MixedThe Rumpus\"Given that each of the four threads could be a fully-conceived novel in its own right, the reader has quite a lot to keep track of here, though her work is lessened slightly when one of the Archies dies early in the novel and again, later, when another does. The fact that the threads contain so much similarity makes it a challenge to keep one straight from the next ... While the novel explores many of Auster’s usual themes—American history, the role of coincidence in our lives, money, the father/son relationship—ultimately this is a book about writing. Its fundamental question is \'How does the life affect the writing?\' ... 4 3 2 1, at 800+ pages, is a long and challenging read. Set in the United States in the 1950s and ’60s, 4 3 2 1 feels researched to a degree that can sometimes pull the narrative down where it should be propping it up ... 4 3 2 1 is a writer’s book, and much of the subject matter will likely only hit home with readers of that particular persuasion. On the other hand, the historical bent of the book is worthwhile for everyone. At once comforting, unsettling, and instructive given the political climate in this country at the moment, 4 3 2 1, as I said, makes the case for some degree of fate.\
