Home›Literary Fiction›In the Country of Last Things

Cover of In the Country of Last Things

Literary Fiction · 1988 · R

In the Country of Last Things

by Paul Auster

A woman searches for her lost brother in a city where everything is disappearing.

From New York Times bestselling author Paul Auster, a dystopian, post-apocalyptic novel “reminiscent in many ways of Orwell’s 1984” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “Powerful, original, imaginative, and handled with artistry . . . One of the better modern attempts at describing hell.”—The Washington Post Book World In a distant and unsettling future, the masses are homeless, theft is so rampant it is no longer a crime, and death—by arranging either a suicide or an assassination—is the only way out. It is in these circumstances that Anna Blume begins her search for her brother, a one-time jo

For17+GenreLiterary FictionLength188 pagesRead time~5 hoursCommunity ratings0

This analysis was generated by AI from publicly available reader reviews, literary criticism, and book discussions. It has not been verified by a BookLens community reviewer and may contain errors. Be the first to verify →

Content snapshot

Flag an inaccuracy →

What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

A lot

City violence; murder; death depicted throughout; dystopian brutality

Language

Some

Moderate language

Sexual Content

Barely any

Brief sexual content in a survival context

Substance Use

Barely any

Minimal substance use

Emotional Intensity

Very heavy

Profound existential despair, hopelessness, starvation, and society's complete dissolution; deeply bleak throughout

What this book is about

Anna Blume arrives in an unnamed dying city to find her journalist brother and instead finds a society in total collapse — object hunters, suicide clubs, bodies in the street. Auster's dystopian novella is a meditation on loss, resilience, and the human drive to bear witness even to the unendurable.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

Pervasive dystopian bleakness

Death and starvation depicted throughout

Existential despair

Reader Verification

Be the first to verify
this rating

Have you read In the Country of Last Things? Submit a community rating to confirm or correct the AI estimate. Your review helps other readers make an informed choice.

Rate this book →

Free · ~5 minutes · No account required

Similar reads

More Literary Fiction books from the catalog.

Cover of To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

PG-13
Cover of A Little Life

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

NC-17
Cover of We Were Never Meant To Be

We Were Never Meant To Be

Palle Vasu

Unrated

Think this AI estimate is off?

Flag an inaccuracy →

Where to Buy

Affiliate links — BookLens earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy on Amazon →