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Await Your Reply

Dan Chaon (Goodreads Author)

3.54 · Rating details · 13,268 ratings · 2,298 reviews

The lives of three strangers interconnect in unforeseen ways and with unexpected consequences in acclaimed author Dan Chaon's gripping, brilliantly written new novel.

Longing to get on with his life, Miles Cheshire nevertheless can't stop searching for his troubled twin brother, Hayden, who has been missing for ten years. Hayden has covered his tracks skillfully, moving ste ...more

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Hardcover, First Edition (US/CAN), 324 pages

Published August 25th 2009 by Ballantine Books

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Community Reviews

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Rating details

· 13,268 ratings · 2,298 reviews

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May 25, 2013 B the BookAddict rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: if you like a psychological mystery. And Michael, Brenda, Elaine

Recommended to B the BookAddict by: Goodreads recommendations

Shelves: literary-fiction, mystery

Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply is literary fiction/psychological mystery with identity theft, missing persons and internet scam all rolled into one. A major theme is the enduring discussion of what subsumes the identity of 'self'. I am mindful that to say too much about the plot would constitute a spoiler.

The bare bones of the story are: Miles is on a seemingly never-ending search for his genious but schizophrenic identical twin, Lucy has just abandoned her real life and is about to embark on ano ...more

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Oct 07, 2014 Jonathan Ashleigh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

These were characters you could really sink your teeth into, and for some reason most of them reminded me of my estranged uncle. I loved the prose, the road trips and the mystery that surrounded this book. Each chapter will leave you wishing for more, but you will have to wait. Read this book before they make it into a movie and ruin it.

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Feb 01, 2011 Steve rated it really liked it

Are writers as a breed more inclined than most to think about identity? It seems like they would be. They’re always trying to get inside characters’ heads. In the case of this particular author add the fact that he grew up as an orphan and maybe it makes sense he’s so good at depicting the mutability of self. In the three different storylines the key figures show both the ability and proclivity to change. It quickly becomes apparent (and thus does not qualify as a spoiler to mention) that identi ...more

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Sep 05, 2009 Katherine Coble rated it it was ok

This book was a bit of a disappointment.

It came highly recommended from a number of sources and was described as a face-paced thriller of psychological suspence.

???

It does start off with a thriller-esque vibe as one character is rushed to the hospital, his severed hand on ice. From there it turns swiftly into a fine example of a MFA thesis project-cum-blog, with much meandering pondering on the meaning(less) of life, the lack of direction in the Generation Y population, the uselessness of colleg ...more

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Jun 08, 2015 Zoeytron rated it liked it

Shelves: public-library

This is a book that begs the question 'Who would you be if you weren't who you are?' We're talking mass quantities of identity theft here, folks. Reinventing oneself has never been easier with the advent of the internet.

Fine writing, taut pacing, and questionable characters make for a good story. Ah, 'the grotesque performance of privilege.' Just throwing that last in there because it was so tasty to read.

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Oct 13, 2010 William Thomas rated it did not like it

Shelves: dreck

Dan Chaon's novel was reviewed and touted as being a "book for our age", giving us the quintessential text on "identity in the 21st century" and so on and so forth. The theme of the book intrigued me- identity theft in an age of exponentially boosting computer bureaucracy and the separation from the tangible personhood. Or at least that is what I thought the theme would be.

It turned out to be nothing so thrilling or philosophical as that, opting instead to take the low road and use the premise Dan Chaon's novel was reviewed and touted as being a "book for our age", giving us the quintessential text on "identity in the 21st century" and so on and so forth. The theme of the book intrigued me- identity theft in an age of exponentially boosting computer bureaucracy and the separation from the tangible personhood. Or at least that is what I thought the theme would be.

It turned out to be nothing so thrilling or philosophical as that, opting instead to take the low road and use the premise in a very literal manner. No metaphysical turmoil and no existential conundrums to be found within these pages that isn't expressly laid out for the reader in very literal terms. He doesn't allow us to come to our own conclusions or lead us to his, but instead spoon feeds us up until his Sixth Sense styled ending where we are supposed to gasp and be shocked.

I wasn't impressed with the author's style, finding it vague and often ambivalent to it's own self, offhand and slight as if it were completely disinterested in the telling of the story. And that came through in spades because it made me feel disinterested.

The book is filled with flat, two-dimensional characters, suffering from a severe lack of characterization. Instead of utilizing character actions to give us a sense of self and identity, we are subjected to all sorts of impertinent and unnecessary back stories (however a person can be defined by their pasts, but Chaon uses these stories more as filler in an already thin novel, and it is a stretch to see how these interludes in any way affect the story he is trying to tell). In a story about identity, shouldn't the characters identities and characteristics be the strongest points of the novel? Not here. Not in this book. Instead, Chaon sees himself as a clever master of plot, giving us weak characters in order to drive the story home. And instead of a thrill-ride as some called it we got a lazy Sunday drive to the church social. The book is thin- in it's plot, it's theme and it's characters- a literary anorexic.

Added:
I would rather not dwell on what would make re book better, but talk about it's theme (which it didn't convey at all in any real sense). However, I am a little too tired to write about it in any real way at the moment. ...more

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Oct 20, 2019 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: read2019, tbr-explode

Await Your Reply had been on my TBR since 2009. When I tried it, I decided to keep reading. It has the feeling of his more recent book, Ill Will, in the sense that you know something is going on that you don't know yet but not what it is. The characters seem to be searching for missing people in their lives, definitely a theme of identity, created and stolen.

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May 08, 2010 William Ramsay rated it it was ok

This is an odd book. It's well written, interesting, and the characters are very well drawn. But it's confusing and has the worst ending of any book I think I have ever read.
It is mostly concerned with identity theft. Most of the characters are involved with various scams to empty people bank accounts. There are some Russians who come into it (no explanation what that's all about).
The main villain is the schizophrenic twin brother of one of the main characters who has spent his life trying t ...more

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Oct 28, 2014 Scott Rhee rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, crime

The characters in Dan Chaon's novel "Await Your Reply" are all dealing with identity issues. Some of them have been forced to change their identity, some willingly change their identity, and others have no identity unless its in relationship to another person.

"Await Your Reply" has all the elements of a noir thriller: characters with shady pasts, long cons, femme fatales, mafia hit men, amateur detectives. It has several mysteries working at once, although at the outset, the reader intuitively k The characters in Dan Chaon's novel "Await Your Reply" are all dealing with identity issues. Some of them have been forced to change their identity, some willingly change their identity, and others have no identity unless its in relationship to another person.

"Await Your Reply" has all the elements of a noir thriller: characters with shady pasts, long cons, femme fatales, mafia hit men, amateur detectives. It has several mysteries working at once, although at the outset, the reader intuitively knows that there is only one mystery at the heart of the novel that will connect all of them. There is, of course, the plot twist at the denouement---one that clever readers may have already guessed at long before but is still somewhat jarring.

Still, even with all the elements of a noir thriller, Chaon's novel isn't the flash-bang type of thriller. This is not the Lee Child or Michael Connelly type of thriller, with exciting shoot-outs, car chases, steamy bedroom scenes, or even somewhat tidy endings. There is not a lot of action in Chaon's novel. There is some suspense, but it is more psychological and cerebral than physical. Arguably, there isn't a whole hell of a lot of closure in the end. None of these are, in any way, negatives, by the way. Chaon isn't going for a traditional noir thriller, so his overturning of our expectations is par for the course.

There are essentially three stories in "Await Your Reply". In one, a young boy named Ryan is on the lam with his father, a small-time hustler who is trying to educate his son on the art of the long con. In another, a teenager named Lucy has run away from home with her high school history teacher, Mr. Orson. In the third story, a man named Miles searches the country for his long-lost twin brother, Hayden. The stories alternate evenly between the three. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear how the stories are inter-connected and how the lives of the characters are intertwined, but it is never entirely clear as to what is actually happening until the very end.

Of course, even the end leaves more questions than it answers, but Chaon isn't setting out to answer all the questions. Human behavior and motivations are too messy and complicated to figure out. Sometimes, we all do and say things for reasons that are unclear even to ourselves. In the end, a police report or a detective's findings may figure out the who, what, and how, but the why is oftentimes forever a mystery.
...more

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May 06, 2011 Carol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-book

This novel was 4.5 stars for me. It did make me a little paranoid now about identity theft. Still, I enjoyed how the (supposedly) unrelated stories connected in the end. I plan to read his other book soon.

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Aug 15, 2010 Jeanette (Again) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: miss-trees, all-fiction

Await Your Reply examines the question of identity in old and new ways. Throughout the book there's a philosophical undercurrent dealing with that ancient question of what constitutes a "self." The plot ties into that question using the more recent issue of identity theft, which allows people to erase their life histories and "be" an entirely different person.

The exploration of these themes was, for me, the most appealing thing about the book. The switches and stumbles of the characters made me ...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Lovers of Literate Mysteries

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: A friend

Shelves: literary-fiction, suspense, contemporary, mystery, novels, fiction, crime

The story starts with three seemingly unconnected narratives. First, that of Ryan, who in the opening scene is being rushed to the hospital with his detached hand. Then also Lucy, recent high school grad running away with her history teacher. Finally, there's Miles, searching for his missing twin brother. What propels you through the book is wanting to find out how these three connect up. I had some guesses, some right, but didn't get quite how all they all fitted till the end--the author says i ...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Snotchocheez rated it it was amazing

(4.5 stars)

If you haven't already made acquaintance with Dan Chaon's work, do so. Like yesterday. Might as well start with Await Your Reply a taut thriller with a focus on identity: Identity theft, mistaken identity, multiple identities. Three seemingly separate disparate stories, weave back and forth and comprise a tapestry of wackitude you're not soon to forget. The ending was not quite as satisfying as I'd hoped, but I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt as much of his repertoire seems ...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: people who are attracted to the idea of Alternate Realities :-)

Shelves: read-in-2010, read-in-2012, group-reads, disturbing, read-in-2013, bizarre, winter-2016, read-in-2016, goodreads-authors, read-in-2014

MY FAVORITE BOOK. The ultimate novel on individual identity and creating one's own reality. I find that I can relate to this story :-) Every time I read this book, I pick up more details.

"I myself, from the very beginning,
Seemed to myself like someone's dream or delirium
Or a reflection in someone else's mirror,
Without flesh, without meaning, without a name.
Already I knew the list of crimes
That I was destined to commit."
- ANNA AKHMATOVA,
"Northern Elegies" (as quoted in Await Your Reply)
------- ...more

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Oct 12, 2017 Jeanette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Patience required! Apart from the finely tuned personality breakdowns for each named character, very little else is "clear" during at least 1/2 of this novel. That's a lot of pages with flipping namesake stories. Not much of connection seems to exist other than one of troubled and at often times a inherent and roving unlike of self-identity. Each to their own place or spot or fit or job. And of course, family. Bad mixes all around. No satisfaction for the present coupled by even less in the youn Patience required! Apart from the finely tuned personality breakdowns for each named character, very little else is "clear" during at least 1/2 of this novel. That's a lot of pages with flipping namesake stories. Not much of connection seems to exist other than one of troubled and at often times a inherent and roving unlike of self-identity. Each to their own place or spot or fit or job. And of course, family. Bad mixes all around. No satisfaction for the present coupled by even less in the young for an anticipation for their future life. Smiling faces don't live in this book. If you want happy stories, this is NOT the one.

That's why I gave it 4 stars though, because of the superb study of what identity IS. Because who and what IS takes center stage here. Identity itself, the concept and the practice. One's own belief in who one is. And what others believe we are and what that person "is" called, or named or how they "fit". Is it a constant state or vaguely drifting secure on a tethered line over time and aging, or is it floating off to another level of air year to year. Or month to month.

It's tricky, this study. And this author is savvy on the human psychology to define it. But he also holds great deficits too, IMHO. He touches on the void but really doesn't enter it. Because a strong anchor of human nature IS identity and purpose to "place". Lack COULD be insane if it is constantly altered or eradicated. Or it could make the insane, more insane. Identity eradicated either purposely, accidentally or cruelly stolen. Abrupt with viciousness, or plotted to happen in sequences? Identity stolen or claimed. Taken or reheld? Money, honor, purpose, no freedom of movement in prison perhaps! All outcomes. All former "knowns" gone. Vanished. Because identity was stolen- it is not only the thief who has produced their own gain, but the victim who has suffered the great unanswered loss. Justice impossible to restore. Like trying to unring a bell.

A think piece in the end. This book is much more a think piece than a who-dun-it of any common sort. But it takes an awful long time to get there. Despite the writing and knowledge to ride that road showing considerable dexterity.

I felt like Miles too at the ending. Not satisfied. Once you read it, you will know what I mean here.

The ending was the "reality" of Hayden. Not a fan.

My enjoyment scale was a 2 for the first 100 pages and increased as the book page number did. Plummeting at the end to a 3. But the skill in captures for identity deviousness here made me round it up. ...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Alex Mili rated it liked it

This book is mediocre, but not a waste of time. It is a quick and easy read, so the short time that it takes to read it doesn't feel like a waste (and the predicibility of the plot sppeds things along too). AYR is the story (actually three stories) of people who abandon their identities, whether for financial gain, the sheer joy of manipulating others, or a complete disgust with true identity. My biggest complaint about this book is that it tries to be suspenseful, but it fails miserably in its ...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Suzanne rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone

Effortless,
...like drinking a clear glass full of cool water... his words glide along the pages and tell their story with grace and precision.

This is a story that grabs you softly, but before you realize it, you cannot put it down.
The characters are diverse and complicated in their seeming simplicity. Mr. Chaon manages to let us peek into their inner lives, and, in doing so, we find bits and pieces of ourselves.
He is extremely adept at allowing us to step into present day reality, while not bei ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Larry H added it

This book is c-r-e-e-p-y because you realize just how real the situations the characters find themselves in can be. Dan Chaon is an amazing writer and I found this book to be a fantastic, quick read, that I probably need to read over again in order to ensure I didn't miss any of the nuance.

This book tells three parallel stories: Lucy, who flees her Ohio town with her high school teacher; Ryan, a college student struggling with the pressures of being who his parents want him to be, who finds out ...more

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Feb 26, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it really liked it

E-e-r-i-e. It is irresponsible to tell you much more than that, because this book hinges on the reader's simultaneous suspicion and disarmament at every twist and turn. Much of the book is necessarily circumspect, which made me feel distant and dislocated during the first 2/3 of the story. And although a lot of it takes place in wide open, (and often) desolate places, I felt a contraction of space and time, and a reader's claustrophobia. The narrative edges collapsed into a flat darkness, and I E-e-r-i-e. It is irresponsible to tell you much more than that, because this book hinges on the reader's simultaneous suspicion and disarmament at every twist and turn. Much of the book is necessarily circumspect, which made me feel distant and dislocated during the first 2/3 of the story. And although a lot of it takes place in wide open, (and often) desolate places, I felt a contraction of space and time, and a reader's claustrophobia. The narrative edges collapsed into a flat darkness, and I frequently wondered where I am, where this is going. But an ominous atmosphere of mendacity and a disjointed, shadowy sense of the sinister pervaded.

Alternating chapters distinguish the storylines. In the opening pages, we encounter a disturbing and unusual scene of vague, escaped violence and torment, as Ryan and his father are headed to the hospital. In the next chapter, we are introduced to recent high-school graduate Lucy and her lover, George, who was her twelfth-grade history teacher. They are headed toward a new life, far away from where they were teacher and student. Subsequently, we join Miles, a lonely man obsessed with the disappearance of his twin brother. These disparate narratives continue to alternately build with greater complexity and with mounting tension. All will be revealed by the closing pages, although the journey there is often ambiguous. I often felt restive and off-kilter while turning the pages, anxious for the story to become more transparent. I suspect that this was the author's intent, as these holes in our comprehension actually add weight and dimension to the story by giving it greater immediacy and urgency. Our participation as a reader is paramount to the theme of the story. I don't want to explain too much more, because I do not want to dilute the reader's tension and uncertainty. What I can say is that the question of identity, in its many guises, is the thing we are chasing, while it chases us.

Dan Chaon delivers this dark and dire tale with a cagey cachet. I am confident it will inspire lively discussion and debate between readers. ...more

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Sep 20, 2009 Felicity rated it it was ok

Apparently, there are two reactions to this book--you either love it or hate it. I certainly didn't hate it, but my overall assessment couldn't be described as anything more than lukewarm. There are six main characters (actually less or more depending upon how you interpret the plot...can you see why I was frustrated???)...let's just say there are ostensibly six characters in this novel: Ryan & Jay; Lucy & George; Miles and Hayden. Keeping that many plots and balls juggling in the air is difficu ...more

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Sep 19, 2009 Ak rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. You Remind Me of Me is one of my all-time favorites, so maybe I expected too much. But this one relatively disappointed me. Yes, it moves along at a decent clip, and I enjoyed the gradual unfurling of all the personalities. But even I saw the "twist"/connection coming about halfway through, and if Credulous, Gullible I can pick it up that easily, believe me, it's probably too obvious. The characters are pretty unlikable and in some cases frustrating throughout.

The one thing that is staying with You Remind Me of Me is one of my all-time favorites, so maybe I expected too much. But this one relatively disappointed me. Yes, it moves along at a decent clip, and I enjoyed the gradual unfurling of all the personalities. But even I saw the "twist"/connection coming about halfway through, and if Credulous, Gullible I can pick it up that easily, believe me, it's probably too obvious. The characters are pretty unlikable and in some cases frustrating throughout.

The one thing that is staying with me: the poignancy of the only two times that Hayden deceives for the benefit of anyone but himself or his wallet -- the vain attempt to attract Dylan's violence onto himself instead of on Ryan, and his leaving the "suicide note" in the hope of "freeing" Miles to stop seeking him. A morbid irony in the fact that the only significant time he tells the truth ("Jay is in Russia") he is so savagely (indirectly) punished for it.

I agree with the comparison to Pulp Fiction, but only to an extent. The novel ends "feeling" relatively okay - closure, and even a measure of peace for Ryan - while in fact Hayden/Mike/Jay/George/David is (I assume) coming to a violent end in the hotel room in Ivory Coast. Pulp Fiction is the opposite - you leave with a sense of unremitting bloody gloom - and yet when you piece together each storyline it turns out they have (chronologically) ended on "up" notes.

Lucy walking around with new clothes and a new identity on, with $150,000 in cash on her back, failing to just take off, seemed a little untrue to her character, especially in the face of her growing discontent with and even fear of George/David. How could she be so stupid and passive? Are we to believe that George/David was that mesmerizing and charismatic? That plotline seemed to go to pains to show her disillusionment, and then at the moment that you are itching for her to take off... she never does. The only reason she leaves with the money, ultimately, is that she has no CHOICE. That was not satisfying to me. ...more

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Sep 04, 2015 Bandit rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

So impressed was I by Chaon's You Remind Me of Me, that I absolutely had to read more by the author and this one didn't disappoint. It actually impressed further, terrific sophomore accomplishment. Chaon revisits the same themes from his debut here, themes obviously dear to his heart, like adoption, relationships between brothers and most importantly the nature of identity. That's what Await Your Reply is about really, a quest for identity, stolen, invented or otherwise, a meditation on the conc ...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it it was ok

This novel has been described as the lives of three different people and how they interconnect.

The first person we meet is Ryan, who can answer to several different last names. He was born to an unwed mother and adopted. He considers his whole life a lie and leaves Northwestern University after using his tuition money for other purposes. He reunites with his biological father who is running a money scam.

Lucy Lattimore lost her parents in an automoblile accident while she was in high school. She ...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Judy rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: contemporary fiction lovers, reading groups

Shelves: 21st-century-fiction

Wow! This novel blew me away. I read it for a reading group and it was my pick, but it turned out to be different and very much more that I thought it would be from the blurbs I had seen. Yes, it includes identity theft as a plot point, but actually it is about identity: how do we get our identity as a person, how do we become confused about it, lose it, change it? While identity is a timely concept and the story is modern, somehow Dan Chaon also makes it universal, timeless and personal to the ...more

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May 07, 2009 Edan rated it it was amazing

I loved, loved, loved this novel--and not just because I know the writer. Really, I'm actually pretty hard on books written by people I know; I'm like that teacher who, when her son takes her class, is especially strict and unimpressed. I think it's just that I don't want to go easy on a book just because I know its author. I put up defenses, and of course my expectations are high. Anyway. This novel is gorgeous and riveting, and weird in that Dan Chaon way we've all come to know and love. It ma ...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Nora rated it liked it

I thought this book was pretty engaging, and I am waffling between three and four stars. I usually don't see the twist coming but I got it pretty much immediately with this one. The alternating storylines sort of made each one shallower than I wanted it to be, I think. Like I just wanted him to kick it up a notch, because the premise of each of the three stories is so rich. Because actually, not much really happens in each of the three plotlines; each of the characters is on the edge on somethin ...more

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Sep 02, 2009 Kathrina rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-fiction, horror-thriller

I am now a dedicated Dan Chaon fan, though I'd be a much more convincing one if I knew how to pronounce his last name. You Remind Me of Me simply blew me away, and I knew I was in for a good ride with this one. Chaon introduces you to characters that seem fully formed and real, people we might know or live right next door, but as we spend time with them, we learn that we don't know all we think we did, which is true always, in life. To transfer that dynamic from real life onto the page is a real ...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Celeste Ng added it

I started this at 10:50 am while waiting for a dentist appointment and was finished with it by 11:00 that night. That will tell you something about how gripping it was.

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Sep 03, 2009 Ron Charles rated it really liked it

Don't read anything (except this) about Dan Chaon's mesmerizing new novel, "Await Your Reply." You need to step into this work of psychological suspense completely unprepared for what lurks in here. If somebody starts telling you what they liked best, put your fingers in your ears and sing: "La, la, la, la!" But you can trust me -- which is just what all the manipulative creeps in this novel say.

Here's what can be safely revealed about "Await Your Reply": It contains three separate stories about Don't read anything (except this) about Dan Chaon's mesmerizing new novel, "Await Your Reply." You need to step into this work of psychological suspense completely unprepared for what lurks in here. If somebody starts telling you what they liked best, put your fingers in your ears and sing: "La, la, la, la!" But you can trust me -- which is just what all the manipulative creeps in this novel say.

Here's what can be safely revealed about "Await Your Reply": It contains three separate stories about people driving away from their homes, abandoning their lives and remaking themselves -- what's called "the ruin lifestyle." Chaon narrates each of these stories in the same intimate, intense voice. In one, a depressed young man named Ryan drops out of college to live in the Michigan woods with his long-absent father, a master of international credit card fraud. In another, Lucy, an orphaned high school girl, runs away with her history teacher, who promises her a life of wealth and travel. And in the third, a distraught man named Miles closes in on his elusive twin near the Arctic Circle after years of cruel taunts and last-minute disappearances. They're all disastrously naive about what's waiting for them.

Any one of these arresting plots could have sustained the entire book, but Chaon rotates through them chapter by chapter. Not only that, but the chronology of each story is jumbled so that the novel isn't so much cubed as Rubik's Cubed. I know that sounds like a literary headache, but these are engrossing, nerve-racking storylines that continually hand off to one another without breaking stride, leaving us as fascinated as we are disoriented. There are Russian gangsters and hypnotists and an old magic shop that teeters on surrealism. Violence -- gory, sexual, painful abuse -- runs just beneath the surface, but Chaon usually maintains a coy deniability, never saying anything particularly threatening while making sure we suspect these characters are in deadly peril. Other times, he takes the gloves off -- and more. You will never forget the scene involving a severed hand.

Chaon's celebrated first novel, "You Remind Me of Me," also involved flashes of grisly violence and an intense connection between long-separated twins. But as much as I enjoyed that debut, I found its scrambled, intentionally oblique opening chapters frustrating. Here, Chaon's sleight of hand is subtler, even though he's engaged in an even more radical scrambling of events. The result is a novel that succeeds as brilliantly as the short stories that have won him a National Book Award nomination, a Pushcart Prize, an O. Henry Award and an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Part of what gives "Await Your Reply" its eerie edge is the way allusions to classic tales of horror and suspense prowl through these pages. The abandoned Victorian hotel where Lucy and her high school teacher hide out kept reminding me of the Bates Motel of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," and Miles's trek toward the Arctic Circle to find his unstable twin contains uncanny echoes of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Of course, Stephen King haunts the backwoods where Ryan is holed up with his computer-genius dad, and if you're one of the eight people who've ever read Melville's "The Confidence-Man," you'll spot that shadowy shape-shifter slipping between these chapters, too.

Chaon has been tending in this direction for several years, crossbreeding elements of horror and suspense with his heartbreaking stories of lost souls and fractured families. Adopted as an infant, he's returned again and again, as he does in this novel, to a lingering sense of abandonment and alienation, the desperate search for connection in a world where personal identity seems unstable and ephemeral. Indeed, that's the theme that seems to draw him back to tales of terror, as he explored in an afterword to a Signet edition of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" and his short story in Peter Straub's "Poe's Children," an anthology of the best new horror writing.

All the characters in "Await Your Reply" are tantalized by the prospect of casting off their old selves and taking on new personae. But they're also terrified by how easily they can be reinvented, usurped or even dissipated. "Who would you be if you weren't Lucy?" she asks herself before she falls into "a state of grim panic." "What life will you choose for yourselves?" Miles's father asks his identical sons, who will someday make a series of very bad choices.

Chaon zeroes in on the strange irony that an age so obsessed with individuality should also give rise to such fluid and ephemeral identities. We're all a matrix of screen names, avatars, credit card numbers, passwords, browser histories and cookies -- an ever-evolving collection of data. But the same technology that allows us to express ourselves to anyone on the planet has also made it impossible to tell who anyone really is. If you haven't already placed it, the novel's familiar-sounding title comes from that ubiquitous e-mail scam in which some alleged relative of an African businessman asks you to take temporary possession of $20 million. "There is something almost adorable about its awkwardness," Chaon notes; these imploring strangers with their halting English "await your reply." But who are they? And for that matter, who are we?

Chaon spins out the high-tech mechanics of such computer fraud even while exploring its metaphysical implications. "The invaders are busily carrying away small pieces of you," he writes, "tidbits of information you hardly think about, any more than you think about the flakes of skin that are drifting off of you constantly. . . . And meanwhile in another state perhaps a new version of you has already begun to be assembled, someone is using your name and your numbers, a piece of yourself dispersed and dispersing."

Despite the ultramodern, Internet-driven elements of its plot, "Await Your Reply" is rooted in the oldest American concerns. "What kind of person," Miles wonders in desperation, "decides that they can throw everything away and -- reinvent themselves?" We know the answer to that question; our ancestors are the answer to that question. But other mysteries lurk in this hypnotic novel that you'll never guess.

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Jun 24, 2010 Jenny Roth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The concept behind this book is pretty genius. When I first started reading, I thought it would a "novel" in the same vein as many critically acclaimed books these days -- a series of faintly interconnected stories with great description but little plot. However, the plot of Await Your Reply was so fantastic as to set it apart, and satisfy on all fronts.
For most of the book, each chapter rotates between three different characters and plots. It's not clear how they relate together, or whether the ...more

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About Dan Chaon

Dan Chaon

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Dan Chaon is the author of Among the Missing, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and You Remind Me of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Chaon’s fiction has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Best Ame ...more

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The acclaimed author of Await Your Reply runs the gauntlet from edgy introspection to psychological horror in Stay Awake, a new collection of...

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Quotes from Await Your Reply

“I never wanted to get to a point in my life where I knew what was going to happen next. I felt like most people just couldn't wait until they found themselves settled down into a routine and they didn't have to think about the next day, or the next year, or the next decade because it was all planned out for them. I can't understand how people can settle for having just one life.” — 13 likes

“So this was what it felt like to lose yourself. Again. To let go of your future and let it rise up and up until finally you couldn't see it anymore, and you knew that you had to start over.” — 9 likes

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