No Two Persons: A Novel

The novel’s 10 primary characters are connected by their common appreciation for stories. On their surface, Alice Wein, Lara, Rowan, Miranda, Tyler, Nola, Kit, William, Juliet, and Madeline Armstrong appear to be disparate, unrelated characters. They are unique individuals with distinct personalities, troubles, and histories. The narrative structure and form enact these distinctions. As Rowan observes of Alice’s characters in Theo, Bauermeister’s characters have “a piece of glass between them. A distance they couldn’t overcome” (73). The characters exist in separate spheres and are isolated and lonely. Their circumstances beget the same question Rowan asks after reading Theo: “Is it always like this? […] Can we never truly connect” (79)? However, the novel challenges this idea by connecting the characters via Alice’s novel, Theo. The novel emerges as an overt thread linking the characters to each other. In spite of their differences, all 10 characters encounter and resurrect the text in their minds. Theo’s story becomes embedded within each of their stories.