest novel from one of my all-time favorite authors — romantic, melancholy, elegiac, charming, and quirky. Probably one of my favorites of his fiction!

Also HUGE bonus that it’s read by the author himself! He’s got the loveliest, most gravely voice, and it really added to the pleasure of the reading experience.

One of my favorite Auster novels

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I am a fan of Auster and have read many of his books. I recently came to Audible and first listened to 4321 as I had struggled to read it in book form. I find listening to Auster reading his own words absolutely addictive. brilliantly drawn characters every one every time and stories that keep you walking along with then until the end.

master story teller

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This is my the 1st Paul Auster book I read and it has won’t be my last. I still don’t know what made me purchase it as the synopsis doesn’t do it justice. It’s a beautiful exploration of life, love and longing. I highly recommend to anyone.

Mesmerising. Sad and Joyful in equal measure

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The author has an enjoyable voice, but I found his reading to be erratic with spaces between words randomly over pronounced. I found it quite distracting and feel the book would have been far more enjoyable with a competent voice actor. That said, it really is a beautiful book. A wonderful exploration of loss, grief, and memory that I took in in one sitting. I was somewhat left wanting with the ending though.

Beautiful book, distracting narration

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As always with Auster, humanity and understanding of human heart and existence shines through the writing. After listening to 4321 in summer and gifting the book to a few friends, very happy to have listened to this perceptive and humanist book in his own pleasantly calm but engaging voice. I think some of the literary reviews haven’t done it justice. It may be felt as somewhat incomplete or unsatisfactory, but it is like that in the way life itself is, not through a design flaw. Maybe you need to be of a certain age to appreciate that.

What a great mind! Hope he recovers and finds enough health and peace to enjoy his later years.

Listening to Paul Auster read his books is addictive!

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