The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian 
Release date: 2007 / 6 hours
Synopsis (from back cover): When college sophomore Laurel Estabrook is attached while riding her bicycle through Vermont’s back roads, her life is forever changed. Formerly outgoing, Laurel withdraws into her photography and begins to work at a homeless shelter. There she meets Bobbie Crocker, a man with a history of mental illness and a box of photographs that he won’t let anyone see. When Bobbie dies suddenly, Laurel discovers that before he was homeless, Bobbie Crocker was a successful photographer. As Laurel’s fascination with Bobbie’s former life begins to merge into obsession, she becomes convinced that some of his photographs reveal a deeply hidden, dark family secret.
Review: I am really not sure where to begin with this review. My husband bought me this on CD to shorten my daily hour commute to and from the barn and that it did.
At its heart, The Double Bind is a mystery — which I rarely read. The story opens with a brutal attack, near rape and probable murder, and then continues with the survivor’s obsession with a homeless man’s photographs.
The photos are of James Gatz, Daisy, Tom, and Pamela Buchanan… yes, that’s right, the photos are of the characters from The Great Gatsby. And Pamela Buchanan is actually a character in this novel!
However, interspersed throughout the narrative are strange, abrupt reports from a psychologist about his client. Soooo, I couldn’t help but wonder what was “true” and what was “fiction” throughout.
Now I won’t spoil the ending, but I will state that this uncertainty was a bit unsettling — like fictional vertigo — and I wondered if this feeling is common when reading mysteries in general. Obviously, not all mysteries borrow characters from other fiction, but there must be a sense of unknowing in order for a mystery to be successful, right?
So, I end my review with a recommendation and offer of a free copy (simply leave me a comment to be in the running) — and with a question to anyone who frequently reads mysteries: Should I expect a sense of vertigo when reading a mystery?
Sounds intriguing! Count me in.
I think the intention of the mystery genre is to constantly leave the reader a bit out of balance…the trick is to try to solve the mystery, given its tricks and turns, before the author solves it for you. Please enter me into the giveaway; I love Bohjalian’s work but I haven’t read this one!
I’ve never read anything by this author, but I’d be interested in this one.
This book sounds fascinating, especially since I am a photographer. I read The Midwife (I think it’s called) a long time ago and enjoyed it. I also find mysteries to be unsettling and sometimes I just have to peek ahead or there is too much tension for me. I’m one of the rare few who likes to have the ending spoiled for me.
You’ve got me curious now, I’d loved to read this book! Please enter me!
You’re all in the running! I’ll choose a winner later today!!
I’m not sure about vertigo and mysteries.
I don’t read many.
But I’ve always been interested in The Double Bind.
Do you think I would have to read Great Gatsby first? It’s one I haven’t read…
As a regular mystery reader, I occasionally feel what you experienced although I’ve never thought of it as vertigo. Sometimes I think of being adrift and I’ve grown to kind of expect and like the feeling. Since with a conventional mystery things are always neatly tied up in the end, it’s kind of fun to see how my “rescue” will unfold. While not exactly a mystery writer, John LeCarre often gives me this sense of walking on thin ice. I’m in the midst of listening to THE MOST WANTED MAN (?) right now and I really have to be on my toes to follow the plot. Being a loyal fan of his, I know my attentiveness will pay off and I always appreciate his psychological character development. I think I might like Bohjalian’s book — I’ve never read anything of his.
Hmmm… Honestly, I do think you should read Gatsby first. Otherwise you will miss at what point Bohjalian departs from the original — plus, the mystery just won’t have the same impact… or even make sense, really… I should have mentioned that in my review!!
I’ve been meaning to read LeCarre for quite some time… Is The Most Wanted Man his latest? I know his most recent has really received a lot of good press!
You won, Eve!! Congratulations!
Definitely sounds intesting. Please enter me.
Thanks
sharon54220@gmail.com
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I love mysteries. thanks again for the opportunity to win.
A great mystery, that I would love to read,
thanks for a great giveway. I would really
like to win this book.