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Book Reviews of In the Country of Last Things

In the Country of Last Things
In the Country of Last Things
Author: Paul Auster
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ISBN-13: 9780140097054
ISBN-10: 0140097058
Publication Date: 5/2/1988
Pages: 188
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 13

3.7 stars, based on 13 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Type: Paperback
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Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

ft-ball-fn avatar reviewed In the Country of Last Things on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
The style of this book goes against everything I learned in English lit and creative writing... there is hardly any dialogue.. and most of the story is the author's thoughts, not a third person telling the story.

I'll admit that this style bogged down the story to start--I got no real sense of the surroundings or vivid details of about events... instead it was "I was exhausted... I was overwhelmed"... etc. However--the style grew on me and in the end was successful--giving you great insight into the main character (although not anyone else IMO). And finally the thoughts and feelings of the lead took on more of a narrative tone.. and the story was interesting.

The book is pretty short, and the story (without giving away the ending) doesn't 'wrap up' like I wish it would have... the reader is sort of left hanging without getting the last vital info that, once you get to know the main character--you want to find out.

Still an interesting twist on PA... even the way the city 'survived' (note for PA fans if you need to know exactly WHAT happened--do not read this book... they never say. All you know is the city is in decay/near chaos and surrounding areas (no note of how far away) are not... outside the city area people live normally (so maybe its just urban blight to the extreme?). I'm usually someone who reads PA for the PA descriptions (which this is lacking) but once the story got rolling I didn't mind its exclusion.