Response to The Chameleon

The aspect of the story "The Chameleon" by David Grann that I enjoyed the most was the way that Frederic Bourdin's physical features were incorporated throughout the story. His features became highly relevant in the description of his identity theft of the teenager in Texas, which meant that it was easy for me to picture him throughout the piece. I liked this in contrast to other profiles, or pieces that I read, where the description is thrown at me all at once and never brought up again, so that I spend time having to try and connect actions and words to the imagined face with much more difficulty. By keeping the features present and relevant, whether in the off-hand mention of glasses over brown eyes or the balding hair, it was easy for me to picture the man Bourdin and get through the piece with an active inner eye.