No Two Persons: A Novel

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Have you ever read a novel in stories before (examples might include Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, or Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried)? How did this one compare? Alternatively, how did the experience of reading a novel in stories compare to reading a traditional novel and/or a traditional collection of short stories?
• Which story was your favorite, and why? Your least favorite?
• What do you make of the novel’s title? How did it shape your expectations of the work? Did your understanding of it change as the novel unfolded?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Part 2 of No Two Persons consists of reviews of the novel-within-a-novel Theo. How much do reviews matter to you when choosing what to read? How do you account for the diversity of opinions on a given book, even among reviewers?
• The novel explores several marriages or otherwise long-term relationships. What does it suggest about the ingredients that make for a successful partnership? Do you agree? Why or why not? 
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