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This is Adina from the Ottawa Public Library
and today I'm excited to tell you about Await Your Reply,
the 2009 release from Dan Chaon.
Ever since Chaon's title, 2004 title, You Remind Me of Me, I haven't been able to
forget this particular craftsman.
His writing is raw and gritty and though his topics usually only skim the edge of human indecency,
Chaon is brilliant at making the reader question
what one more step would lead to...
Miles is looking for Hayden.
They're twin brothers, you'd think that would make it easy enough but Hayden's been gone for ten
years and is masterful at covering his tracks.
Lucy ran away with her professor.
It made sense because they were in love, right?
Ryan's life is no longer what he thought.
Maybe now is the time for him to disappear.
Await Your Reply is about identity
and how quickly it can slip away.
Psychological and profound, Chaon unravels his characters one by one
as their interactions (or possible interactions) with the illusive Hayden
bring Miles closer to the truth
and farther from security than ever before.
But even the truth is twisted and readers will find an unsettling feeling slowly making
its way out from the pages of this creative multiple layered story of confusion.
It all sounds troubling...doesn't it?
A deftly skilled novelist Dan Chaon is worth reading. You won't find a plot with a
clear beginning, middle and ending,
but sometimes that's just what a reader needs to really lose oneself and storytelling.
Fans of Await Your Reply may also enjoy
The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits or Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro.
This is Adina from the Ottawa Public Library.
Thank you for listening.