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  • 4 3 2 1

  • By: Paul Auster
  • Narrated by: Paul Auster
  • Length: 36 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (477 ratings)
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4 3 2 1 cover art

4 3 2 1

By: Paul Auster
Narrated by: Paul Auster
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Summary

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017

Narrated by the award-winning author himself, this epic tale invites you into a world where the fate of a single person takes four different turns. Graceful and eloquent, it's a touching story of how a life can be dramatically altered by the choices you make.

Paul Auster's first novel in seven years. His greatest, most provocative, most heartbreaking, most satisfying work. A sweeping story of birthright and possibility, of love and the fullness of life itself. A masterpiece.

This audiobook contains exclusive bonus material in the form of an interview with the author.

On March 3, 1947, in the maternity ward of Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, Archibald Isaac Ferguson, the one and only child of Rose and Stanley Ferguson, is born. From that single beginning, Ferguson's life will take four simultaneous and independent fictional paths. Four Fergusons made of the same genetic material, four boys who are the same boy, will go on to lead four parallel and entirely different lives. Family fortunes diverge. Loves and friendships and intellectual passions contrast. Chapter by chapter, the rotating narratives evolve into an elaborate dance of inner worlds enfolded within the outer forces of history as, one by one, the intimate plot of each Ferguson's story rushes on across the tumultuous and fractured terrain of mid twentieth-century America. A boy grows up - again and again and again.

As inventive and dexterously constructed as anything Paul Auster has ever written, 4 3 2 1 is an unforgettable tour de force, the crowning work of this masterful writer's extraordinary career.

Paul Auster is the best-selling author of Winter Journal, Sunset Park, Man in the Dark, The Brooklyn Follies, The Book of Illusions and 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 30 languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

©2017 Paul Auster (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"One of the great writers of our time." ( San Francisco Chronicle)

What listeners say about 4 3 2 1

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I honestly tried to get through this.

With reviews like "Brilliant. A complete masterpiece. Loved it." and "Invest the time. it's worth it!" I thought I really needed to persevere with this book...but after 26 hours I had to give up.

What was wrong? Firstly, I hated the performance (authors should not read their own work except for a very few notable exceptions), all the characters had the same voice, I could hear him breathing and turning pages on the recording and, surprisingly as he is the author, he stumbled in his reading a few times. Secondly, the subject matter was dull. I never warmed to any Archie and I just wasn't interested in their lives. Thirdly, it made me feel like I was missing some deeper point that others seem to have grasped (see reviews), and I think this is why I persevered for so long with it, I was determined to have the 'Aha' moment. It never came and it left me feeling dumb.

All this said however, everyone is different so don't let my review put you off.

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47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gold, pure Auster gold.

37 hours of Paul Auster's voice and text! This really is a dream come true. It's a rare treat to hear Auster narrate his fiction. His perfectly paced delivery is every bit as brilliant as his prose. I've listened to a few hours and know that I'll be listening again and again ... and again. And again ...

On a bit of a side note, if you're using an Apple device and it refuses to download - you might need to go into settings and download in parts, rather than the large single file.



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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Arduous reading, some great but brief moments

What disappointed you about 4 3 2 1?

Not easy to follow. Probably requires a second read to fully absorb. Saying this, I feel no desire to read it again: The book might be more interesting for someone who is interested in writing literature as the bulk of the story is about the main character tying to "make it" in the field. His personal endeavours on the other hand, were a bit more exciting.Sadly, this is no Moon Palace, and I so wanted it to be.

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Auster’s performances?

Tentatively yes.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It was disappointing and depressing in equal measure.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

engaging

An engaging story that explores how turning a different corner, making a different choice, can affect ones whole path in life. I loved the characters and really enjoyed following their stories. The fact that their paths were set against and entwined with real events..the civil rights movement. ..the war in Vietnam etc. made their journeys all the more vivid. A very good audible download.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Was sad when it ended

From the first few moments I knew I was going to love this book. Auster's prose is beautiful and poetic. I don't want to write a review that gives away plot details but know that I was sad to finish as it meant I would no longer be spending times with The Fergusons. Splendid.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant. A complete masterpiece. Loved it.

Paul Auster is a writer of real intelligence, wit and is a master of complex plotting. The concept of this book -the lifestory of one person told in four different imaginings- is inspired and daring but the author pulls it off. Loved all the interwoven characters and the inclusion of the politics of 1960s/1970s USA. I was so sad when it ended but I will look forward to listening to it again n the future.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

For me. This is perfection. It's amazing

This book is by far Auster's best. And that's saying something. He is an amazing writer. But in this he takes his storytelling to not just a different level but a different plane altogether.
The kindness. The love for his character. The cruelty of life and love. It's real
Real life
Read

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

4 Long Boring Stories. Monotonous Delivery.

4 extremely dull versions of one rather uninteresting American boy's young life, delivered in a monotone. Confusing as the four versions are very similar. I normally read to the end of every book, whether I like it or not, but have given up on this after enduring 16 chapters. Life is too short!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Invest the time. it's worth it!

I loved this audible so much I have ordered the paperback. Listen and enjoy.

Four life stories, same characters but different paths and different lives. The clever thing is you get sucked into each Ferguson's life, but it's not difficult either to move between the four versions. I couldn't imagine how the author could bring the whole thing convincingly to an end. But he does and I loved it. Also appreciate Paul Auster reading the audible. Wonderful tone and pace of delivery. I could listen all day!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A master storyteller in good form

It is quite daunting to start listening to a 35 hour long book. Perhaps even more so when it feels like a literary experiment in the writing of several parallel stories with the same characters and binding them into one novel. Nevertheless, it works. Both as a complete work and the holding together of the different strands.

One can't help wondering about the possible biographical nature due to the fact that all the "Fergusons" are of the exact age and clearly the same generation as Paul Auster himself. This is clarified at the end in the useful interview with author.

Although I was a bit worried about the book not being read by an actor (or even several actors as in the Haruki Murakami audio books), I found the straight reading quite appropriate to the book and loved listening to the author's slightly lispy voice.

Interestingly, I had recently finished listening to Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" which is another aspect of the the same period in the USA and featuring people of the same generation though of a completely different social class.

If I were to offer any criticism at all for this wonderful audio book, it would be to say that if you lose you place, it can be very difficult to find it again due to the way the book is set out.

Overall, I loved it!

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3 people found this helpful