Ferguson (as he's known in the book) grows up with the same Jewish, middle-class parents, Stanley and Rose, as well as many of the same friends, including Amy Schneiderman, his girlfriend/friend.

As Archie grows through young adulthood, events such as the Attack on Richard Nixon's motorcade in Caracas, Venezuela, Vietnam War, Civil Rights, the Kennedy election and assassination, the Northeast blackout of 1965, white flight from Newark, the 1968 Columbia University protests and the reaction of American Jews to the Six Days War are all covered.

His different lives diverge from mundane matters – in which suburb, out of several plausible choices, did his parents choose to buy a house after his birth?

In yet another life, the father got rid in time of these nasty brothers and built up a commercial empire – but Ferguson is sickened by a life of nouveau riche conspicuous consumption and becomes totally alienated from a workaholic father who works twelve to fourteen hours a day and has little time or energy left for his family.

Like Auster himself, Ferguson in all his lives feels at home in New York City and has an abiding interest in French culture and language.

[6][3] At the time of its publication in January and February 2017, the book received mixed reviews, and proved polarizing with critics.

[3] Michelle Dean of the Los Angeles Times was critical of the book, writing that the novel was too long, repetitive, and overly detailed.