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rickwren's review against another edition
2.0
What I need out of a novel is characters I can relate to - care about - and situations that engage me as a reader, caring for the welfare of characters for whom I have an emotional attachment. This story of two brothers separated by an adoption didn't provide that for me. I didn't care about either one of the main characters and I didn't care about their poor choices which put them in life's loser column. It wasn't unfortunate circumstances that made them victims, it was lying, dealing, drugs, and apathy. Note: Apathy does not a good character make. The whole way through this novel, I just felt blah.
The one character that I should've felt empathy toward was a young boy . . . and yet, he didn't act like a young boy at all. He acted like a robot version of a young boy, without emotions and without the impetuous nature that children possess. I felt like I was reading a story written by an author who has never been around children.
It just didn't work on so many levels. It didn't work for me at all.
The one character that I should've felt empathy toward was a young boy . . . and yet, he didn't act like a young boy at all. He acted like a robot version of a young boy, without emotions and without the impetuous nature that children possess. I felt like I was reading a story written by an author who has never been around children.
It just didn't work on so many levels. It didn't work for me at all.
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
5.0
His first novel and it brings together all of the elements I love about his short stories. Quiet, thoughtful, tense, and just plain beautifully written.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Digital audio performed by Jim Soriero.
3.5***
Chaon was already known as a talented writer of short stories when this debut novel was published. His background with that shorter form shows in this book. The first four chapters of the book introduce us to four different characters and time frames: 1977 and six-year-old Jonah is mauled by the family pet; 1978 and ten-year-old Troy is hanging out with teenagers smoking pot; 1966 and teenaged Nora is about to give birth at a home for unwed mothers; 1997 and six-year-old Loomis disappears from his grandmother’s backyard. Eventually the connections between them will be clear to the reader.
What I really like about Chaon’s writing is how he explores issues of identity, how characters are shaped by their environment, by chance and opportunity, and by the choices they make. There is much to dislike about these damaged people, and yet I am drawn to these characters and their stories. I am distressed by the loneliness they endure and the wrong paths they take, and yet still find some hope for the future.
The changing time frames and points of view do, however, make for a somewhat confusing experience. This is especially true for those who choose the audio version.
Jim Soriero does an excellent job performing the audio. He is a skilled voice artist, with good pacing. Still, given the nonlinear plot, I’m glad I had a text version available so I could go back and reference earlier chapters easily.
3.5***
Chaon was already known as a talented writer of short stories when this debut novel was published. His background with that shorter form shows in this book. The first four chapters of the book introduce us to four different characters and time frames: 1977 and six-year-old Jonah is mauled by the family pet; 1978 and ten-year-old Troy is hanging out with teenagers smoking pot; 1966 and teenaged Nora is about to give birth at a home for unwed mothers; 1997 and six-year-old Loomis disappears from his grandmother’s backyard. Eventually the connections between them will be clear to the reader.
What I really like about Chaon’s writing is how he explores issues of identity, how characters are shaped by their environment, by chance and opportunity, and by the choices they make. There is much to dislike about these damaged people, and yet I am drawn to these characters and their stories. I am distressed by the loneliness they endure and the wrong paths they take, and yet still find some hope for the future.
The changing time frames and points of view do, however, make for a somewhat confusing experience. This is especially true for those who choose the audio version.
Jim Soriero does an excellent job performing the audio. He is a skilled voice artist, with good pacing. Still, given the nonlinear plot, I’m glad I had a text version available so I could go back and reference earlier chapters easily.
mschrock8's review against another edition
3.0
This author will visit FC later in October.
I kept trying to like Jonah, but he is more creepy than awkward.
Troy made a birthday card for Loomis.
" . . . she liked to read books. She liked art, I guess. She had lots of postcards of different paintings."
Where is the editor? "Unloosened" on the last page, when "loosened" was meant.
I kept trying to like Jonah, but he is more creepy than awkward.
Troy made a birthday card for Loomis.
" . . . she liked to read books. She liked art, I guess. She had lots of postcards of different paintings."
Where is the editor? "Unloosened" on the last page, when "loosened" was meant.
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
You Remind Me of Me was an overall enjoyable read. It's the story of three different peoples lives and how they are intertwined. Overall I found the characters to be believable though a little bid sad. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me and left some things unanswered, but then again I guess that's how life can be.
lilcoop71's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this so much better than AWAIT YOUR REPLY. I wish I had read this one first. Be warned: It's really desolate. But if you like dark and desolate, as I do, you will really enjoy it.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
interesting story of two brothers, jonah and troy, that share the same mother. we get the story out of order and hear the stories of the brothers, the mother and the grandmother to troy's child. it's a dissection of nature vs. nurture and recreating the self.
mildibobildi's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook version of it instead of reading it, and at times I found it hard to keep track of the timeline.
The book meanders a little, and there are times when I got impatient and wished that the story would move along more quickly. Also, I found it difficult to find any character who at least wasn't annoying, let alone likeable. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, but I wasn't super impressed by it.
The book meanders a little, and there are times when I got impatient and wished that the story would move along more quickly. Also, I found it difficult to find any character who at least wasn't annoying, let alone likeable. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, but I wasn't super impressed by it.
dhaugen612's review against another edition
4.0
This one is a stomach-twister, following the well-intentioned but increasingly poor decisions of a brother desperate to escape his loneliness. I love the scenery and people that Dan Chaon creates, almost always in some fading small town on the Midwestern plains.
willkay's review against another edition
2.0
You Remind Me of Me by Dan Choan
As I started this book I was reminded of another book I have read, The Tesseract. I loved the Tesseract - it is a story that tells of single hour/moment to six totally disparate people whose lives suddenly collide. The book, however, rather than dealing with the moment, spends the time filling in the lives and back stories of the six people. I found the lives of each person fascinating but, by the end (or at least two thirds of the book) felt that the writer, Alex Garland, lost his nerve. Instead of telling the last two character's stories with the same depth, he sort of "bottled out" and just went for the ending of the book. By the end I sort of felt cheated and a book that I was really enjoying and had invested emotionally into, became a bit "meh".
You Remind Me of Me does the same thing. It tells stories about people however these people are all linked. The beginning of the book is understanding how these lives are linked. The author uses a system of jumping around chronologically so that different parts of the tale get filled in and different times. It also adds to the suspense as you try to put the clues together. The book is divided into three parts and the first part is wonderful. Picking up clues, understanding the motivation of the characters, knowing how things are going to happen, builds the suspense. By the time I had got through 150 pages I was seriously enjoying the book. And then the book managed to remind me of The Tesseract again. The final 200 pages just don't work as well. You feel that the author has given up. Once he has these fully rounded characters he becomes lazy and really doesn't write about them with as much depth and feeling - he tends to write with "broad strokes" letting the reader fill in the details.
On the whole it was an enjoyable read. After the first half of the book I was ready to recommend this to anyone and everyone because the first half was brilliant. However, having got to the end I wouldn't recommend this. If you get the chance to pick it up in a "Buy 2 get 1 free" moment and you can't find that third book - go for it. If someone gives it to you as a present, well done! But I wouldn't recommend that you spend your money on it!