"Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon - B

Let’s start this post with a  short digression or two.

Digression No. 1:

George: “A solid ‘B’?”

Jerry: “Yeah. A solid ‘B.’ Not a pretentious ‘A.’ Not a ‘B+’ which is little more than a ‘B’ trying to masquerade as an almost ‘A.’ A solid ‘B.’ It’s not so bad.”

Digression No. 2:

(A baseball digression)

“It’s the ‘Hall of Fame.’  It’s not the ‘Hall of Very Good.’  It’s not the ‘Hall of He Played a Long Time.’  It’s the freaking ‘Hall of Fame.’”

What’s the relevance of the digressions?  I really enjoyed "Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon.  The novel was a recommendation from a cousin whose opinion I value.  It’s one of those books that I put on “my list” and, when thinking about what to read next, said, “Hmm.  I think I’ll try this.”  (Ok, truthfully, I put four books on hold at the library—as always, with apologies to the author and publisher.  I subsequently said, “Nah, I’m not going to read ‘Await Your Reply’” and canceled the hold.  BUT, I must have canceled it too late because it was there when I picked up the other books.  So, I figured that it was fate that I read it.  And I did.)

The novel is taut and suspenseful and essentially tells three different stories about three different sets of characters.  Without spoiling anything, I’d say that the stories intersect in some ways.

I have blogged previously on what I call “highlighter novels.”  “Await Your Reply” is more of a “college term paper novel.”  The three storylines share numerous themes seen from different perspectives.  I could have written a college term paper on any one of a number of these—discussing the themes themselves and the relevance of each theme to each character and/or storyline.

Back to my earlier digression.  “Await Your Reply” is very good.  If you have read other novels by Dan Chaon (I had not), I do not see how “Await Your Reply” could possibly disappoint you.  It’s an excellent read, just a "Hall of Very Gooder" as opposed to a Hall of Famer.

Live long, read and prosper.  We’ll leave the lights on for you.