4321

4321

by Paul Auster

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2017, Carnegie Longlist 2018, Dublin Longlist 2019

 

Date Read: June 20, 2021

 

4321 is essentially a coming of age story set against the massive cultural evolution and churning world events of the 50s-60s. What makes this novel unique is that Auster took one character, in this case Archie Ferguson, and imagines four different lives. Ferguson’s personality and behavior change depending on the circumstances he and his family find themselves in.

 

“One of the odd things… was that there seemed to be several of him, that he wasn’t just one person but a collection of contradictory selves, and each time he was with a different person, he himself was different as well.”

 

The one thing all of the Fergusons hold in common is the desire to write. Whether it be novels, poetry, literature or journalism, all the Archies possess the inherent desire to create. In Ms. Monroe’s classroom, Ferguson’s favorite English teacher, reads a sign above the blackboard from poet Kenneth Rexroth: “Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense: the creative act.” With so much happening in the world during this time period, Ferguson largely deals with it through the lens of his craft and is able to lend insight and imagination to a world run amok.  

 

All the Fergusons grapple with the meaning of family, religion, relationship, love, purpose and sexual identity. Reading how these varying versions of the same young man play out was somewhat fascinating, however after 500 pages I couldn’t wait to be finished.

 

“The Bible says that God created man in his own image. But men wrote the Bible, didn’t they? Which means that man created God in his image.”

 

I feel like everything and the kitchen sink is in this novel from coming of age to the questionable decisions of adulthood to questioning faith to a bizarre story about two shoes named Hank and Frank. The story-within-a-story of The Droons reminded me of a Clive Barker story and was so incredibly disturbing I’ll be surprised if I don’t have nightmares. All of this, of course, is terribly well-written.

With the detail Auster includes when describing places Ferguson frequents in New York, Paris, or specific parts of New Jersey, I can’t help but feel like these are place markers meaningful for the author, rather than the reader. The specificity he uses to describe the movie houses Ferguson regularly haunts in Paris are achingly precise. Removing some of the over-abundant lists surrounding places, movies, books, actors, etc. could probably cut this tome down by 200 pages. 

 

While many of the Fergusons’ core being remains constant, the Ferguson who blackmails his grandfather was absolutely reprehensible and the smugness with which he uses the cash made my stomach turn. His grandfather remarked that he had become hard and indeed he had. Was this due to him being abandoned by his father? Regardless, this was one more step in self-definition and discovery of identity – a journey readers can’t help but become intimately familiar.

 

And as much as the last 200 pages or so were a slog, now that it’s over, I find myself missing Ferguson. If you asked me which one, I would just say Yes.