Await Your Reply

By: Dan Chaon

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

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)2022 Phoenix Books

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.

Beautifully Written, Beautifully Read

I found the story and characters engrossing, and could not have been more delighted with the way Kirby Heyborne performed it. As he spoke for each of the characters, there were subtle, but noticeable changes in voicing and "melody." His reading supported and enhanced the text for me.

Chaon makes a main character, who is essentially a sociopath, human, which is to say never fully understandable, but utterly recognizable. The other characters, touched and often injured by this man seem as real as if I had actually met them. A nice blend of interior monologue, exterior interaction and beautiful writing. Reminded me of Michael Cunningham, whose work I also admire. Five stars.

very original

I have not read any Chaon books so did not know his style, but I enjoyed the way he told this story. It is not about "identity-theft" but rather the personalities of those who find themselves entwined in the lives of these identity thieves. They could have just as well been common criminals, but the fact they are identity thieves makes it more interesting and relevant to our time. The three main characters are involved, in one way or another, with these thieves in some dysfunctional manner because of a character flaw of his or her own.

It is a book that could studied, and essays written, about the characters and all of the symbolic references and so forth, upbringing, and what have you, about their lives and what leads them to become what they are. It is close to a five star on my scale.

Hard going, but worth it in the end

This is an often depressing story--I would get to work after listening on my morning commute and just feel anxious all day. I could hardly go on at one point, but the thriller-style plot made me want to finish, and by the end I was very glad I'd persevered.
The narrator is only fair--he may have been picked because he could read the short passages in a Slavic language.

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!

Good But You Have to Wait For It.

Overall this book is very enjoyable. Not only is the story interesting, but Chaon offers up a series of scenarios that ask the question, sometimes a little heavy handed, of the true meaning of 'self.' Who are we? Are we really more than a name and a SSN? If people forget us, are we still alive?

One of the drawbacks of this book is that it takes a while to pull you in. The characters are not very lovable or interesting for the first 1/2 of the story, but once they truly begin to develop, you do start to care about them and are holding your breath to hear what happens next.

Be careful reading other reviews about this book...I did and some made comments about aspects of the story that I would have rather not known about. Just a friendly heads up.

Interesting book

I found myself tuning out sometimes in this book because of I would forget who the minor characters were. Part of this was because I would take long pauses between listening. But the story of the main characters and the mystery of how they intertwine was suspenseful and entertaining.