cover image The New York Trilogy

The New York Trilogy

Paul Auster, read by Joe Barrett, Brilliance Audio, unabridged, 11 CDs, 12.5 hrs. $29.99 ISBN 978-1-4233-9578-2

Joe Barrett has the low, gravelly voice of old detective movies. His phrasing is good, his characterizations clear and dramatic, and his rendering of Kafkaesque mysteriousness draws us deeper and deeper into this peculiar, interconnected trilogy. Auster’s first novel purports to be a set of detective stories, but each pretzellike section twists into a search for identity—particularly that of the author. Fans of postmodern fiction will love Barrett’s reading, but even more skeptical listeners might still be intrigued by Auster’s medium and message. A Picador paperback. (May)