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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!
goodmorningidea's review against another edition
5.0
Dan Chaon writes characters so well. There is a lot of loneliness and yearning in this book specific to the characters but relatable nonetheless.
vicioustrollope's review against another edition
4.0
based on a short story published in harper's magazine (how many great books have had similar origins?), dan chaon's first novel is a nuanced and detailed story of three lives in varying stages of redemption. a teenaged mother sent away to wait out her pregnancy, a man deformed in boyhood by a vicious dog, and an out-of-luck loser who continues to fall into the same traps of drugs, alcohol, and irresponsibity-- all whose stories are woven beautifully. the focus of this novel is character, and chaon does a masterful job of eliciting sympathy and making the reader care deeply about these lives.
pearseanderson's review against another edition
4.0
Goddamn, Dan is great at what he does. I finally got to this work of his and it's exactly what I expected: Great Plains psychological thriller playing with memory, family, adoption, crime, and our purpose in the day-to-day sludge of life. It's fantastically done, one of the cleanest books I can think of, with miles of praire in all directions. Dan was my former advisor, and he's done well here.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
3.0
This was really good and I enjoyed reading it, but in my opinion it's not nearly at the level of Dan Chaon's next two novels, Await Your Reply and Ill Will.
And for you animal lovers out there, be warned there are a couple of very disturbing scenes with dogs that I had to skip over, so watch out for that.
And for you animal lovers out there, be warned there are a couple of very disturbing scenes with dogs that I had to skip over, so watch out for that.
pattieod's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, haunting, and depressing. Not your usual middle/upper middle class over-thinking protaganists.
ommsetu's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Very well written, but man, what a depressing read. Had I read this before becoming a parent, I think my reaction would have been different, but there's some stuff in here that's hard to take when you have a child of your own. That's a testament to how well written the book is, but it's still tough to read in places.
sarahbelwv's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved this book -- up until the last chapter. I felt the story was tied up neatly at the end of chapter 35. I was perfectly content with the way the novel ended and then along came chapter 36 to ruin the mood. I will likely look up other books of Chaon's because I was really drawn in by his style of writing, but I'll be a little more cautious about those final chapters...
jillyfay's review against another edition
1.0
This was a painful book to listen to. The timeline jumped back and forth, but not in a linear back and forth (not telling two different peoples stories at two different times that connect), and one character would reflect back on different times. It was hard to follow and I didn’t think the characters were as well developed as they could have been. Disappointing