A review by vicioustrollope
You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon

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.