Scan barcode
billymac1962's review against another edition
5.0
This novel uses one of my favorite formulas: take a few separate story lines and anticipate the points where they will begin to intersect.
Await Your Reply lives up to all the hype I had heard about it. Not only
did it deliver a satisfying resolution to these characters' stories, but
each story was very interesting, and I cared about all of the characters.
Each chapter would end with the anticipation of getting back to another
set of characters you had left behind two chapters ago. This made this
novel a really fast ride.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys suspense and story lines that
involve concerns about....no. I'm not even giving that away.
The less you know about Await Your Reply, the more enhanced your enjoyment will be. Go into this raw, like I did, and enjoy.
I'm trying to be a little more conservative with the five-star reviews,
and this one isn't what I would describe as "amazing", but I really liked it, which constitutes a four-star review. Yet, I'm always so impressed when stories like this come around, and these types of novels make me giddy.
I'd like to rank this four and a half stars, but I'm feeling like topping this one up rather than truncating it. The giddiness factor, you know.
Good stuff, Dan. I'll read you again.
Await Your Reply lives up to all the hype I had heard about it. Not only
did it deliver a satisfying resolution to these characters' stories, but
each story was very interesting, and I cared about all of the characters.
Each chapter would end with the anticipation of getting back to another
set of characters you had left behind two chapters ago. This made this
novel a really fast ride.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys suspense and story lines that
involve concerns about....no. I'm not even giving that away.
The less you know about Await Your Reply, the more enhanced your enjoyment will be. Go into this raw, like I did, and enjoy.
I'm trying to be a little more conservative with the five-star reviews,
and this one isn't what I would describe as "amazing", but I really liked it, which constitutes a four-star review. Yet, I'm always so impressed when stories like this come around, and these types of novels make me giddy.
I'd like to rank this four and a half stars, but I'm feeling like topping this one up rather than truncating it. The giddiness factor, you know.
Good stuff, Dan. I'll read you again.
sandygx260's review against another edition
5.0
I confess during this novel’s first 100 pages, I thought “why did I select Await Your Reply to read?” Hmm, yes, I had liked a Chaon tale in a vampire anthology and decided to seek out his other work.
Seriously, I came close to giving up on this novel. It’s one of those tales where you feel like you watch the wool be prepared to be made into yarn, and once the yarn is dyed and delivered to the weaver, he places it on the loom and lets the shuttle fly. As he works to make the pattern, the “WOW” moments falls into place. In this novel, the “WOW” moment didn’t arrive until around page 100.
After that, I just wanted to know what the hell would happen next. This is a twisty, non-linear novel where you know the end before it ends, but you don’t know it until the end.
Await Your Reply is a character-driven novel, and when there’s a weak character, it drags down the experience. The main problem I have with the book’s beginning is Ryan. He’s two-dimensional. He’s boring. He speaks in one word answers, which I suppose is Chaon’s way of making him lackluster and dull. Surprise, his suburban dullness makes him perfect for what eventually happens to him. He’s a blank canvas waiting for a painful future to be painted on him when he teams up with his biological father.
My heart ached for the characters Lucy and Miles. Their stories are sad and painful.
This is a novel where you need to read every word. In many places, you need to go back and read a section again. Nothing is as it seems, and, in the end, before the end, the one character whom has inflicted such damage on too many people receives justice—or so I hope.
By the time I finished the novel, I remembered why I wanted to read more Dan Chaon. Now I want to read even more.
Seriously, I came close to giving up on this novel. It’s one of those tales where you feel like you watch the wool be prepared to be made into yarn, and once the yarn is dyed and delivered to the weaver, he places it on the loom and lets the shuttle fly. As he works to make the pattern, the “WOW” moments falls into place. In this novel, the “WOW” moment didn’t arrive until around page 100.
After that, I just wanted to know what the hell would happen next. This is a twisty, non-linear novel where you know the end before it ends, but you don’t know it until the end.
Await Your Reply is a character-driven novel, and when there’s a weak character, it drags down the experience. The main problem I have with the book’s beginning is Ryan. He’s two-dimensional. He’s boring. He speaks in one word answers, which I suppose is Chaon’s way of making him lackluster and dull. Surprise, his suburban dullness makes him perfect for what eventually happens to him. He’s a blank canvas waiting for a painful future to be painted on him when he teams up with his biological father.
My heart ached for the characters Lucy and Miles. Their stories are sad and painful.
This is a novel where you need to read every word. In many places, you need to go back and read a section again. Nothing is as it seems, and, in the end, before the end, the one character whom has inflicted such damage on too many people receives justice—or so I hope.
By the time I finished the novel, I remembered why I wanted to read more Dan Chaon. Now I want to read even more.
somanybookstoread's review against another edition
3.0
i was getting impatient for this book to tie the different parts together but i suppose it was wroth the wait...the writing got a bit predictable but it was a good read.
chasrotramel2024's review against another edition
5.0
This is the best book I read in 2009. A constantly surprising enigma of a novel with intertwining stories that overlap and then drift apart. The basic topic is identity theft, but that does not even scratch the surface of the depths that this book hits while touching on alienation, family, depression, mystery, and mental illness. Amazing, brilliantly constructed, and articulately written. Most highly recommended.
mschrock8's review against another edition
2.0
A long-time coming. Very strange. But, a reference to "Rebecca," so that had me.
michperk's review against another edition
1.0
Intriguing at first but this was a chore to finish. I was past the point of stopping so I plodded on.
bookysue's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the book. It's very different from the books I usually read, given that it had a bit of intrigue and mystery involved. I figured out the gist of what was happening around pg 193, and as the book went on I was curious as to whether the author intended for the reader to figure it out earlier or later than that. But who knows.
In any case, an engaging read, really well written, and it was interesting to read the author's little note in the acknowledgments at the end about how his wife had been his professor when he was an undergraduate. I guess that's what inspired the George Orson/Lucy connection.
In any case, an engaging read, really well written, and it was interesting to read the author's little note in the acknowledgments at the end about how his wife had been his professor when he was an undergraduate. I guess that's what inspired the George Orson/Lucy connection.
curlypip's review against another edition
3.0
Disturbing, unsettling, but well written and suspenseful. Ryan & Jay and Miles’ stories were so well written, and totally believable. Lucy’s story felt like an ill-conceived afterthought.
By the time you reach the last quarter you start to see how the three stories are connected to each other, and it’s clever. I liked how it leaves you thinking instead of spelling out the twist too obviously
By the time you reach the last quarter you start to see how the three stories are connected to each other, and it’s clever. I liked how it leaves you thinking instead of spelling out the twist too obviously
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book I've read by this author. I wanted to like it more than I did. Writing was pretty good but seemed like it could have been edited down by a quarter and been better.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
This novel cleverly links the stories of three different characters to create a dark tale about identity and its relationship to death. It is built like a puzzle, and I found it very satisfying to read.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/await-your-reply/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/await-your-reply/