120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

🌸 Our Spring Sale is here! Save on Books, Toys, & Puzzles! With overnight NZ-wide delivery 🎉

Leaving the Atocha Station

By Ben Lerner
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.79 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 18,535 ratings, 2,223 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
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner follows the story of a young American poet, Adam Gordon, living in Madrid on a fellowship. As he navigates the city's cultural and artistic landscape, he struggles with feelings of fraudulence and inadequacy. The novel explores themes of authenticity, language, and the disjunction between art and reality in an introspective and thoughtful manner.
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?

If you appreciate a novel that delves into the mind of a young poet grappling with authenticity and self-doubt during a fellowship in Spain, you'll likely enjoy this book. Its introspective narrative and exploration of art and communication make it appealing for those who relish character-driven stories with philosophical undertones.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Veering between the comic and tragic, the self-contemptuous and the inspired, Leaving the Atocha Station is a dazzling introduction to one of the smartest, funniest and most audacious writers of a generation.

Veering between the comic and tragic, the self-contemptuous and the inspired, Leaving the Atocha Station is a dazzling introduction to one of the smartest, funniest and most audacious writers of a generation

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

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 distance between himself and the world around him.

It's not just his imperfect grasp of Spanish that concerns him, but the underlying suspicion that his relationships, his reactions, and his entire personality are just as fraudulent as his poetry.

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?

Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner has been highly praised as a remarkable and funny debut novel. It's noted for its comic yet precise depiction of a young American poet in Madrid, exploring themes of art and existential doubt. Reviewers appreciate its sharp intelligence, humour, and introspective depth, marking it as a significant and stylish work in contemporary literature.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781847086914

Publisher: Granta Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 March 2013

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Granta Books

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 139g

Pages: 192

Collections

Ben Lerner Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Born in Kansas in 1979, BEN LERNER is the author of three books of poetry, The Lichtenberg Figures, Angle of Yaw, and Mean Free Path. He has been a finalist for the National Book Award, a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, and the recipient of a Howard Foundation Fellowship. In 2011 he became the first American to win the Munster State Prize for International Poetry. He teaches in the writing program at Brooklyn College. This is his first novel.

Also by Ben Lerner

View all
  • The Children's Bach
    A captivating and deeply personal novel from one of Australia’s 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 Dexter’s university days, turns up with her much younger sister, Vicki, and her lover, Philip, she brings an enticing world to their...
    By Helen Garner and Ben Lerner
    Hardback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3700
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • 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...
    By Ben Lerner
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • 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...
    By Ben Lerner
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Leaving the Atocha Station
    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...
    By Ben Lerner
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships 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, and—although it requires a lot of posturing and weight lifting—one of the cool kids, he's also one of the seniors who brings the loner Darren Eberheart into the...
    By Ben Lerner
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • 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....
    By Ben Lerner
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Transcription
    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...
    By Ben Lerner
    Hardback
    Sold 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 — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    New Release
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Silver Flames
    The latest instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced with slick plotting and atmospheric world-building...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Kneel Before Me
    New Release
    Kneel Before Me
    Daphne never meant to want him - the monster who could destroy her... and the only one who never would. Now they're both caught between Their duties and their love. Daphne Verus never planned to compete for the prince. Now she's expected to trade the safety of her village for the caves beneath the mountain and be trained by Kronos...
    By Lindsay Straube
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    20% off
    New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $4800
    Usually:
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships 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...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Psychotic Obsession
    From USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation comes the steamy, emotional dark romance spin-off that everyone is talking about!'Filled with TENSION, HEARTBREAK and ELECTRIC CHEMISTRY. This one will tear your heart right out of your chest before tossing it back in and sewing you up' No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Brynne Weaver'Leigh Rivers is THE QUEEN OF...
    By Leigh Rivers
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Frost and Starlight - Night Court Edition
    Limited Edition
    A Court of Frost and Starlight - Night Court Edition
    The magic and beauty of the Night Court is captured in these LIMITED EDITIONS of the Court of Thorns and Roses series! This Night Court Edition features the Night Court symbol on a striking black and silver foiled cover and includes black sprayed edges. An unmissable companion tale to the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships 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

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

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

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!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all