Comment

Aug 25, 2012JimLoter rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Other reviewers have successfully focused on the book's theme of the mutability of identity, which Dan Chaon explores through three seemingly (at first) unrelated narratives. The most intriguing aspect of this theme to me is the extent to which identity is influenced, reinforced, or even granted to a person by others - especially those others whom we consider authority figures. In a way the three stories in Await Your Reply are each examining the impact of the loss or radical disruption of these external influences upon the characters' own identities. In that sense, it reveals the dangers of relying to heavily on others for one's sense of self. If you define yourself as a function of someone else, what happens when that someone else is not who you think they are? Ryan - whom we meet shortly after he literally loses a piece of himself - has just met a man claiming to be his real father and so estranges himself from his newly-discovered-to-be-adoptive parents. Lucy is flailing in the aftermath of her parents' death and runs away with a high school teacher. And Miles is lost and struggling to find his missing twin brother who he's realizing has become insane. It's clear in each case that the missing parties have been responsible for bestowing a considerable degree of stability to each character, and now that the nature of those affirming relationship is transformed, the characters' very identities are in question. Viewing the central theme in this way helped me understand the book's title. The characters are constantly awaiting the reply of the other - the "real" father, the older lover, the missing twin brother - because they cannot close the loop on their own selves until that feedback is received. In terms of quality, the book is consistently engrossing despite the disjointed nature of the narrative structure. The Miles/Hayden tale was the most enjoyable to me and played around the most with the timeline. In many ways, it was the anchor story of the three with a deep exploration of an identity that is inextricably linked with another half (the twin-as-doppelgänger). The Lucy/George tale was the most colorful given the unusual settings and the interesting character of teenager-cum-adult Lucy who struggles with the childish appeal of her life as an outlaw with a growing adult sense of how wrong everything seems. To underscore this coming-of-age aspect, George's scheme even has 19-year-old Lucy transform into a 15-year-old (through hair dye and a ridiculous T-shirt) and then morph into a 25-year-old. I felt that the Ryan/Jay story suffered a bit from not really have a lot for the characters to do. It was by far the most introspective thread and sort of dragged things down a bit as if unfolded. However, it was successful in presenting a very detailed account of the technical aspects of identity and the role that credentials, documentation, and information plays in establishing a self.