No Two Persons: A Novel

Alice Wein’s fictional novel, Theo, is a motif. Theo reappears in every chapter of No Two Persons. Bauermeister’s 10 primary characters are separated by time, geography, and circumstances, but they all encounter, experience, and learn from Alice’s novel. The book gains symbolic significance via each character’s distinct storyline and interaction with it. Theo “goes on to live in the readers’ minds, in a way that’s particular to each of them” (31). Writing Theo helps Alice heal after her brother, Peter’s, death. For Lara, Nola, and Rowan, reading Theo validates their experiences. For Kit, Juliet, and Madeline, reading Theo changes how they see their past, present, and future lives. For Tyler and William, reading Theo offers them comfort and renewal. For Miranda, Theo is a key to finishing her sculpture.

In these ways, Theo is an evolving symbol of escape and deliverance, validation, and healing. The book symbolizes all other books and the transformative power of reading. No Two Persons is saturated with references to Theo, thus underscoring the ways stories transcend their writers and transport their readers.