Post by Max Sinister on Jun 15, 2023 5:05:28 GMT
Not joking: This New Yorker author who is usually considered quite highbrow wrote some book that we might call at least honorary AH. If that shouldn't be that obvious when reading it, consider that it's a kind of AH that centers on the life of a single person, a certain Archie Ferguson, member of the baby-boomer generation, born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family who lives in the author's favorite city, New York.
If you wonder now why such a guy bears a name that strikes anyone as Scottish, here's the story: When his grandfather Isaac Reznikoff emigrated from Minsk, a fellow on the ship to the USA told him that he'd never make it in the US with such a name, and he should adapt a more American name - Rockefeller, to be precise. But when the grandfather finally had reached Ellis Island and was asked by the clerk for his name, he blurted out in his native Yiddish "Ich hob fargessn!" (I've forgotten!), which the clerk rendered as "Ichabod Ferguson". And now you know.
But as said, the story/stories is/are centered on his grandson Archie. His family hasn't made it to Rockefeller levels when the story starts, but at least own a small firm lead by his father, in which a few family members work as well.
Of course(?), once the TLs start to diverge, the changes accumulate - no butterflies being killed here. This doesn't go as far as changing world history, esp. since Archie is still a quite young man when the story ends. (So prepare for a story set mostly in the 1950s/60s.) But Auster still manages to explore various possibilities of Archie's life: In one TL, his father dies; in another one, a family member becomes a criminal; in yet another one, his father's firm is very successful, which has the disadvantage that he doesn't have much time for his son...
The TLs also explore other topics: In one of them, Archie experiments with gaysexuality, but it doesn't stick; in another one, he becomes a full-fledged gaysexual; in yet another one, he's exclusively interested in girls. (Not sure whether that makes sense in science. Judge this as you like.)
If you wonder now why such a guy bears a name that strikes anyone as Scottish, here's the story: When his grandfather Isaac Reznikoff emigrated from Minsk, a fellow on the ship to the USA told him that he'd never make it in the US with such a name, and he should adapt a more American name - Rockefeller, to be precise. But when the grandfather finally had reached Ellis Island and was asked by the clerk for his name, he blurted out in his native Yiddish "Ich hob fargessn!" (I've forgotten!), which the clerk rendered as "Ichabod Ferguson". And now you know.
But as said, the story/stories is/are centered on his grandson Archie. His family hasn't made it to Rockefeller levels when the story starts, but at least own a small firm lead by his father, in which a few family members work as well.
Of course(?), once the TLs start to diverge, the changes accumulate - no butterflies being killed here. This doesn't go as far as changing world history, esp. since Archie is still a quite young man when the story ends. (So prepare for a story set mostly in the 1950s/60s.) But Auster still manages to explore various possibilities of Archie's life: In one TL, his father dies; in another one, a family member becomes a criminal; in yet another one, his father's firm is very successful, which has the disadvantage that he doesn't have much time for his son...
Also, Archie's interests diverge: Sometimes he's more interested in Baseball, sometimes the movies, sometimes writing - either newspaper articles or books. Sometimes, the TLs seem to merge: In all the four TLs, Archie meets a girl named Amy Schneiderman and tries to approach her, with varying success. It's also consistent that he's against the Vietnam War and thus wants to avoid being drafted. Some world events (e.g. the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which shocks Archie as well) ware mentioned just once, although they logically should happen in each TL.
The book is divided in seven chapters and 28 sub-chapters, which are numbered e.g. 3.7. So the story proceeds from 1.1 to 2.1 etc. until ending with 7.4. Jumping from TL to TL to TL, so you're forgiven if you might be a bit confused after reading the whole book with its over 1000 pages.
{Spoiler}
Oh, and in more than one TL Archie Ferguson actually dies before we have reached chapter 7, so from then on, the sub-chapters of these TLs still get a page each, but except for the sub-chapter number, all of these are empty. - And at the end, the suvrviving Archie decides to turn his life history into a book. Not only his real one, but also three alternate ones... I see what you did there.
Oh, and in more than one TL Archie Ferguson actually dies before we have reached chapter 7, so from then on, the sub-chapters of these TLs still get a page each, but except for the sub-chapter number, all of these are empty. - And at the end, the suvrviving Archie decides to turn his life history into a book. Not only his real one, but also three alternate ones... I see what you did there.