Meeting Wrap-Up, March 5, 2011

This afternoon, the Readers Roundtable met in the Trustees room at the San Leandro Main Library. Geri having unexpectedly called out of town, Peggy very ably facilitated the discussion. The book for this month was Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon (per Peggy, pronounced "Shawn" not "Chay-on" or "Chah-on"). The book comprises 3, seemingly disparate but related stories: A young man being rushed to the hospital by his father, a young woman leaving town with her high school science teacher immediate after graduation, and a man approaching middle age putting his life on hold and rushing to the edge of the Arctic Circle to answer a frantic SOS from his twin brother whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Much of the discussion centered around the structure of the book, the switching back and forth between the 3 stories. I thought that the switching back and forth was very effective and helped to draw me into the story and made it very difficult to put down the book. Several others present, though, felt that the switching around was manipulative and annoying and felt that the payoff wasn't worth all the suspense built by the book's structure.

Other major topics of discussion were the theme of shifting identities and the theme of internet swindles and stolen identities. Many also felt that no individual character was particularly well drawn or sympathetic, so it was hard to care about the book's eventual payoff. Some the book because it was dark and not all sweetness and light, and others disliked it because it was dark, and there is already enough darkness in real life. Of those present and voting, 3 liked the book, 4 disliked the book, and 3 were indifferent.

When I got home, I realized that we hadn't talked about the father of the twins and his influence on their personalities and the directions their lives took. I actually found him one of the more interesting characters in the book, although we only really know him through the memory of his son. Did anyone else like Mr. Cheshire? What about the name "Cheshire," like the cat who disappeared all but his smile? Discuss amongst yourselves.