The New York Trilogy

The best audiobook I've heard

I don't blindly scatter 5 star reviews around, but this audiobook gets top marks. I'd heard people talk about this book for years, but never read it. Not everyone was complimentary, but even the detractors conceded that it had a certain elusive narrative quality that set it apart.

I finally bought the audiobook about 18 months ago, and have just listened again to the whole thing, for the 3rd time now.

Art, including literature, and including audiobooks, is totally subjective -- it barely needs saying. So there is no criticism or sneering from me towards anyone who doesn't enjoy this audiobook, and/or this story. But I must say that for me, an audiobook fan, New York Trilogy is the best. The narrative, weaving through reality and delusion, is both thrilling and disturbing, and so evocative of hidden corners of our our own lives. The clincher though is the magnificent narration. I say without hesitation that the world-weary tones of Joe Barrett turns from a very good book into a magnificent audiobook.

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Perhaps more interesting than important

REVIEW 1: City of Glass

An interesting PoMo novella. Auster's first novel/second book/first of his 'New York Trilogy', 'City of Glass' is simultaneously a detective novel, an exploration of the author/narrative dynamic, and a treatise on language. I liked parts, loved parts, and finished the book thinking the author had written something perhaps more interesting than important.

My favorite parts were the chapters where Auster (actual author Auster) through the narrator Quinn acting as the detective Auster explored Stillman's book: 'The Garden and the Tower: Early Visions of the New World'. I also enjoyed the chapter where Auster (character Auster) and Quinn (acting as detective Auster) explored Auster's (character Auster) Don Quixote ideas. Those chapters reminded me obliquely (everything in City of Glass is oblique) of Gaddis.

In the end, however, it all seemed like Auster had read Gaddis wanted to write a PoMo novel to reflect the confusing nature of the author/narrator/translator/editor role(s) of 'Don Quixote', set it all in Manhatten, and wanted to make the prose and story fit within the general framework of a detective novel. He pulled it off and it all kinda worked. I'll say more once I finish the next two of the 'New York Trilogy'.

REVIEW 2: Ghosts

An uncanny valley of Gaddis IMHO. 'Ghosts', the second book in Auster's 'New York Trilogy' reminds me what I both like and don't like about MFA writers. Often clever and grammatically precise but they don't say so much. If they were painters their perspective would be perfect and their posters would sell, but the pigment or texture or something between the edges is just missing that undercurrent of something to give a real shit about.


REVIEW 3: The Locked Room

Not much to add that I haven't already written in my reviews of Auster's first two 'New York Trilogy' novels. In 'The Locked Room' Auster dances with the same themes, with slightly different variations. The novellas are more brothers to each other instead of cousins. In a lot of ways he reminds me of an earlier generations' Dave Eggers. There is definitely a lot of talent latent in the guy. He certainly can write, but unlike Fitzgerald who was able to tell a similar themed story in his novels and still provide weight. I just didn't feel the gravity. It was like Camus couldn't really decide whether to kill the Arab, didn't know if he cared or not, so he just walked around killed himself but made the Arab watch.

I don't know. That may not be right. I'll probably just delete this review anyway. Only Otis will read it and I've asked him to delete all my reviews he doesn't like anyway. How do I guarantee this? Well, I could talk about Otis. I could tell you that there are things about author Auster, unrelated to his books I just don't like (who lives in NY Anyway?). He is a bad behaving author (untrue). He keeps sending me his manuscripts and wants me to say nice things about his work (untrue). I don't know. Is Auster married? Maybe, I'll go and console his wife now.

23 of 26 people found this review helpful

Starts slow...but gains speed

I would recommend this book but only to a reader with a great deal of patience. The story takes chapter upon chapter to get going. It starts out well, then falls flat, picks up again, then falls flat, then takes off and remains quite interesting. But that occurs in the second part. So if you can survive the uneven-ness of the first part - you should be alright. I wasn't inamoured of the narration either. Well Mr. Barrett has a pleasantly relaxing style - I found it maybe too relaxing and sometimes much drabbly monotone. He was putting me to sleep - or maybe it was the story. Maybe it's not my cup-o-tea.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

This is exceptional fiction. Superb narration.

Auster's New York Trilogy is excellent literature; not for the faint of heart and perhaps not for fans of typical popular fiction. Labeling this work "postmodern detective fiction" does it a certain disservice. Surreal and strange, Auster's three stories blend well but City of Glass is surely the standout. If you like Kafkaesque characters and scenarios, fiction and plot lines which blur and bleed between stories and out of the pages, and dark unsettling cityscapes; Auster's masterpiece will be right up your proverbial alley.

Joe Barrett's gruff detective-style voice was seemingly hand-picked by Auster himself. Great stories, great reading. Highly suggested.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Gripping, thought-provoking, hilarious

I loved this read. The middle story did drag - like repeating the first story without any of the fun stuff. But the first and last stories were fantastic - really genuine and free of many of the usual story-telling conventions that can stifle an author's voice. Also, this is one of the few audiobooks in which the narration is so good I don't think I would have gotten as much out of it if I'd simply read it. So good I gifted the audiobook to a friend.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This book is symphony !

the book's rhythm flows like music , making it very easy to follow, to keep the thread of it, to become more engaged with it. just love it. now I can't wait to start reading and listening to "4 3 2 1" .

a gem, a sweet treasure

the man, the story, will not to speak to everyone,
but they spoke to me.

worth it

great literature, good reading. performer does voices for characters; not exaggerated, though, and mostly on point

Amazing!

Imagine if Beckettt had written a Dostoyevsky book. That is what you are getting with the new york trology.

Postmodern Meh-stery

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Given how long ago this book was written and how many people have read it, this question seems a little silly, but sure: I would tell the author that the whole color-based-naming schema of the second installment just doesn't work. It might have worked in a 6-page Borges story, but it is a tragic decision for a work of this length. Grating and insufferable.

If you’ve listened to books by Paul Auster before, how does this one compare?

n/a

Have you listened to any of Joe Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

Was The New York Trilogy worth the listening time?

Not really. It suffers from many of the common defects of post-modern novels, which are not half as clever or as well-rendered as the genre fiction that they attempt to "deconstruct." It's nowhere near as good as the best of Conan Doyle or Christie, for instance.

Any additional comments?

There are some great moments in the first and third installments of the trilogy. I loved the discussion of Don Quixote in part 1, and the effort to reconstruct the biography of a missing/dead childhood friend in part 3. Also laughed at the poo jokes. Well played, Auster!