4 3 2 1 is Paul Auster’s first piece of fiction since 2010’s Sunset Park and clocks in at an impressive 866 pages.The protagonist of the novel is New Yorker Archie Ferguson and Auster explores his beloved themes of fate and chance by giving Archie four independent life stories. Archie comes into the world in 1947, so the book explores the world events of the following decades – as well as the hero’s own triumphs and failures. US history is familiar territory for Auster, recurring frequently in his work, as is casting the main character as a writer – in one strand here Archie is a novelist, while in another he is a journalist. As with all his works, this novel is a beautifully crafted and compelling exploration of the human condition and the cryptic nature of existence.