Beierle weaves a fascinating if implausible story of conjoined twins trying to forge as normal an existence as possible. Porter and Owen Jamison try to maintain a moderate degree of independence, but it's not an easy feat with one torso between them. In high school, Porter is a cheerleader-dating football player, while Owen prefers the quiet company of books. As they mature and experience sexual awakenings, Owen, who narrates, realizes he's gay. Since "PorterandOwen" share the same plumbing, a new set of necessary negotiations ensue. But when Porter marries Faith Colquitt, a young woman from a conservative Southern background, her parents learn to accept Porter, but their homophobia creates even more pain for Owen-especially after he falls in love with Faith's brother, Chase. Though narrator Owen does a lot of unnecessary, repetitive dwelling on his "otherness," Beierle handles his material for the most part with a light touch.
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"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
