Paul Auster in conversation about existential doubt, where he finds his inspiration, and the writing of his longest novel to date, 4 3 2 1.
Granta’s online editor Luke Neima interviews the novelist Paul Auster about his most recent book, 4 3 2 1. They touch on the inspiration for his latest novel – the longest of his career – the differences between fate and chance, and embedding historical events into fiction.
Paul Auster’s 4 3 2 1 is available now from Faber & Faber.
‘We meet at various points in the great swathes of the past that neither of us were alive to witness.’
Allen Bratton on a daytrip to a castle with his older boyfriend.
‘Listening to three white poets, whom I suspect are academics, talk about the state of poetry.’
Oluwaseun Olayiwola eavesdrops on an older generation.
‘I’d been dubious about his company at first.’
Sarah Moss on watching Shakespeare with her twelve-year-old son.
‘She didn’t trust us because, to her, tenants were like children.’
Kate Zambreno on negotiating with her older landlady.
‘A moment now swallowed in embarrassment, I asked a question only a young person might ask an older one.’
Lynne Tillman on trying to understand what makes a generation.
‘According to family legend, Ferguson’s grandfather departed on foot from his native city of Minsk with one hundred rubles sewn into the lining of his jacket’
‘According to family legend, Ferguson’s grandfather departed on foot from his native city of Minsk with one hundred rubles sewn into the lining of his jacket’
Don DeLillo and Paul Auster discuss their work in Granta 117: Horror, ‘impoverished characters’ and living in and writing about New York.
Paul Auster discusses his new novel ‘Invisible’, his writing process and the unsettling quality of narrative clarity.
‘In 1973 I was offered a job as caretaker of a farmhouse in the south of France.’
‘You can’t remember the precise moment when you understood that you were a Jew.’
