Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1

July 16, 2022

'4 3 2 1' by Paul Auster, which was nominated for the Man Booker Prize last year, is a collection of four different versions of the life of Archibald Isaac Ferguson, who was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1947. Archie Ferguson, the only child of Rose and Stanley Ferguson, is descended from Russian-Jewish immigrants, and during his early childhood, random events change the path of his life, splitting it into four different paths - in one version, his parents divorce, in another, they stay together, in another Stanley dies, and so on.

Because of the parallel structure, each of the seven parts is rewound three times before moving on to the next stage of Archie's life, which extends his early childhood to his coming-of-age in the late 1960s. You may be aware that '4 3 2 1' is quite lengthy - 866 pages in total, which took me just under two weeks to read. I've never read anything by Auster before, and his latest novel is partly autobiographical and appears to be a departure from his typically shorter work. However, I was drawn in by the multi-layered concept of exploring alternative lives of the same characters - a "what if" premise I've enjoyed in other novels such as Laura Barnett's The Versions of Us.

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Whereas three strands in Barnett's novel were manageable, keeping track of four Archies seemed more difficult at first, especially given the cast of characters. However, the four strands are not all the same length, which made it a little easier to follow than I expected. Despite the varying outcomes and events, the four versions of Archie Ferguson and his friends and family combined into one, though I felt varying degrees of empathy for certain characters depending on what was happening to them. This may appear to be a problem, but it quickly became clear that seeing the big picture is more rewarding for the reader than keeping track of who is who. What Auster achieves here is character layering rather than character development, raising interesting questions about how our experiences shape us.

The historical detail is astounding, providing a truly panoramic view of 1950s and 1960s 'Mad Men' era America in the midst of so much social and political change. It must be said that the sections covering the 1968 student protests and some of the in-depth analysis of baseball games, music, and literature drag a little, while others feel like lengthy lists of newsworthy events that happened at the time and could easily have been cut. Overall, the engaging setting and execution of the ambitious plotting are excellent.

The ending provides an intriguing explanation for why the book is structured in the manner that it is. It's unlikely that I'll revisit '4 3 2 1' anytime soon, but if I do, I'll read it in a different light with this revelation in mind. Doorstopper novels can be intimidating, but I'm glad I took the time to read this one, and the fact that I'm thinking about rereading it shows Auster's skill here. Thank you to Faber and Faber for sending me a review copy through NetGalley.