101 Books, Number 99

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

99: 4 3 2 1, 2017, by Paul Auster (1947-)

I loved this book from first to last—

A book about a person’s past—

About how there is not one way

That we arrive here at today.

Paul Auster’s character, the main

One here, I feel I must explain,

Is changed by, well, “What if?” throughout—

And that is what this book’s about.

Some versions of a single life—
Of friends, of neighborhood, of wife—
Of economic status and
The issues which require a stand.

A moment comes; our lives are changed—

No longer certain—rearranged.

So we get versions of this tale—

And certainty is purely frail.

A feat of brilliance, this great book—

And worth a first, a second look.

I’ve loved his books—have read them all.

A wonder is this Auster, Paul!