1
of
1
Leaving the Atocha Station
Series: Best of Granta
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 18,578 ratings, 2,228 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Leaving the Atocha Station. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Included in the BEST OF GRANTA launch list for 2023: this story of a young American abroad and adrift is a hilarious, intelligent cult classic, from one of the most celebrated contemporary novelists.
Included in the BEST OF GRANTA launch list for 2023: this story of a young American abroad and adrift is a hilarious, intelligent cult classic, from one of the most celebrated contemporary novelists.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his attitude towards art. Fuelled by strong coffee and self-prescribed tranquillizers, Adam's 'research' soon becomes a meditation on the possibility of authenticity, as he finds himself increasingly troubled by the uncrossable distance between himself and the world around him. It's not just his imperfect grasp of Spanish, but the underlying suspicion that his relationships, his reactions, and his entire personality are just as fraudulent as his poetry.
Series: Best of Granta
View all-
Somewhere Towards The End
There is a sense throughout Athill's work that you are making a new friend as much as reading a new story... a delight to read. Observer WINNER OF THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY PRIZE, the moving and witty memoir on what it means to grow old. Written in her nineties, when she was free from any inhibitions she may have once had,...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
May We Be Forgiven
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION Reads like a brilliant miniseries ... has the narrative intensity of Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and the emotional punch of Siri Hustvedt's What I Loved. โ Observer Harold Silver has spent a lifetime watching his taller, smarter, and more successful younger brother George acquire a covetable wife, two kids, and a beautiful home...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
A moving and extraordinary evocation of the 20th-century tragedy of China... compelling โ Guardian SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION AND THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE In Canada in 1991, ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home. Ai-Ming has fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests. As her relationship with Marie deepens, Ai-Ming...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Sisters Brothers
The Sisters Brothers is shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It is a darkly funny, offbeat western about a reluctant assassin and his murderous brother. The Sisters Brothers confirms deWitt as one of the most talented young writers around. Sunday Times Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die. Across 1000 miles of Oregon desert, his assassins, the notorious Eli and...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Convenience Store Woman
The unexpected international bestseller. Meet Keiko. She's 36 years old, has never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
Strange Weather in Tokyo
A tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance. 'Enchanting, moving and funny in equal measure, this compelling love story is expertly crafted against a backdrop of modern Japanese culture' Stylist Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Straw Dogs
Powerful and brilliant ... Straw Dogs challenges all our assumptions about what it is to be human, and convincingly shows that most of them are delusions.' - J. G. Ballard From Plato to Christianity, from the Enlightenment to Nietzsche, the Western tradition has been based on arrogant and erroneous beliefs about human beings and their place in the world. In...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Ghost Wall
I love this book. Put your life on hold while you finish it โ Maggie O'Farrell A suspenseful and chilling novel of haunted landscapes and a teenage girl in danger. Seventeen-year-old Silvie is camping in rural Northumberland with her father and a group of archaeologists, who are attempting to uncover evidence of human sacrifice. As Silvie glimpses the possibility of...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Dept. of Speculation
They used to send each other letters. The return address was always the same: Dept. of Speculation. They used to be young, brave, and giddy with hopes for their future. They got married, had a child, and skated through all the small calamities of family life. But then, slowly, quietly something changes. As the years rush by, fears creep in...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Men Explain Things to Me
A landmark, incendiary collection from one of the leading essayists working today. Inspiring everyone from radical activists to Beyoncรฉ Knowles, Rebecca Solnit's essay Men Explain Things to Me has become a touchstone of the feminist movement and established her as one of the leading thinkers of our time. Here it is collected along with the best of Solnit's feminist writings....Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Wild Places
'A wonderful evocation of Britain's natural beauty and a reminder of our need to connect with the wilderness' The Times Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? From forest to moor, mountain to saltmarsh, Robert Macfarlane explores the wild places of Britain to see the wonders...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Vegetarian
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 'A strange, painfully tender exploration of the brutality of desire indulged and the fatality of desire ignored... Exquisite.' Eimear McBride Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary peopleโdutiful wife and mild-mannered office worker. One day, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares, Yeong-hye decides to become a vegetarian. But in South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of...PaperbackSold Out
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station is celebrated for its humour and intelligence, drawing comparisons to both bildungsroman and dark comedy. Critics praise its ability to blend art and existential musings with sharp, witty narration, capturing the essence of a young American poet navigating life in Madrid. The book's insights into creativity and self-awareness have been described as both poignant and hilarious, marking it as a standout debut in contemporary fiction.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781803510040
Publisher: Granta Publications Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 17 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Granta Publications Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 10.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 138g
Pages: 192
About the Author
BEN LERNER was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1979. He has received fellowships from the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Foundations, and is the author of three internationally acclaimed novels, Leaving the Atocha Station, 10:04 and The Topeka School. He has published the poetry collections The Lichtenberg Figures, Angle of Yaw (a finalist for the National Book Award), Mean Free Path and No Art as well as the essay The Hatred of Poetry. Lerner lives and teaches in Brooklyn.
Also by Ben Lerner
View all-
The Children's Bach
A captivating and deeply personal novel from one of Australiaโs most respected authors. Athena and Dexter live a happy but insular life, bound by routine and the care of their young sons. When Elizabeth, an old friend from Dexterโs university days, turns up with her much younger sister, Vicki, and her lover, Philip, she brings an enticing world to their...Hardback$3400Elsewhere:$3700Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Topeka School
Adam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of '97. His parents are psychologists, his mum a famous author in the field. A renowned debater and orator, an aspiring poet, andโalthough it requires a lot of posturing and weight liftingโone of the cool kids, he's also one of the seniors who brings the loner Darren Eberheart into the...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Transcription
The narrator of Ben Lerner's new novel has travelled to Providence, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor, and the father of his college friend, Max. But after the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink, he arrives at Thomas's house with no recording device, a fact he is...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Lights
The Lights is a constellation of verse and prose, voice memos and vignettes, songs and silences, that brings the personal and the collective into startling relation. These are poems at once alive to the forces that shape human society and to the rhythms of the natural world, to the power of new technologies and the wonder of our timeless planet....PaperbackSold Out -
Transcription
The narrator of Ben Lerner's new novel has travelled to Providence, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor, and the father of his college friend, Max. But after the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink, he arrives at Thomas's house with no recording device, a fact he is...HardbackSold Out -
10:04
10:04 by Ben Lerner is a remarkable exploration of the complexities of modern life through the existential musings of its unnamed narrator. The novel unfolds in a precarious New York City, increasingly besieged by superstorms and political upheaval. Amidst this backdrop, the narrator grapples with his own sudden literary success, an ominous heart condition that threatens his life, and his...PaperbackSold Out -
Leaving the Atocha Station
Leaving the Atocha Station follows Adam Gordon, a brilliant yet highly unreliable young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid. He struggles to establish his sense of self and his attitude towards art. Fuelled by strong coffee and self-prescribed tranquillizers, Adam's 'research' soon becomes a meditation on the possibility of authenticity. He finds himself increasingly troubled by the uncrossable...PaperbackSold Out
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people โ but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromโฆHis name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance โ...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Mistake
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseOn Mystic Lake
One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...Paperback$3100Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Legacy
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from the Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Legacy now for the much-anticipated answer to the question: Where are they now? Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation . . . A wedding....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseYesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE โ Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE โ Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE โ Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS โ Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale โ Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseLand
Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theย new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomรกs and his reluctant son,ย Liam, are working for the great...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Signed BookplateNew ReleaseLight Wielder
THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* โThe BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindleโ โญโญโญโญโญ โThe author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!โ โญโญโญโญโญ...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whฤnau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersโ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
