And then it started, little by little it started, until they were married five years later and his real life began. 'Exquisite ... A super-abundantly gifted, big-hearted novelist.' Ian McEwan'A writer whose work shines with intelligence and originality.' Don DeLilloThe life of Sy Baumgartner - noted author, and soon-to-be retired philosophy professor - has been defined by his deep, abiding love for his wife.

Now Anna is gone, and Baumgartner is trying to live with her absence. But Anna's voice is everywhere still, in every spiral of memory and reminiscence, in each recalled episode of the passionate forty years they shared. Rich with feeling, wit and an eye for beauty in the smallest, most transient episodes of ordinary life, Baumgartner is a luminous work - a tender final masterpiece from one of the world's greatest writers.

'A master.' The TimesWhat readers are saying:***** Perfect, subtle, charming, funny and sad. **** Well-written and compelling but also comforting, like catching up with an old friend. **** A, beautifully-written and intelligent piece of understated introspective fiction from Auster.