“Await Your Reply” Dan Chaon

This post contains spoilers, not because I am going to reveal some of the plot (although I will) but mostly because I did not like this book. Elsewhere in this blog I have said there were aspects of books that I didn’t like, but in all those cases there were redeeming qualities of the books that made them worthwhile reads. However, I'm surprised I was able to finish “Await Your Reply.” The premise was interesting but the execution was lacking. Most of my posts are intended to encourage people to read the books I discuss, but since I am not planning to recommend this book to anyone, I don’t mind spoiling it.

I read through prize lists looking for interesting reads and bought this one because it was a National Book Award finalist and the story was intriguing. The synopsis I read said there were stories about three characters and it was interesting to see how they were connected. Since I knew to look for a connection, I figured it out halfway through the book. The clues were too obvious. If one of the characters can take on different personas then, of course, you expect him to be the common thread among the stories, and it was easy to see which character he played in each story line. I admit to being surprised by one small plot twist, but even that plot twist should have been anticipated. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was the time line of the connection and that mystery was probably what sustained me until the end.

I have already admitted that I read for pleasure, and while I like description more than some, I felt that the book was proceeding in slow motion. It was like there were 250 pages of character development and 75 pages of moving the stories forward. I was disappointed every time the story came back to Lucy, because I couldn’t stand hearing about how she didn’t know what to do one more time. At least Miles’s stories about his brother were interesting, and occasionally we learned something new about Ryan’s life, but there wasn’t much happening to Miles and Ryan either. Maybe a better way to describe this book is that it is 80% back story. I kept thinking of other authors who would have done a better job, and I think that someone like Annie Proulx could have written a great short story using the premise for this book.

A review on the book jacket says, “Mesmerizing…engrossing…You need to step into this work of psychological suspense completely unprepared for what lurks there.” I’m not sure what Ron Charles of The Washington Post meant by that, but if you’ve read any suspense novels or thrillers, then I think you are too prepared for what lurks in this work.