boring and monotonous story line rambles too much

I never would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the DBRL One Read selection in 2010. However, I am glad I read it! Chaon is a fantastic craftsman, and the subtle plot twists keep you in suspense. One of the best things about this novel is the imagery - some of the visuals Chaon created will be staying with me for a long time. I wish the book went on to tell us more about the various characters' lives, or that there would be a follow-up book. However, during Chaon's visit to Columbia, he said there would not be a sequel. :-( But, even though I do prefer stories to wrap up neatly and the book was rather open-ended, it was not so nebulous that I was unsatisfied. I might even be inspired now to pick up some more books in genres that I tend to avoid!

This is an outstanding novel and the best I've read in the last couple of years.

Will keep you guessing. Extremely intriguing characters.

A very disorganized tale. The author wrote with no plan, and it is evident. The story is intersting but in the end, not worth the effort.

Spoiler alert: reveals the ending. I can't say I really liked it. It's sort of about twins, Hayden and Miles. The title is extremely ironic because it is the way Hayden signs his letters to Miles - but he always leaves wherever he is as soon as he sends a letter - so Miles is never able to get a reply to him or to find him, although he spends HIS life trying.. Hayden is schizophrenic, wildly delusional as a teen. He runs away from home and spends the rest of his life impersonating all kinds of people. He is very adept at computers and identify fraud. Among other things, he teaches at Rolla for a year, runs away with a girl there and is pursued by detectives hired by her sister. They find lots of information about his various lives but always get there too late to catch him. He also impersonates a man named Jay who has an illegitimate son he has never contacted. Hayden contacts the son, tells him he is his father, lures him away from college and teaches him the "family business" of identity theft. He impersonates a high school teacher named George for a year and after graduation he runs off with Lucy, one of his students, promising to marry her. One reason the novel has so many story threads that weave together in the end is because at least three of the characters are actually Hayden. All this sounds interesting, right? The problem is that most of the story is told from a great distance. The main point of view is Miles, the "normal" twin, who seems to have no real life of his own. Toward the end, you also get the point of view of Lucy, the high school girl who falls in love with "George" and gradually begins to see that he is not the man she thought he was at all. One chapter is told from the point of view of Jay (the real father of the illegitimate son) but his chapter ends the minute he meets Hayden. Later, there are chapters from the point of view of Ryan, the son, but he never finds out the truth. The story has no real ending. Just about the time I figured out what was going on and started caring what would happen next - it ended

Our book group will definitely discuss this book...not my favorite One Read...some substance.

A finely crafted work of psychological thriller fiction that fearlessly examines human identity and the thin strings that tie us each to our own. I particular appreciated how the author included the separation of parent and child as an inevitable yet devastating element to one's own development of sense of self.

I know this is the One Read book for the year, but I couldn't get through it. It may have picked up later in the book, but I couldn't read the first half.

Fanatastic psychological thriller. Have read two of his other books, equally as good.