First edition

 

Condition: Near fine, very light edge and corner wear. Softcover. More pictures available upon request.

 

Publishing Info: Penguin Books, New York, 1988

ISBN: 9780140097054

 

A dystopian epistolary novel, In the Country of Last Things takes the form of a letter from a young woman named Anna Blume to a childhood friend. Anna has ventured into an unnamed city that has collapsed into chaos and disorder. In this bleak environment, no industry takes place and most of the population collects garbage or scavenges for objects to resell. City governments are unstable and are concerned only with collecting human waste and corpses for fuel. Anna has entered the city to search for her brother William, a journalist, and it is suggested that the Blumes come from a world to the East which has not collapsed.

 

More works by or about Paul Auster on shopbooks

 

Genreworks Surrealism links

 

NY Times review

 

The Paris Review excerpt

 

Granta magazine interview