Paul Christensen's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-doubleman"

The Doubleman by Christopher J. Koch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well-written and well-structured novel dealing with Tasmania, occultism, and the electric folk scene of the ‘60s. Its fictional band ‘The Rhymers’ are like a cross between Fairport Convention, The Seekers, and the Manson Family. The characters are very vivid and you get a strong sense of what they look and talk like.

The weak point of the book is the rather sinister Darcy Burr, who is clearly modelled on Koch’s perception of Charles Manson (one of his disciples is even called Pipsqueak…an obvious reference to Lynette ’Squeaky’ Fromme). But it is never clear what Burr’s real motives are! Is he interested in ‘piercing the veil’ of the sensory world, like his master Clive Broderick? Or is he merely desperate for the shallow pleasures of celebrity, to the point where he will water his music down to please record company execs?

Aside from that ambiguity, highly recommended.



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