4-3-2-1 by Paul Auster

I grieved when the hero of Paul Auster's novel died on page 180—but especially so because this novel is almost 900 pages long. How would I manage without a protagonist through all those remaining chapters?

But wily Mr. Auster’s had a backup plan. In fact he had three backup plans. In the course of his wide-ranging historical novel 4-3-2-1, he deploys fou…