My Rating: 4 stars
I read Erica Bauermeister's previous novel The Scent Keeper a couple years ago and absolutely adored that book. Two of the things I had loved about that book were the story itself (with its unique structure, interesting subject matter, and fascinating characters) as well as the gorgeously lyrical and immersive writing. Given this experience, it's probably no surprise that when I was approved for an ARC of Bauermeister's newest work No Two Persons, I was ecstatic knowing that I would be in for another mesmerizing read. While in the end, the experience was a little different from what I expected, I still really enjoyed this one overall.
In this book, Bauermeister once again employs a unique structure — this time, through a series of linked short stories — to explore the impact that one book has on 10 different people, starting with the young author who writes the book, Alice Wein. Each story presents characters from different walks of life who are struggling in some way (whether it's with love, relationships, grief, illness, financial insecurity, etc.) but then they encounter Alice's book, simply titled Theo, which opens the door to a different perspective — and in some cases, a much-needed path forward — for each person. I found it fascinating how Bauermeister was able to weave Theo so seamlessly into each character's story and adapt it to meet the situation they were in. As I was reading each story, I knew Theo was going to make an appearance somehow, but I didn't know when or how, which made me want to keep reading to find out (and then marveling to myself afterwards how brilliant each instance was). Each story also gave us insight into Theo's plot and while we never got the full story arc of course, enough details were revealed that it made me wish it were a real book, as it was one that I'd definitely be interested in reading.
As an avid reader, I definitely resonated with the messages in this book — that no two persons will read the same book in the same way; that certain books have a way of meeting the reader where they're at in their lives; that some books have the power to change lives, but sometimes, we need to be willing to let them in and give them a chance. In that sense, this was also an ode to books and reading, which I absolutely appreciated.
The other thing I really liked about this book was the writing, which was beautiful and lyrical, similar to what I saw in The Scent Keeper. I also found it refreshing that this book was written from the third person perspective — which normally wouldn't matter to me, but because most of the books I've read lately were written from the first person point of view, it was nice to finally read something where I got to see things from all the different characters' perspectives instead of having to remain in one character's head through the entire story.
My one complaint — which I always have with short story collections (though more accurately speaking, this was actually a "novel in stories" where various characters cross over into each other's story) — is that each story is incomplete, so we only get glimpses into each character's background. This made it hard to form a connection with the characters, which is important for me seeing how much I love character- driven stories — though having some of the stories be linked to each other (i.e. the writer, the agent, the publishing assistant for the same book all have their own stories) as well as having some of the characters "pass through" each other's stories did help.
Overall, I enjoyed this one immensely, though I didn't love it the way I did The Scent Keeper. Having said that, I still highly recommend this one, especially with its interesting structure and the way it explores various life situations that will likely resonate with many readers. I also think that people who love books and recognize the importance of reading will really appreciate this one.
Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
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