Await Your Reply

De: Dan Chaon

Narrado por: Kirby Heyborne

Three strangers who are trying to find their ways in the wake of loss become entwined in fraudulent schemes, which have a resounding impact on them all. One is a college student who hops a bus to break loose from his abstract and tenuous existence. Another is a man searching for his troubled twin brother, who has been missing for ten years. And another is a naïve, young woman who sneaks away from her small town with her former history teacher. Their three lives interconnect in unforeseen ways—and with unexpected consequences.

©2009 Dan Chaon (P)2009 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Clever

Good choice if you want a psychological ride while peeking at an unfamiliar side of life. The pace is established from the very beginning and this is a book that could be listened to more than once.
Narration was good but not perfect.

This is not for everyone, but what a treat

This is my second novel by Dan Chaon, read back to back. It is even better than Ill Will but, like Ill Will, it is not for the faint of heart. The characters are dark and often despicable. I can see how many would find the outcome depressing. And yet...the WRITING. And the STORIES. Quite original and coming together in ways that will surprise you even if you expected half of it. Hope he writes a third novel soon.

Read, Don't Listen

Await Your Reply tells the story of three strangers and how their lives interconnect in mysterious ways. Miles Cheshire knows he should get on with his life and live it. Yet, he can't help but long to find his brother, Hayden. He searches endlessly to find Hayden. Lucy Lattimore runs away from her hometown in Ohio with her high school teacher. Then, days later, amid discussions of changing identities, Lucy starts to think twice about her decision. Finally, Ryan can't help but believe his whole life is a lie after learning during his sophomore year of college that his dad isn't really his dad. He walks off his college campus and begins a new life.

This book came highly recommended to me from numerous sources so I was quite anxious to read it. I ended up listening to it (it's narrated by Kirby Heyborne). The author does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing how the stories are going to tie together. I figured out most of the big twist at the end about an hour from the end of the story. But there were pieces that still surprised me. When I was finished listening, I kept thinking about the book and all the little ties and I wanted to actually sit down with a paper copy of the book and see if I could find some of the little clues that may have been hidden in the book. There are books that a reader gets more out of by reading and I think this is one of them. No offense to Kirby Heyborne because he did an excellent job reading. I just think the storyline was a little too complicated to listen to during my daily commute.

I do recommend the book though - just read it, don't listen to it.

Fantastic story

I just noticed there are no reviews available for this book yet... It is a fantastic read... Dan Chaon can write... If you are like me and are very picky about the quality of the writing you will still like this book. The story is fascinating, the atmosphere is haunting and beautiful... secrets, relationships, loneliness, tragedy and heartbreak.... I am definitely reading Dan Chaon's other books as well.

Compelling and fascinating

This book kept my attention until the very last word. As other reviews have said, it reads like a thriller, although it's not. It's a powerful, thoughtful study of the psychology of identity and identity theft, and the people who perpetrate it. As the story weaves in and out of the lives of a handful of characters, including the relatives of the con artists, it raises issues of how each of us defines who we are -- as human beings and within the context of our family and society. It's also a study in deception - of others and of ourselves. It's one of those books that I'm almost sorry I 'read', because now I've lost the ability to experience it for the first time. I'll probably listen to it again anyway. I hope this author's other books are as good as this one. I just can't say enough good things about this book - and several professional reviewers have had a similar opinion. What an extremely satisfying read!