The very notion of literary fiction puts off a lot of readers. I get it. While I generally like complex, carefully-written stories more than pulpy material these days, sometimes writers carry it too far.

For instance, I've made no secret that Paul Theroux is one of my favorite authors. He has a rather snooty brother who has a reputation for extremely intellectual or even inaccessible fiction. Never one to be intimidated, I recently purchased a book of his short stories. I've only read one so far, and while the language Alexander Theroux used in it is exquisite, the piece conveyed little to no story, wasn't much in the way of a character study, and was ultimately unsatisfying. For me it was masturbatory, pretentious, excruciating tedium.

Happily not all so-called literary fiction falls into that category.

Dan Chaon is considered to be a writer of literary prose. Thankfully, his work is neither boring nor lifeless. Chaon's fiction has a near blue collar sensibility, but his prose is rich and evocative. He is never difficult to read. The words flow like a clear stream down a smooth path. There are echoes of Bukowski in the pages, and maybe even a little Hubert Selby, Jr. Couple that with Peter Straub's psychologically complex plots and you might come close to Dan Chaon. Frankly, I think he's better than those guys.

I've called Chaon's most recent novel, Ill Will, the best thriller I've ever read. Await Your Reply, his second, is a mind-blowing tour-de-force.

I've had it for some time, but I put off reading Dan Chaon's debut novel, You Remind Me of Me. His books are not ones to idly jump into. They require deep attention and emotional investment. I picked it up the other day, and I was finished within twenty-four hours.

You Remind Me of Me has a dense, almost dizzying plot. Chaon takes disparate characters, from various times in the mid-to-late twentieth century, and weaves them together into a potent cocktail.

Nora is a disgraced teenager in 1966 whose sanity is crumbling in a maternity home.

In 1977 a boy named Jonah is viciously attacked by a dog and his heart momentarily stops beating.

In 1991 a boy named Troy escapes the turmoil of the destruction of his parents' marriage in a trailer owned by drug dealers.

A child disappears from the back yard of his elderly guardian in 1996.

These people and events coalesce and form into a devastating portrait of lives gone wrong. Decent people who find themselves in roles they never wished for. Questions of destiny and fate arise. The characters live and breathe, and I could relate all too well to them. Even as I cringed at some of their behavior.

I almost had to take notes at times while reading You Remind Me of Me. I definitely had to go back and reread various passages. Like most smart investments, the effort was worth the payoff.

I've had little luck persuading people to read Dan Chaon. I really wish readers would take a chance on his work. He's a hell of a lot better than most out there in the field. Chaon isn't exactly a horror writer, but his work is much more disturbing than 99% of the books I've read in the genre.

Written by Mark Sieber


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