Auster again

“Auster’s dazzling 880-page, brick-like 17th novel is, according to many, his greatest so far,” recorded the Financial Times. “An immersive, challenging read.” Paul Auster takes on a grand concept and delivers; March 3, 1947 sees the birth of Archibald Isaac Ferguson, and from there on in his life is split, fractal-like, between four parallel timelines, each with its own set of consequences and inbuilt fates. Although the external forces of history stay much the same, the internal stories – the decisions, the loves, the disasters, the sporadic triumphs – subtly shift and transform with wildly differing outcomes in a masterful chronicle of our times. An ideal Christmas present, Uncle Henry?