No Two Persons

I was so intrigued by the complications of this story that when I finished reading the library’s copy, I ordered my own.

Now I’ve gifted it twice. It’s a book you want others to read so you can discuss it. Okay, truthfully, sheepishly, I once saw a perfect stranger reading it on an airplane and wanted to switch seats so we could talk about No Two Persons.

I also liked it because it was a novel about a writer and a manuscript that changed lives and connected people in surprising, powerful ways.

Author envy can be incredibly energizing, but what I felt while reading No Two Persons was on a whole other level.

This is a story about a book—a debut novel that ends up connecting different characters in the very way that all authors dream about. But Bauermeister is, to my knowledge, the first one to illustrate that journey from an idea in a writer’s head and querying and submission to galley, audiobook, publication, and beyond.

The entire time I was reading No Two Persons, I kept wishing I had thought of this—had written it—had a bookstore still so that… show more.

I am a sucker for books about books, and this one reigns supreme in that category.

This unusual novel in linked stories enveloped me in a warm hug, made me laugh, and brought me to tears, sometimes on the very same page.

The premise is simple: how does one book touch many people in different ways? From the author to the agent to a bookseller to a free diver whose girlfriend leaves the book on a table to a homeless teen forced to read the book for a school assignment, each story is affecting and quietly powerful. From the delicate… show more.

Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is an artfully crafted novel of interconnected short stories that was delightful to read. In the story, Alice is a debut author. She releases her book on launch day and hopes for the best.

It made me smile to reflect on the journey my own recently released book will take, the many different people who will read it, and how the book might affect them. Once a book is published, it belongs to the reader. And each reader will absorb the pages differently. Different hands will hold it. Different eyes will wander its text. And different… show more.