Mr. Vertigo
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Pariseau
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By:
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Paul Auster
About this listen
In Mr. Vertigo, his dazzling eighth novel, Paul Auster introduces a quintessentially American hero who, early in his life, masters the art of the unimaginable, and then must live out his days long after the magic has been lost and forgotten.
It is 1927, the year of Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh – and of Walter Claireborne Rawley, a streetwise orphan from Saint Louis who becomes "Walt the Wonder Boy", a diminutive showman famous for stunning audiences across the country with his feats of levitation. Walt's teacher is Master Yehudi, a mysterious iconoclast who rescues him from poverty and instills in him the faith, fearlessness, and devotion to hard work essential to such a magnificent venture.
Inevitably, Master Yehudi and Walt fall prey to the sinners, thieves, and villains of America in its pre-depression heyday, from the Kansas Ku Klux Klan to the Chicago mob, and Walt's resilience, like that of his young nation, is over and again challenged.
Paul Auster, a "literary original" (Wall Street Journal) whose "bounties of intelligence, mystery, and literary magic nourish and delight the mind" (Chicago Sun-Times), embraces both the realist and the mythic traditions in American literature. Walt and Yehudi are classic entrepreneur adventurers, and what they sell in Walt's performance is defiance of the natural laws governing men. This is an extraordinary, exuberant novel that captures the aspirations and excesses of a country ready to soar.
As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of Paul Auster's book, you'll also get an exclusive Jim Atlas interview that begins when the audiobook ends.
This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.©1995 Paul Auster (P)2009 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Ella Ginsberg's brother, Simon, has disappeared. His clothing, shoes, and watch were found abandoned near a freight line track in Central California. His jockey shorts and wallet were never found. The police have no clue, and Simon's wife had no warning that anything was wrong. Ella takes off on foot across much of California and Arizona, thinking she can find Simon using nothing but her knowledge of the way he might think. Her search leads her to the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
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Funerals for Horses
- By Carolyn Ferrell on 03-26-18
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Miss Lonelyhearts
- By: Nathanael West
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser, Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Miss Lonelyhearts is an unnamed male newspaper columnist writing an advice column, which is viewed by the newspaper as a joke. As "Miss Lonelyhearts" reads letters from desperate New Yorkers, he feels terribly burdened and falls into a cycle of deep depression, accompanied by heavy drinking and occasional barfights. The novel is essentially a black comedy and is characterized by an extremely dark but clever sense of humor and irony.
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Charged with Meaning, and Far Leftist Leaning
- By W Perry Hall on 01-27-16
By: Nathanael West
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The Lost Weekend
- By: Charles Jackson
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1936, and on the East Side of Manhattan, a would-be writer named Don Birnam decides to have a drink. And then another, and then another, until he's in the midst of what becomes a five-day binge. A classic tale of one man's struggle with alcoholism, this revolutionary novel remains Charles Jackson's best-known book - a daring autobiographical work that paved the way for contemporary addiction literature.
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What a terrific audiobook!
- By Bill on 11-10-14
By: Charles Jackson
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Mudbound
- By: Hillary Jordan
- Narrated by: Ezra Knight, Kate Forbes, Joseph Collins, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Hillary Jordan's mesmerizing debut novel won the Bellwether Prize for fiction. A powerful piece of Southern literature, Mudbound takes on prejudice in its myriad forms on a Mississippi Delta farm in 1946. City girl Laura McAllen attempts to raise her family despite questionable decisions made by her husband. Tensions continue to rise when her brother-in-law and the son of a family of sharecroppers both return from WWII as changed men bearing the scars of combat.
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May this South never rise again.
- By Betty on 03-25-12
By: Hillary Jordan
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An American Dream
- By: Norman Mailer
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- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
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As Stephen Rojack, a decorated war hero and former congressman who murders his wife in a fashionable New York City high-rise, runs amok through the city in which he was once a privileged citizen, author Norman Mailer peels away the layers of our social norms to reveal a world of pure appetite and relentless cruelty. One part Nietzsche, one part de Sade, and one part Charlie Parker, An American Dream grabs the listener by the throat and refuses to let go.
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Mailers Immodest masterpiece
- By W C Woods on 07-02-20
By: Norman Mailer
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From Here to Eternity
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- Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
- Length: 36 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Diamond Head, Hawaii, 1941. Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion welterweight and a fine bugler. But when he refuses to join the company's boxing team, he gets "the treatment" that may break him or kill him. First Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he's risking his career to have an affair with the commanding officer's wife. Both Warden and Prewitt are bound by a common bond: the Army is their heart and blood...and, possibly, their death.
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Genius on Every Level
- By aaron on 06-13-13
By: James Jones
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Bullet in the Brain
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Anders is an angry, cynical man. A book critic known for his scathing reviews, he finds any excuse to dismiss, belittle, or insult. This afternoon is no more agitating than the next. Angers finds himself in a long line at the bank, waiting to reach a teller. Even after two men - wearing masks and carrying guns - take control of the building, Anders is unfazed. It's this behavior that lands him with a pistol against his stomach and a man screamingin his face. And when the bank robber, indignant over Anders' behavior, shoots the book critic in the head, his mind floats through the memories of his life, settling on one particular event....
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The Perfect Example
- By Sarah on 08-01-17
By: Tobias Wolff
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Gun Church
- By: Reed Farrel Coleman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett, John Keating
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Kip Weiler is a self-destructive, washed-up, middle-aged professor. Once a superstar of the literary set, he has bottomed out after years of drinking and not writing anything worth a damn. As the novel begins, he’s teaching classes at a small, rural community college. Kip's talent, money, and chances have just about run out, when he rescues a classroom full of his students from a deranged student gunman who opens fire and takes the class hostage. Things then begin to change for Kip - seemingly for the better....
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THE MAN WHO BELIEVES HE'S SEEN IT ALL IS A BLIND F
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-07-15
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Hot Springs
- Earl Swagger, Book 1
- By: Stephen Hunter
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Earl Swagger is tough as hell. But even tough guys have their secrets. Plagued by the memory of his abusive father, apprehensive about his own impending parenthood, Earl is a decorated ex-Marine of absolute integrity — and overwhelming melancholy. Now he’s about to face his biggest, bloodiest challenge yet. It is the summer of 1946, organized crime’s garish golden age, when American justice seems to have gone to seed for good.
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Good start to a series
- By Jonathan on 09-25-12
By: Stephen Hunter
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I only buy Paul Auster self narrated books now
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What listeners say about Mr. Vertigo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chris Reich
- 07-24-15
I take it all back! Love the book
The book makes many profound points often explored in Auster's writing. Many of the reviews state something like "I kept waiting for the point". Auster writes in a style that explores the point rather than state it bluntly. He doesn't say, "let's look at the process and discipline of writing which, done with discipline, can make the reader suspend belief and bend reality." But instead, he gives us the story of a boy who works hard to master something more than a mere magic trick intended to strike the audience with awe and make the lad a fortune.
Sometimes this style plays out nicely as with the New York Trilogy. Sometimes, as with this book, the ideas are hammered too hard. The delicate concepts of disciplined writing and the role of the father are bludgeoned by a potentially good story not well told.
The book lacks the magic you expect from reading the summaries. Perhaps that's part of the point in that writing isn't magic, it's work. The lame critic comes along and beats up the work and steals the profit.
I like the ideas and the theme of the book and can say it's worth your time but don't expect to be enchanted. The book is more of an expository journey through ideas than an enthralling story of fantasy versus reality.
Having just finished my second trip through this book, I changed my review to well-earned 5 stars. This is a great book and a fun listen. There are many life lessons presented with mastery.
If you crave quality writing and something a little different, don't miss this one!
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- Natalie Yosten
- 11-08-18
Awestruck
The story was incredible and the inflection given with the narration was spot on! This was incredibly moving.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-07-21
Will leave you feeling elevated
My first Paul Auster novel (recommended me by my 19 year old daughter). What a dazzling tale brilliantly narrated by Kevin Pariseau. Profound and entertaining. It will be hard to let the Master and Walt behind. But I guess letting go is point of the story. Can’t wait to discover more Paul Auster.
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Overall
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- RPG
- 06-03-16
Scatter gun
Would you try another book from Paul Auster and/or Kevin Pariseau?
No
What was most disappointing about Paul Auster’s story?
Story never delivered a message. Ran all over the place. Too much attention given to his penis and its needs. Might want it to be sub catagoried as porn.
What about Kevin Pariseau’s performance did you like?
Performance was good.
What character would you cut from Mr. Vertigo?
Mr. Vertigo
Any additional comments?
Waste of money and time.
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2 people found this helpful