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Paul Auster
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4 3 2 1 Kindle Edition

by Paul Auster (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 4,727 ratings

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Auster's Booker Prize-shortlisted epic from the author of contemporary classic The New York Trilogy: 'a literary voice for the ages' (Guardian)

'A masterpiece.' Daily Mail


'Absorbing and immersive . . . the author's greatest novel.' FT


SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017


On March 3rd, 1947, Archibald Isaac Ferguson, the only child of Rose and Stanley Ferguson, is born. From that single beginning, Ferguson's life will take four simultaneous but entirely different paths. Family fortunes diverge. Loves and friendships and passions contrast. Each version of Ferguson's story rushes across the fractured terrain of mid-twentieth century America, in this sweeping story of birthright and possibility, of love and the fullness of life itself.


'Remarkable . . . A novel that contains multitudes.' New York Times


'A vast portrait of the turbulent mid-20th century . . . wonderfully, vividly conveyed.' New Statesman

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  1. Print length
    878 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Faber & Faber
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    31 Jan. 2017
  6. File size
    3.1 MB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Review

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

"Contemporary American writing at its best: crisp, elegant, brisk. It has the illusion of effortlessness that comes only with fierce discipline. As often happens when you are in the hands of a master, you read the next sentence almost before you are finished with the previous one."  —New York Times Book Review

"One of America's greatest living novelists." —The Observer (U.K.)

"Auster's ruminations on death, family, memory, and marriage are both poignant and delightful." —The New Yorker

"Paul Auster is definitely a genius." —Haruki Murakami

"It is the rarest of books – a masterpiece by a genius." —NJ.com

"Certain books leave readers feeling they know every minute detail of a character's inner life, as if they were lifelong companions and daily confidants. . . . and for readers who like taking the scenic route, getting taken for a ride will be worth it." —Time

" . . . the novel is distinguished by the surprisingly muted exploitation of its high-concept premise." —The New York Review of Books

"Audacious in conception and execution. . . . packed with cerebral and physical activity, meticulously wrought and written in prose so energised that, at times, it leaves one breathless." —Moira Lovell, bookslive.co.za

"A stunningly ambitious novel, and a pleasure to read. Auster's writing is joyful, even in the book's darkest moments, and never ponderous or showy. . . . an incredibly moving, true journey." —Michael Shaub, NPR

"4 3 2 1 features a distinctly different style than any [Auster has] written fiction in before. Breathless, propulsive, almost Kerouac-like in its tidal force." —The Brooklyn Rail

"We're lured in by Auster's fine-grained scene-setting and intrigue at his intentions." —Anthony Cummins, The Guardian

“Wonderfully clever . . . . 4 3 2 1 is much more than a piece of literary gamesmanship . . . . It is a heartfelt and engaging piece of storytelling that unflinchingly explores the 20th century American experience in all its honour and ignominy. This is, without doubt, Auster’s magnumopus. . . . A true revelation . . . One can’t help but admit they are in the presence of a genius.” ―Toronto Star


"Auster's narrative is never anything less than stylistically assured, his humour and humanity perfectly balanced." —The Independent

" . . . ambitious and sprawling . . . " —USA Today

"It's tempting to think about how our lives might have turned out if we had made different decisions, or if fate had dealt us a different hand. With this brilliantly rendered, intricately plotted epic, Auster has indulged that temptation and turned it into a magnum opus." —Columbia Magazine

"Auster adds a significant and immersive entry to a genre that stretches back centuries and includes Augie March and Tristram Shandy." —Publishers Weekly

Review

Ingenious . . . 4 3 2 1 reads like a big social drama . . . while offering the philosophical exploration of one man's fate. ― Esquire

An epic home-run. ― Spectator

4 3 2 1 fizzes with the sheer pleasure of a writer routinely praised or censured as a coterie puzzler, an existentialist dandy, showing the he can out-Roth, out-Updike and out-Franzen the greatest as a richly textured chronicler of modern America in flux, in transit and in crisis. The postmodern epic has never felt so much like an addictive long-form TV serial. -- Boyd Tonkin ― Financial Times

The cold war, the execution of the Rosenbergs, JFK, Martin Luther King, the Vietnam draft, the My Lai massacre, the Kent State shootings: here's a novel as attentive to period detail as Philip Roth would be, or Richard Ford, or Jonathan Franzen. The new expansiveness is reflected in the sentences, which run on, fluent, self-delighting, reluctant to stop. And the relationship between the private and public is neatly evoked through the image of concentric circles, with the world (and war) on the outer rim and the individual (and his battles) a small dot at the centre. -- Blake Morrison ― Guardian

This was my book of the year for 2017, and not just because of the time I invested in reading all 1100 pages of it. 4321, Auster's account of four versions of the same life progressing in slightly diverging tendrils through 50s and 60s America is a panoptic yet personal look at a moment of existential crisis for the West. Doubling as a pretty efficient door-stopper, Auster doesn't waste time trying to condense the life of his everyman (or everypoet), Ferguson, here, instead guiding us from birth through childhood and into young adulthood, by way of TV, sex, protest and literature. The Sliding Doors structure is brilliant, devastating and pulled off in a way that reinforces the seemingly contradictory ideas that things might have turned out differently, and yet we are always fundamentally the same. -- Nick Hilton ― Spectator

A vast portrait of the turbulent mid-20th century . . . wonderfully, vividly conveyed. ― New Statesman

Ambitious and sprawling . . . Immersive . . . Auster has a startling ability to report the world in novel ways. ― USA Today

A masterpiece. ― Daily Mail

Remarkable . . . A novel that contains multitudes. ― New York Times

'For the information-hungry parent:A Dickensian romp with a modernist twist 4321 looks at the road less travelled, and what might happen if we followed each path.' ― ELLE Gift Guide

Absorbing and immersive . . . the author's greatest novel . . . showing that he can out-Roth, out-Updike and out-Franzen the greatest as a richly textured chronicler of modern America in flux, in transit and in crisis . . . The postmodern epic has never felt so much like an addictive long-form TV serial. ― Financial Times

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01LZPLGUS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Faber & Faber
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 31 Jan. 2017
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Main
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.1 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 878 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571324668
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 4,727 ratings

About the author

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Paul Auster

Paul Auster

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Paul Auster is the best-selling author of Man in the Dark, The Brooklyn Follies, The Book of Illusions, The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature and inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among his other honours are the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke and the Prix Medicis Etranger for Leviathan. He has also been short-listed for both the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions) and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (The Music of Chance). His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4,727 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a fantastic read with brilliant writing and an interesting concept of four different narratives. Moreover, the novel offers great insights into US history, with one customer highlighting its cultural references to 1950s and 1960s America. Additionally, the character development receives positive feedback, with one review noting how characters leap off the page. However, the book's length receives mixed reactions, with several customers finding it too long.

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60 customers mention ‘Readability’46 positive14 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a brilliant novel that is well worth the effort to read.

"...The novel is long - it took me over 3 weeks to finish - but it is very readable. The language is accessible, the story lines are transparent...." Read more

"This is a wonderful and intelligent in-depth look at the 4 different lives of the Jewish Ferguson born in March 1947 to Stanley and Rose...." Read more

"...The prose is, as usual, very slick, very readable, very fluid. The characters are believable..." Read more

"I have finished this momentous, monumental book. I can safely say at the age of 70, it has changed the way I view life...." Read more

43 customers mention ‘Narrative quality’36 positive7 negative

Customers enjoy the narrative of the book, particularly its interesting concept of four different perspectives and beautiful storytelling.

"...It is clever; it is memorable. The sheer length of this book and the density of the print will deter purchasers...." Read more

"...Set in New York and New Jersey, it is a novel full of details, it begins with giving us the disparate backgrounds and families of store owner..." Read more

"...and often it feels like chatting with an older relative who tells beautiful stories; but at times, it feels like reading a Wikipedia article...." Read more

"I have finished this momentous, monumental book. I can safely say at the age of 70, it has changed the way I view life...." Read more

37 customers mention ‘Writing quality’31 positive6 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as brilliant and masterfully told, with one customer noting its passion for realism and history.

"...The prose is beautiful and I found the narrative a gripping read most of the time...." Read more

"...I think the novel is beautifully written for about 95% of it...." Read more

"...I think it is the thought provoking nature of how a life can unwind in different directions that give the biggest payoff, The affect the book has..." Read more

"...enough, and I was all ready to bestow on it 4 stars for its stellar prose, engaging narrative, captivating characterisation and dialogue...." Read more

18 customers mention ‘Educational value’18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers great insights into US history, with one customer specifically noting its detailed coverage of the 1950s and 1960s American culture.

"...I loved the cultural references such as the books and movies that marked the period...." Read more

"...So why 3 stars instead of 1? Because there are moments of exceptional distilled wisdom, which is Auster at his best...." Read more

"...It's full of information about 20th century American history and often it feels like chatting with an older relative who tells beautiful stories;..." Read more

"...of storytelling, of scholarship, of memory, and an interesting contribution to the ongoing "nature vs nurture" debate...." Read more

8 customers mention ‘Character development’6 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one review noting how the characters leap off the page.

"...The characters are believable (one-dimensional left wingers abound, right? I've worked with several)...." Read more

"...characters diverge and become more distinct, but remain recognisable as the same person...." Read more

"...Narration was monotonous and there was way too much character background to start of a story...." Read more

"...An incredible piece of writing, that takes one character and turns it into four very different stories...." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Sturdiness’3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's sturdiness, with one customer noting it is pretty hefty at 896 pages.

"...Auster’s masterpiece (for I believe it is) is the heftier of the two & will stay the longer and impact the greater... btw: can’t stand American..." Read more

"A pretty hefty 896 page book telling 4 parallel versions of the life of fictional Archie Ferguson...." Read more

"Always love a big, chunky book and was delighted to know Paul Auster had a new one out. But it's both tiring and tiresome...." Read more

"...Only rated it 4 stars as the books is so big and heavy it's dfficult to read it in bed !" Read more

21 customers mention ‘Length’3 positive18 negative

Customers find the book's length problematic, with multiple reviews noting that the sentences and paragraphs are excessively long.

"...The novel is long - it took me over 3 weeks to finish - but it is very readable. The language is accessible, the story lines are transparent...." Read more

"...This is a very long and ambitious novel which might not be to everyone's taste and there are some extremely long sentences in it...." Read more

"...supposed magnum opus of sorts, this ambitious work felt like an excessively long and tedious trek through the woods, with invariably different..." Read more

"...you cannot but agree with the majority of reviewers who say so--is too long." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • MisterHobgoblin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Immense
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2017
    Verified Purchase
    4321 is an immense book. Immense in length (the paperback is 1070 pages) and immense in ambition. Ambition that has been fully realised. All the more pleasant a surprise as I have never read Paul Auster before.

    We meet Archibald Ferguson, four times over. But first, we have a story of his grandfather, coming to America with an unpronounceable Jewish name, failing to tell the immigration man that their name is Rockefeller.

    So on to Archibald - or Ferguson - as he is known in each version. There are four alternative versions, all similar but with key life events unfolding in four different ways. We have rich Ferguson, poor Ferguson, gay Ferguson and intellectual Ferguson (not necessarily in that order), influenced by events both in and outwith his control, but always with a talent for baseball and a passion for writing. We see formative life in New Jersey/New York in the 1950s through four slightly different eyes. We see the growing liberalism of the 1960s and the emergence of the Vietnam war. Each of these different perspectives, broadly similar but slightly askew, serve to give extremely sharp focus. There are moments of high drama, moments of tragedy. There's a lot of love and heaps of sadness. Some events come as surprises, others are telegraphed dozens of pages ahead.

    The novel is long - it took me over 3 weeks to finish - but it is very readable. The language is accessible, the story lines are transparent. The structure of the novel is that seven periods of time are covered, taking each version of Ferguson in turn. Each section is long enough to become fully immersed in the story, but also long enough that it takes a while to reacclimatise to a previous story line when it cycles back. Happily, Paul Auster puts in plenty of reminders/recaps to help the reader. This is not a novel where the author tries to show how brilliant he is - it is a reader's book that the reader will recognise as brilliant on its own merits.

    The ending - the last few pages of this beast of a book - make sense of the whole exercise. It is a truly devastating ending that will leave an already exhausted reader fighting for emotional survival. It is clever; it is memorable.

    The sheer length of this book and the density of the print will deter purchasers. And once purchased, the book may spend some time sitting on a shelf waiting for the perfect moment that a reader is willing to commit a month to Project 4321. But when that moment comes, seize it!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Stiven Skyrah
    4.0 out of 5 stars The story of the life and times of Paul Auster. A great read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is a wonderful and intelligent in-depth look at the 4 different lives of the Jewish Ferguson born in March 1947 to Stanley and Rose. Set in New York and New Jersey, it is a novel full of details, it begins with giving us the disparate backgrounds and families of store owner Stanley and photographer Rose. It charts the relationship between Stanley and Rose and their heartbreaking attempts to have a child. Once Ferguson is born, we are given a non-linear​ but simultaneous life trajectory structured in distinct episodes for each Ferguson.

    It made me laugh when the first young Ferguson has every intention of marrying his mother! What Auster does is bring home how each different decision and event changes the life of Ferguson through an intense and tumultuous period of American social and political history of the 1960s up until the early 1970s. So we get the awareness of the fate of the Rosenbergs, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the protests in which Ferguson takes part.

    I found it difficult to remember which Ferguson is which at times, partly my fault but partly because whilst Ferguson has different lives, he is essentially the same person. He is a writer in every version of his life, his politics are progressive, and Amy is the girl he gets involved with albeit with differing results. He dwells on the nature of money and whether it should necessarily dictate that the family should, therefore, move into a bigger house just because they could. Auster captures the raw energy, vitality and intensity with which the young live their lives and the central role of an obsession with sex. I loved the cultural references such as the books and movies that marked the period. Different events in the family mark each Ferguson, such as the death of his father in an arson attack on the store. One Ferguson experiences an early death as a result of a lightning storm.

    This is a very long and ambitious novel which might not be to everyone's taste and there are some extremely long sentences in it. I loved it, although it is not perfect and there are parts which tended to ramble a little too much. The prose is beautiful and I found the narrative a gripping read most of the time. Near the end, Auster informs us why the novel was structured as it is. Elements of the novel have been informed by the autobiographical details of the author's life. Characters from his previous novels make an appearance in this book. Auster is connecting his life's work and life brilliantly in this novel. This is essentially the story of the life and times of Paul Auster. A highly recommended read.
    9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • JL nash
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow-this is a brilliant read
    Reviewed in Australia on 12 September 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is a long book but is well worth embarking on the journey to read it. Masterfully crafted writing and excellent characters and plot. I didn’t get bored once in the whole of the book. I never skipped pages. It’s an achievement to read the whole book but if you want to submerge yourself into award winning quality writing this is the book for you. This was the first book I read by this author but I am a convert to his talents and expertise. Brilliant
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  • Cubbie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fühlte mich gut unterhalten
    Reviewed in Germany on 7 April 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Es wurde ja viel PR für dieses Buch gemacht - leider habe ich es nicht geschafft,eine Karte für eine Lesung zu ergattern, das wäre für mich noch das Sahnehäubchen auf diesem Buch gewesen.
    Ein echt dickes und im Hardcover auch schweres Buch - genau wie ich Bücher mag. Hatte mir die Leseprobe auf den Kindle geladen, aber es kam für mich nie in Frage, hier nicht "analog" lesen zu wollen. Dieses hier besprochene Hardcover (Produziert wohl in UK) ist einwandfrei gedruckt und verarbeitet, anders als offenbar eine "blaue" Ausgabe aus den USA. Lesebändchen fehlte aber leider.
    Vorab: Die Idee, die Geschichte des Protagonisten Archie Ferguson auf 4 Versionen zu erzählen (na ja, eher 3,5, denn 1 Lenem endet doch recht frühzeitig) ist ganz nett, war für mich persönlich aber eher nebensächlich. Der Leser gewöhnt sich schnell daran, die "Sprünge" der einzelnen Kapitel zu verstehen, keine Sorge.
    Man muss die Art wie Auster schreibt schön mögen. Endlos-Bandwurm-Sätze die zum Teil eine halbe Seite einnehmen. Ich fragte mich "Wenn man nur die Kommas in diesem Roman aneinanderreiht, wie viele Seiten wurden dadurch gefüllt?" Also sicher nicht jedermans Sache oder Schreibstil, mir gefiel es. Eine weitere Eigenheit: Der Protagonist wurde gefühlt zu 80% mit seinem Nachnamen in der Handlung verewigt - fand ich bemerkenswert/seltsam.
    Es hilft sicherlich, wenn man wie ich es was älter ist und deshalb viele im Roman erwähnte Personen, Filme, Romane oder zeitgeschichtliche Ereignisse besser einordnen kann.
    Auster verliert sich gerne in unendlich vielen Details, auch das zwingt dem Leser Durchhaltevermögen auf - deshalb meine Empfehlung: An der Leseprobe austesten, ob man damit klarkommt! Natürlich ist das buch auch die sehr "US-lastige" Beschreibung einer Kindheit und Teenagerzeit (typisch: Schule,High-School,Universität etc.) nicht immer ultra spannend aus Sicht eines "West-Europäers", aber es war für mich dennoch immer kurzweilig. Der hier gelegentlich schon erwähnte Aspekt der Sexualität nahm m.E. nur einen angemessenen (kleinen) Rahmen ein.
    Was nehme ich aus diesem Buch mit? Viele Stunden sehr guter Unterhaltung (Nachteil der Hardcover Ausgabe: Ich musste hin- und wieder doch mal zum Wörterbuch greifen, denn Auster verwendet Ausdrücke, die oft weit über einen schon ziemlich breiten Wortschatz eines Nicht-Muttersprachlers hinausgehen, aber das machte auch Spaß), dazu viele Erinnerungen an eigene, ähnliche Erlebnisse die mir das Buch zurückgebracht hat (bin nur wenig jünger als der "original Ferguson") und viele gute Musik- und Buchempfehlungen, eine sicher seltene Kombination/Erkenntnis nach dem Lesen eines Romans.
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  • Alma
    5.0 out of 5 stars 4321
    Reviewed in Spain on 15 January 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Me ha gustado mucho. A quienes les gusta New York e historia bien contada este es su libro. Además de las diferentes evoluciones de la misma historia. Fascinante!
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  • edidem
    5.0 out of 5 stars Auster okumak için zaman yaratın kendinize 🐣
    Reviewed in Turkey on 16 January 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Son sayfaları bükülmüş halde kargolanmıştı, bu bir hayli üzdü. İçeriğine gelecek olursak... İlginç bir okuma deneyimi sundu Auster bana. Bir insanın 4 farklı hayat deneyimiyle nasıl yol aldığını her sayfada merakla takip ettim. Bunun yanı sıra Amerika'nın sosyal ve siyasi gündemi de incelikle verilmişti. Severek okudum. Tavsiyem, karakterleri/yaşananları küçük notlar almanız yönünde. Yoksa bir yerden sonra hepsi birbirine girecektir.
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  • Maria Boura
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un chef d'oeuvre
    Reviewed in France on 16 February 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Le dernier livre de Paul Auster peut facilement être considéré comme l'oeuvre d'une vie. Ou plutôt de la vie d'une personne en quatre options.
    Une histoire magnifique, écrite de façon magistrale. Les phrases longues, qui prennent parfois une page (!) ne sont pas du tout fatigantes. Donc n'ayez pas peur! L'histoire coule comme un ruisseau et parfois comme un torrent...
    Dans la période où c'est de plus en plus demandé de diminuer l’expression, si possible à 100 caractères, Paul Auster répond avec cette oeuvre de plus de 1000 pages qui parle de tout. Comme une vie parle de tout.
    A lire sans hésiter.
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