Allan, Dan

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ALLAN, Dan

PERSONAL:

Married; children: two.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Viking Press, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER:

Worked in the software industry.

WRITINGS:

Lisa33, Viking (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Dan Allan's first book, Lisa33, is a unique creation. The book is written in the form of electronic conversations between two would-be adulterers, Lisa33 and Tag. The two first meet in a sex chat room, Literoticus.com, but soon develop a relationship that goes far beyond anonymous cybersex. Both Lisa33, a stay-at-home mother from Georgia, and Tag, a corporate lawyer, are dissatisfied with their lives and marriages. In the safe anonymity of the Web they talk these feelings out—between other, steamier, talks—as well as comment about their childhoods, the challenges of parenting a small child, and other aspects of their lives. Many of the conversations captured in Lisa33 are X-rated, but, as a Kirkus Reviews critic commented, because of the many larger issues discussed, the book as a whole "falls far short of porn."

Of course, it is the nature of chat rooms that many people are having simultaneous conversations, and the adventures of other members of the chat room as they interrupt Tag and Lisa33 provide some comic relief—particularly the travails of Satish11, a virginal Indian medical student who wants to please but needs some help in the dirty talk department. These secondary characters, Jennifer Armstrong wrote in Entertainment Weekly, are "vivid and hilarious." Some of these regulars develop what seem to be deep relationships, including Moonbeam and Steve, who decide to meet in person. Tag and Lisa33 consider doing the same, but this idea forces them to confront a difficult choice: do they really want to throw away their marriages and their current lives, or were they just looking for a momentary escape?

Although the form of the novel, consisting entirely of transcripts of instant messages, chat room sessions, and emails, is unique, it also presents some challenges for Allan. Because the reader only knows the facts about the characters that the characters wish to reveal, they "are little more than flattering self-portraits, broadly drawn," Stephanie Perry wrote in a review posted on Steph's Book Reviews; "frustratingly, the really crucial information remains in the blank gaps between brushstrokes."