Read this in conjunction w/ The Night Ocean by Paul LaFarge and there are a lot of similarities - drowning, astral projection, discussion of flying cars in science fiction of a certain era, the slipperiness of memory. But apart from these themes, they are very different books. It was interesting to read this, pick up on the themes, and see how so much was similar but so much was different, as if the authors had used it as a challenge of constraints. But that's an aside. It was a very affecting experience to read this, although it is what I'd term a "literary novel" (knowing that that is a vague and weird term) it isn't overwritten. It's a delicately told story with a brutal core, and a deep sadness to it. Most of the narrators are unlikeable in some way and definitely unreliable, but in a human way, where they are pretty much aware of it. And Chaon writes loss of time and memory so well it sent me into the feeling of these nightmares I often get where I'm trying to stay awake and can't. It's a book that appeals to my true-crime loving self, and my horror loving self (there's a sequence in there that really creeped me out, in the basement of a kind of squat) and my psychological thriller loving self. Thanks to The Morning News for prompting me to read it.

Read this in conjunction w/ The Night Ocean by Paul LaFarge and there are a lot of similarities - drowning, astral projection, discussion of flying cars in science fiction of a certain era, the slipperiness of memory. But apart from these themes, they are very different books. It was interesting to read this, pick up on the themes, and see how so much was similar but so much was different, as if the authors had used it as a challenge of constraints. But that's an aside. It was a very affecting experience to read this, although it is what I'd term a "literary novel" (knowing that that is a vague and weird term) it isn't overwritten. It's a delicately told story with a brutal core, and a deep sadness to it. Most of the narrators are unlikeable in some way and definitely unreliable, but in a human way, where they are pretty much aware of it. And Chaon writes loss of time and memory so well it sent me into the feeling of these nightmares I often get where I'm trying to stay awake and can't. It's a book that appeals to my true-crime loving self, and my horror loving self (there's a sequence in there that really creeped me out, in the basement of a kind of squat) and my psychological thriller loving self. Thanks to The Morning News for prompting me to read it.

Await Your Reply is ultimately a tragic story featuring characters who are lost or mentally ill and either want a new start or can't let go of the past. However, I found it hard to sympathize with the three characters whose perspectives the novel shifts between in alternating chapters. As a result I rushed through my reading mostly to finish the book and see how these seemingly unconnected characters were, in fact, connected. It's a story of identity, how it is mutable but perhaps can become its own trap, even when that identity is traded in for a new one.

 

I'm surprised I purchased this book since it features one of my greatest squicks (as we say in fandom): a teacher-student romantic relationship. The recently graduated student, Lucy, is one of the characters whose point of view is narrated. Though she's lost her parents, at first it seems this is not a great loss to her. She also disparages her older, less ambitious sister. This made Lucy and her rash decision to run off with her AP History teacher unsympathetic for me. She's bright academically, but stupid and naive when it comes to everything else. She almost immediately begins to feel uneasy about the promises her older boyfriend made once they arrive at their temporary destination, but she sticks around.

 

Similarly, Ryan, a college student, leaves school and his family behind once he learns the truth about his parentage. He hadn't been doing well in school and wasted the money meant for tuition. He takes off with a guy he's just met and becomes involved in illegal money-moving and identity fraud schemes, though he barely understands what he's doing and why. He doesn't seem that troubled knowing that his family is looking for him. So, he's another character I found I couldn't care about.

 

The third character, Miles, I found the most sympathetic. He's been on the trail of his schizophrenic twin brother, Hayden, ever since the latter disappeared years before. Miles disrupts his own life (or barely develops one) to chase his twin and feeds on occasional communications from him. He gives Hayden the benefit of the doubt, despite the warnings of others and evidence to the contrary. Is he big-hearted or a fool?

 

I won't spoil how the three characters' stories connect, but despite some surprises, the mystery of that connection wasn't enough for me to overcome my issues with the characters.

The title says it all: Strange case. Hulk seems to be based off of this, but I enjoyed both. I think we're due for another adaptation of this story.

Ill Will by Dan Chaon is a story that revolves around a family tragedy. That's all I could ascertain from this story. I couldn't get into the whole book being back-story. There was a lot of sexual situations. Way too many for my taste. The story was, for me, hard to follow most of the time. I had to read quite a bit of the chapter to find out whose point of view I was reading. The ending didn't reveal any true insight into the story, or have a real conclusion. I received a copy of this book through Netgalley, and all opinions are my own.