It seems that No Two Persons was made for One Book One Community.
Author Erica Bauermeister believes so, making her visit to Alliance one that she is excited about..
“I am looking forward to seeing you all,” said Bauermeister. “What you all are doing here - reading as a community, having your different reactions, is No Two Persons writ large. I cannot imagine a more perfect setting to discuss this book.”
Bauermeister will address readers inside the Brush Performance Hall inside the Giese Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of Mount Union at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 27.
The event is open to the public and registration is not required.
Copies of No Two Persons as well as her other works by Bauermeister will be available for sale that eveing and the author will sign books following her remarks.
Ahead of her visit, Bauermeister answered some questions about her work and her book.
Here’s what she had to say:
Q: The title No Two Persons comes from the quote that “No two persons ever read the same book or saw the same picture.” When you talk to readers, are you ever surprised how they are impacted in different ways by your work?
A: As a teacher, and then as an author visiting with book clubs, I was intrigued by how differently each reader could interpret the same book. That experience taught me to see books not as words set in stone, but as springboards for discussion. No Two Persons has been a real discussion-starter, in part because of its topic, but also because its characters are so different from one another. One reader's favorite character can drive another person crazy, and the reactions have everything to do with where readers are in their lives when they open the cover and start reading.
By now, each character in No Two Persons has spoken to someone, and been taken into their heart. It has been an extraordinary experience to hear from readers about how a particular character’s story has changed their lives or helped them deal with trauma or grief. I wrote a novel about how books can touch us, and yet I am still surprised by the depth of its impact.
Q: No Two Persons tells the narrative of different characters that intertwine, but could stand alone as short stories. Some of your other work does the same. Can you talk about this short story cycle and how you have developed that style?
A: Looking back, I think I started writing interconnected stories because I was a mother with two kids and a full-time job. Holding a 300-page plot line in my mind was simply impossible. But I could play with stories in my head at two in the morning or while I was driving to work. And I came to love the combination of delicacy and power that you can have in short stories. They contain an entire arc in a few thousand words, and while the story tends to center on a small moment, the moment is almost always life-changing. They remind me of those pictures you can find when you open the doors of an old paper advent calendar. Quick and intimate glimpses that contain everything.
When I first started writing interconnected stories, the books had strong structural centers — a cooking school and its students, a group of friends in a cancer support group. With No Two Persons I stepped out into more nebulous territory, keeping the characters as strangers for the most part, making the connections more gossamer. It allows the focus to be on each reader and their reaction to Theo, while at the same time reminding us of how intertwined we all are, even when we don’t realize it. It is a more complicated structure, but I love how readers have risen to the challenge.
Q: Do you think you will ever develop any of the characters in No Two Persons into a full-length novel? Will you ever bring any back in future work?
A: For now, each character’s arc feels completed to me, so I currently don’t feel the need. But then again, I said I wouldn’t write a sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients and I ended up doing just that, so I’ve learned to never say never.
Q: After reading No Two Persons, readers have wondered about the story of Theo, the fictionalized book that impacts every character in a different way. Have you ever thought about writing that book, or is that just something that you feel would be better left to the imaginations of your readers?
A: I had a choice when writing No Two Persons as to how much of Theo I would include. Excerpts? Big chunks of explanation? I’ve seen that done in other books, and brilliantly. But if I had done that, my readers’ focus would naturally have shifted to their relationship with Theo. I wanted the focus to remain on the characters and how Theo changed their lives.
That said, I love how Theo creates a through-line in No Two Persons. We start with Alice writing her novel, then we follow the plot line of Theo as it is passed from character to character like a baton in a literary relay race, each character responding to the next chronological part of Theo’s story until we reach the end with Madeline. In the end, we get Theo's whole arc, if not all the details.
Q: Did you always want to write?
A: Yes. But it took me a while to gain the skills and experience to be the kind of writer I wanted to be. I’ve always been far more interested in character than plot, and that often requires some growing up.
Q: Who were/are your favorite authors that inspire you?
A: Oh, so many. Jane Austen and E.M. Forster for their ability to show us what people aren’t saying. Susan Vreeland, Sandra Cisneros, and Elizabeth Strout for teaching me about interconnected stories. Charlotte McConaghy, Toni Morrison, and Lily Brooks-Dalton for making me want to be a better wordsmith. Richard Powers for his ability to include so much information with such lyricism. Patrick Suskind and Diane Ackerman for their amazing attention to the sensory. Tillie Olsen for teaching me that you can make ordinary things extraordinary through the simple power of words.
Q: Your first novel wasn’t published until you were nearly 50, but now you have a string of best-sellers. What advice would you give aspiring writers of any age?
A: The best two lessons I learned on my way to being a published author: 1) Questions make better books than answers, and 2) Your characters are more important than your ego.
Q: How do you find your inspiration and what is your process to move an idea to a finished book?
A: Some writers have a muse; I have curiosity. I visit a book club and it makes me wonder — why do we all read the same book differently? And that question, eventually, turns into a structure for a novel: one book, nine readers. Then one day, I chance upon a book about free-diving and my reaction is why would someone want to do that? (the fact that I am terrified of free diving makes it even more interesting to me). I research things I am curious about and the characters bloom out of what I find, becoming their own stories. Once I have a few characters, I start pulling them together, seeing their connections, developing the through lines. The process requires a fascinating balance of control and letting go.
Q: What can people expect when they come see you during your visit to Alliance?
A: I’m a pretty open book, as they say. I’m open to questions, and open to differences of opinion because I think the best education comes from examining and sharing our differences. I love the idea of No Two Persons starting conversations and I’m looking forward to being part of them.