First Person Plural - Softcover

Beierle, Andrew W. M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0758219709 ISBN 13: 9780758219701

Publisher: Kensington Trade, 2007

Synopsis

In this stunning novel, Andrew W.M. Beierle brings to life characters at once unthinkably foreign and utterly real. Frank and fearless, sexy and witty, First Person Plural is a masterfully rendered, powerfully imaginative work, as complex and as extraordinary as the bonds of love. Owen and Porter Jamison are conjoined twins inhabiting one body with two heads, one torso, and two very different hearts. As children, they're seen as a single entity-Owenandporter, or more often, Porterandowen. As they grow to adulthood, their differences become more pronounced: Porter is outgoing and charismatic while Owen is cerebral and artistic. When Porter becomes a high school jock hero, complete with cheerleader girlfriend, a greater distinction emerges, as Owen gradually comes to realize that he's gay. Owen, a reluctant romantic, is content at first to settle for unrequited crushes. Porter's unease with his brother's sexuality leaves Owen feeling increasingly alienated from his twin, especially when Porter falls in love with Faith, and Owen becomes the unwilling third side of a complicated love triangle. When Owen finally begins to explore his own desires, the rift grows deeper. As Porter and Owen's carefully balanced arrangement of give-and-take, sacrifice and selfishness, is irrevocably shattered, each twin is left fighting for his relationship-and his future-in a battle of wills where winning seems impossible, and losing unthinkable . . . Andrew W. M. Beierle has been a journalist for more than thirty years. He has studied at the Bread Loaf, Sewanee, Napa Valley, and Kenyon Review writers' workshops.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"Deftly written and intricately imagined, Andrew Beierle has created twin brothers so original and compelling in First Person Plural that this extraordinary novel is destined to leave a profound and indelible impression on its reader. An auspicious achievement by a remarkably talented author." --Jameson Currier, author of Where the Rainbow Ends

"This is an utterly original story about two talented, drop-dead handsome men that share a, well, eccentricity. It's tender, comic, bittersweet, and well-written, with lovable characters, heartbreak, and redemption--in other words, with all the right ingredients." --Jan DeBlieu, author of Wind and Year of the Comet

"Upon reading the premise of this novel, I expected the easy route, a comedy, but what I got instead amazed and moved me, a daring novel filled with insights not only into the bizarre aspects of human anatomy but into the equally bizarre anatomy of human love. Andrew Beierle has given us a love story between two men bound by something stronger than love, flesh. First Person Plural reads like a memoir, as if it has been poured out of the heart of a man who has suffered first-hand the indignities and miracles described in this novel. How Mr. Beirle submerged himself so deeply I have no idea. This book will stagger you; but better yet it will remind you of something too easily forgotten: that human existence is by its very nature heroic." --Lee Durkee, author of Rides of the Midway

"Beierle's imagination and empathy have no limits. In First Person Plural he charts new emotional territory, bravely escorting us deep into the tangled relationships and complicated desires of his two unforgettable protagonists, whose tragedy is that they are both inseparable and profoundly divided. Welding great compassion to psychological acuity, Beierle forces us to confront the unthinkable." --Paula Peterson, winner of the Katharine Bakeless Nason Prize for nonfiction for Penitent with Roses

"In this story of two men born with different heads and different hearts but the same body, Andrew Beierle explores one of the most perplexing dilemmas we humans face: how much does a man owe to himself, as he searches for his own identity, and how much to those closest to him, in this case the other half of his own body? The fact that one of these joined twins is gay and the other straight leads, almost inevitably, to loneliness, confusion, and finally angry confrontation. Although we as readers may find ourselves wishing that each of these two men could have his own life - and his own love - we ultimately come to understand, as they do, that they cannot change what destiny has handed them. Their only choice is to find a way to live in harmony with each other. I salute both the courage and the insight that Beierle has brought to this engrossing and sensitively written story." --Robert Taylor, author of All We Have Is Now

"A metaphorical tale of differentness, an extended exploration of the complexities of identity --the possibilities, limitations and internal contradictions that exist in us all--First Person Plural is striking and original, and that rarity in fiction, a novel of ideas." --Katherine V. Forrest, author of Daughters of an Emerald Dusk

"What a remarkable book! The protagonist of Andrew Beierle's new novel is one of the most unique and unforgettable characters in fiction. Deftly written, funny, wise, and poignant, First Person Plural is an excitingly original addition to contemporary literature." -- Jeff Mann, author of Loving Mountains, Loving Men

About the Author:

Andrew W. M. Beierle has been a journalist for more than thirty years. He has studied at the Bread Loaf, Sewanee, Napa Valley, and Kenyon Review writers' workshops.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kensington Trade
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0758219709
• ISBN 13: 9780758219701
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336