While I was rooting around looking for a quick, fun read, I came across this book that I must have picked up at a Book Expo, maybe 15 years ago. I was intrigued by the premise: a father of (grown) quadruplet sons commits suicide, leaving a note to his sons that one of them is not really their brother. The father and sons share a single name: Jake Barnes, but the sons have rebelled against the father over the years by changing their appearances and taking on nicknames. The now go by names based on their place of residence, such as Holly for Hollywood, Dal for Dallas, Ally for Alaska, and Enwiece (for NYC), although he's recently changed his name to Jacob. After their father's death, the four begin a project to find out who the outsider is, each secretly hoping that it's himself. What unfolds is akin to a mystery story, told from four perspectives, with each son tracking down key information about their origin. One of the charming things about this book is the parallel universe-type anachronisms: they travel by blimp, not airplanes; people carry 8-track players, rather than CD players; the phones are still rotary-style, and payphones are still common. This book got very mixed reviews on Amazon, by the all of 10 people who reviewed it; I enjoyed it, although my head is still spinning and I'm not 100% sure that I know exactly what happened at the end.
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