4321: This book was on my reading list as one of the short listed 2017 Man Booker Prize finalists. I chose the Audible version knowing nothing about the book, and I began to listen as I took my daily walks. I walked and listened through the first week ... and then the second week ... and then listened nonstop on a flight from Austin to London. The reader's voice, so close in my ear, became like my own voice, talking to me about my own growing up, my own history and my own questions, for the story it was telling was my generation's story. I checked my progress through the book and discovered I wasn't yet halfway through 😳. Then I came upon a copy of the book for sale in a London bookstore. It has 880 pages, enough necessary to tell the story of a generation coming of age, complete with the what-if's, could-have's, quirks of fate. It tells the stories of 4 versions of the same life, ordered side by side from young childhood through the early 20's of a young man's life during 1950s and 1960s. It's a real commitment but a good exercise in comparing a previously tumultuous time in the life of the United States with today's equality tumultuous time. The author beautifully reads his own work, bringing emotion and perspective to a big endeavor. 4 stars ( )

Somehow Paul Auster has slipped past me until this year. Well, no more!

I LOVED this book. Haruki Murakami is quoted on the back cover saying, "Paul Auster is definitely a genius." The need to use definitely made me laugh, but that quote continued to stick with me as I read on and now I really don't know how else to describe how I feel about this astonishing piece of work. Paul Auster is definitely a genius; there's no doubt about it.

I was drawn to this book because of its premise and because a very excited contributor from Book Riot wrote about its impending publication. The idea of tracking the four different paths a man's life could take was intriguing enough, but what I was not prepared for was the total love letter to literature and poetry, writing, translation and the beautiful nuances of languages, and what it is like to become a general member of the arts community, what I was not prepared for was the vivid recreation of the atmosphere and political climate of real-life 1960s New York (with references to real people!), and what I was not prepared for was the depth of this creative voice exploring how even the smallest events and decisions might impact a life in the biggest kind of way.

I started reading a library copy of 4 3 2 1 on my Kobo, but when time inevitably ran out on my loan (at 866 dense pages, I knew I wouldn't get through it all in time), I decided to buy a print copy, thinking I would probably end up wanting to keep it in my personal library the way things were going. I was right. Even though the hardcover is not much smaller than the Chicago Manual of Style, which made lugging it around on the subway and bus a bit of a challenge, and even though there were a couple of moments where I wasn't sure that I agreed with the way certain ideas and subjects were presented, this book was entirely worth it.

This is the longest Goodreads review I've ever written. So maybe that says something. I told you I would gush, so I am gushing. Thank you, Paul Auster. ( )

What would happen if things had gone a different way, if you’d made another choice or if events had played out slightly differently? That’s the premise of this novel, which sounds far more intriguing than it turns out to be. You have four somewhat different, mostly mundane lives, even if you get a clever little metafictional twist at the end. The Guardian’s review, which is far more favorable than my own, says, “the sheer weight of historical detail acts as a defence against solipsism.” I’d happily have taken the solipsism, which would probably have been more interesting from a philosophical point of view, over “the sheer weight of historical detail” that bogs down the narrative. I listened to this as an audiobook, read by the author, or else I’d probably have given up on it after the first cycle of Fergusons. ( )

What a waste of 900 pages. The premise sounded fascinating--a life told from 4 different paths--a parallel universe kind of thing. The execution of the premise is underwhelming. Boring, nothing of real interest ever happens. The different lives of the protagonist Archie Ferguson (who is not anyone you'll care about) are not that different. Read Kate Atkinson's Life After Life and call it time well spent. ( )

This book was exhausting to read with no reward at the end. I was excited by the summary but the execution fell way short. It was a true battle to get past the first hundred pages. ( )