No Two Persons: A Novel

Lara is another of the novel’s 10 primary characters. The third-person narrator renders her story in Part 1, Chapter 2, “New York City 2010, The Assistant.” Lara’s narrative immediately follows Alice’s. In this way, her character is a hinge between Alice, Alice’s novel Theo, and the novel’s remaining eight main characters. Because Lara works for Madeline Armstrong Literary, she is one of the first people to read Alice’s manuscript. Lara is taken by Theo from the first sentence. She feels as if the novel’s opening words are wrapping “around her like her mother’s arms, holding her” and telling her “You’re not crazy” (49).

Lara lives with her husband, Leo, and baby, Teddy, in New York City. Although she has a family, Lara often feels alone. When she gave birth to Teddy, she had to leave her office job, and she often finds motherhood is isolating. She only recently established herself in the literary world and fears losing her professional standing, but she is grateful that Madeline has let her work remotely.

Discovering Alice’s Theo manuscript gives Lara new hope. She is proud of herself for finding a special new story. She is hopeful that the story will reach others like her. Her belief in Theo catalyzes its publication and distribution.

Rowan is a former actor living in British Columbia. The narrator presents the meat of Rowan’s story in Part 1, Chapter 3, “British Columbia 2011, The Actor.” His character reappears in Part 3, Chapter 6, “Southern California 2018, The Coordinator,” in Juliet’s portion of the novel. This chapter reveals Rowan and Juliet’s connection years prior.

The narrator braids scenes from Rowan’s past and present lives throughout Part 1, Chapter 3. In the present, he lives alone in a rural Canadian town. This is not the life he expected when he was an up-and-coming young actor in California, but though a rare skin condition has made his original career plans untenable, he has found new opportunities as an audiobook narrator. Rowan’s eighth audiobook assignment is Alice Wein’s novel, Theo. The novel’s unconventional structure, form, and narration challenge Rowan personally and professionally. When he finishes his recording, he is as sad to leave Theo’s story as Alice was when she published the novel.

Miranda is a primary character. She changes in subtle ways over the course of her chapter, Part 3, Chapter 1, “Washington State 2012, The Artist.” Throughout the chapter, Miranda wrestles with familial and artistic questions. She has been establishing herself as an independent woman and artist ever since she left her home and mother in New York when she was 18. She attended college, traveled, and worked odd jobs before settling on an island in Washington State. This idyllic setting offers her creative time, space, and inspiration.

However, in the narrative present, Miranda remains anxious and confused. She has yet to resolve her fraught maternal relationship. She has yet to create something great. She finds inspiration for a new project when she breaks into the abandoned farmhouse neighboring her property. She spends days building a statue out of scraps from the house. She finishes the statue with paper wings, created from the torn pages of Theo, which her mother sends her in the mail. Though she doesn’t read the book, she gives it new life via her sculpture.

The narrator presents Tyler’s storyline in Part 3, Chapter 2, “Florida 2013, The Diver.” Tyler evolves over the course of his chapter, much like the other primary characters. In the narrative present, he finds himself unmoored and alone. His recent diving accident and breakup contribute to his unease. Throughout his life, Tyler has relied on swimming and diving as an escape from his internal unrest and troubled circumstances. Whenever he has felt lonely or despairing, he has retreated to the water, but the stroke he suffered during his latest dive has paused his diving career.

Tyler finds his ex-girlfriend Saylor’s copy of Theo in his living room and starts reading. He’s surprised that a book about a boy who’s afraid of water moves him. Reading Theo’s story gives him clarity on his life. Tyler realizes he doesn’t have to be as alone as he feels.

Nola’s narrative appears in Part 3, Chapter 4, “Northern California 2014, The Teenager.” This chapter presents the majority of Nola’s story, though, like many of the other primary characters, Nola reappears later in the novel. Nola’s life intersects with Madeline’s life in Part 3, Chapter 7, “New York City 2019, The Agent,” when Madeline hires her to help sort her enormous collection of books. Both Nola and Madeline have a deep connection to Alice Wein’s Theo—Madeline is the agent who shepherded the book to publication, while Nola is a reader for whom the book was a source of healing in an immensely difficult period of her life. This coincidence is further evidence of Story as a Form of Connection.

In Part 3, Chapter 4, Nola is living in a shed on her school’s property. Her father is dead, and her mother has disappeared. Nola learns to rely upon books and reading to survive her circumstances. She is smart and sensitive but retreats from social situations to protect herself. She’s ashamed of her story and doesn’t want her teachers and peers to use it against her.

Nola’s perspective changes when she reads Theo for English class. Nola learns to regard her past and present in a new way because she has learned to resee her life story. No Two Persons doesn’t rely upon high action to propel it from beginning to end. Similarly, Bauermeister’s characters don’t undergo sensational changes. Rather, like Nola, they all experience small internal shifts. Nola’s teacher gives her a new place to live by the chapter’s end, but Nola’s primary evolutions are mental and emotional.

Kit’s story is told in Part 3, Chapter 4, “Maine 2016, The Bookseller.” In the narrative present, Kit feels content. He works as a bookseller and lives with his girlfriend, Annalise. Though his job doesn’t pay much, he has investments that have made him financially stable. He has a loving family. He has often felt uncertain about his identity and his future, but his present relationship has lent him a welcome sense of clarity.

Kit’s life and outlook change when he reads Theo. The novel answers questions he didn’t know he needed to ask, reconnects him with his truest self, and inspires him to remake his life. Before he finishes the book, Kit breaks up with Annalise. He reconnects with his family and reinvests in his work. He secures a new home, where he finishes reading Alice’s novel. The book has made Kit’s future exciting again.

William is introduced in Part 3, Chapter 5, “Northeastern California 2017, The Caretaker.” A 62-year-old widower, he has a daughter, Clara, with whom he has been distant since his wife, Abigail, passed away. Shortly before Abigail’s death, William discovered that Clara had been helping her starve to death. Abigail wanted to die voluntarily in order to avoid a more protracted and painful death from cancer.

William feels hopeless without Abigail. He sells his home and takes a job as the caretaker of a ghost town. He tells himself the job will save him. However, throughout his time at the ghost town, William’s spirit wanes. He regrets his decisions, considers giving up, and fears dying alone. His hope returns when he finds Abigail’s annotated copy of Theo among his things. Reading Abigail’s annotations lifts his spirit. He feels as if he is conversing with Abigail once more.

Juliet is another primary character, introduced in Part 3, Chapter 6, “Southern California 2018, The Coordinator.” Juliet is married to Richard, with whom she has a young daughter named Josie. She works as an intimacy coordinator, choreographing sex scenes in film.

Juliet’s life is stable and predictable, and her work is rewarding. However, Juliet starts to question her circumstances when she listens to her ex-lover Rowan’s audiobook narration of Theo. Theo changes how she sees her life, reminds her of her past, and fills her mind with questions. After she returns home from a shoot in France and finishes the book, Juliet realizes that her life is good. Theo has rekindled her gratitude and will.