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    The Astral
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    The Astral
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    The Astral
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Astral

    Written by Kate Christensen

    Narrated by Donald Corren

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The Astral is a huge rose-colored old pile of an apartment building in the gentrifying neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. For decades it was the happy home (or so he thought) of poet Harry Quirk and his wife, Luz, a nurse, and of their two children: Karina, now a fervent Freegan, and Hector, now in the clutches of a cultish Christian community. But Luz has found (and destroyed) some poems of Harry's that ignite her long-simmering suspicions of infidelity, and he's been summarily kicked out. He now has to reckon with the consequences of his literary, marital, financial, and parental failures, (and perhaps others) and find his way forward - and back into Luz's good graces.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateJun 14, 2011
    ISBN9781611201055
    Unavailable
    The Astral
    Author

    Kate Christensen

    KATE CHRISTENSEN is the author of seven novels, most recently The Last Cruise. Her fourth novel, The Great Man, won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She has also published two food-centric memoirs, Blue Plate Special and How to Cook a Moose, which won the 2016 Maine Literary Award for Memoir. Her essays, reviews, and short pieces have appeared in a wide variety of publications and anthologies. She lives with her husband and their two dogs in Taos, New Mexico.

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    Reviews for The Astral

    3/5

    7 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      good writer. decent book. a little disappointing.
    • 3/5
      good writer. decent book. a little disappointing.
    • 3/5
      Harry Quirk has just been thrown out of his apartment (The Astral building) by his wife, Luz, when she suspects him of writing poems for another women, her best friend, Marion. Harry doesn't understand what happened and seems more confused than anything about his impending divorce. The author does a wonderful job relating this divorce through a man's point of view. Harry seems lost and his two children (also outsiders) don't really know how to deal with him. Their conflict with Harry doesn't seem to add to the story, but do offer an offbeat tangent that I liked. Harry does start a new relationship which, to me, seems like he is trying to pick right up where the last one left off. If you are looking for a good book where Brooklyn plays a starring role, then this one about divorce from a male perspective should be just what you are looking for.
    • 2/5
      The Astral is an apartment complex in Brooklyn that Harry Quirk and his wife Luz live until their 30 marriage falls apart.In the end, after countless pages of nonsense, they divorce. I am tired of wasting good reading time on books that have been hailed as "must reads". So, I am advising everyone to read reviews like mine before spending time coming to these conclusions.I maybe rather harsh on The Astral but this is number 4 or 5 that I have picked up with great expectation recently and been greatly disappointed.Oh well, back the book shelf. Maybe the next one will be worth it.
    • 4/5
      Warning: Slight spoiler alertThe Astral is a very well-written novel that is worth checking out. The characters are genuine and believable, with exception to one, but I'll get into that later. The main character, Harry Quirk, is a middle-aged poet struggling with the erosion of his 30 year marriage. Kate Christensen does an outstanding job of narrating from the male perspective. Harry is easy for the reader to connect with despite the fact that he is far from perfect. He has stumbled in the past, but is innocent of his wife Luz's current accusations of an affair, leading to much heartache and frustration. This comes through vividly without being depressing to read.I really enjoyed the storylines involving Harry's adult children Hector and Karina. Karina leads a freegan lifestyle, dumpster diving to obtain discarded goods in order to "redistribute them to the poor". She also happens to be gay, but the topic is not a focal point. Harry and Luz are accepting of her orientation, and it is merely a descriptor such as her age or hair color. (I mention this because if you are looking for a book that delves into the subject of parents coming to terms with a child being gay, then this is not that book.) I found the freeganism to be very interesting and I liked Karina's fiesty personality. Hector's sub-plot of joining a religious cult was facinating. As I read the main plot about Harry and Luz's shambles of a marriage, I found myself hoping that the next chapter would involve another visit to the cult's compound.So why four stars instead of five? Well, first of all, not a whole lot happens in The Astral. It was quite well-written and held my attention tightly enough to read it cover-to-cover in two sittings, however, there was no a-ha moment that made me jump out of my seat. Also, I found Luz to be less than believable. What devout, Bible-thumping Catholic would essentially shrug her shoulders at her son's claim to be the Second-Coming of Christ? I fully expected her to react strongly or as Harry puts it, "storm in there and go all Catholic on him". I suppose the author was emphasizing how defeated and resigned Luz had become, but I really wanted her to reignite that passion within herself and rise to the occasion!Well, with that being said, I do recommend The Astral. It is a remarkable piece of work that Kate Christensen can be proud of. It is deep, thoughtful, and slightly melancholy without being depressing or too heavy; a tough balance to achieve. I intend to read more of her novels in the future.Please note that I received a complimentary copy of The Astral from the publisher, which has in no way influenced my review.