DOUBLE DUCE

by Aaron Cometbus

What Kerouac was to the Beat generation, Aaron Cometbus is to the punk scene in Berkeley, California. In this first novel, his slacker kids ponder life's mundane questions with the seriousness of ancient how to get by on no money, where to scam free photocopies, and the finer points of food filching. Through a haze of beer and Top Ramen, they engage in endless debates about the nature of punk rock rage.

Genres: Fiction, Punk, Music, Short Stories

172 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Aaron Elliott, better known as Aaron Cometbus, is a drummer, lyricist, self-described "punk anthropologist" and author of Cometbus, a seminal punk rock zine.

Reviews

[Fairview Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim's Review:
Those of us who grew up and cut our teeth in punk houses - those wild and glorious places filled with ever-increasing mania and poverty-driven ingenuity - know that mainstream representations of our experiences, politics, sanity, and motivations are often watered-down, commodified versions of the real thing - if not flat-out, unresearched lies. Admittedly, accurate representation of punk rock life is far from a priority when there are so many more important causes out there to fight for, but, all the same, when an honest exploration of life as a punk hits the shelves, its sheer existence is refreshing by contrast alone. Enter: Double Duce.

While the world of Aaron Cometbus and his wild gang of misfits may seem exaggerated or glamorized to the uninitiated, for those of us who were lucky (or brave, or crazy?) enough to experience life as proud and unabashed punks, his words ring both true and inspiring. Part cautionary tale, part ode, and part how-to manual, Double Duce is an endearing and honest examination of the lifestyle so many of us hold dear to our hearts - even if we’ve grown too old to hop turnstiles, steal beer, and devote ourselves full-time to the marvelous and unruly life of punk rock youth.

[10thumbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Count me as another reader who really savors both Aaron Cometbus' writing and his deft ability to say something more about figuring out life through his stories -- real, fictional or reimagined. This is his recounting of a house he lived in but also another of his love letters to punk, Berkeley and life. (FWIW, I'm late to the party with Cometbus -- having largely ignored it in real time, despite many friends' reverence -- and am now going back and reading them backwards. It probably puts me in a minority that thus far I've *loved* his last 3-4 books slightly more than the vague romanticism of his earlier work. Maybe I just love that he's gotten harder on himself as he gets older; I can relate.)

Loved this passage -- even or maybe because of how it cuts close to home -- spoken by his "inner grandfather": "Family, Aaron, is not you and a punk girl in a dumpster. Neither is it isolation and self-sufficiency on a farm in bumfuck nowhere. Family is the great family of man. Family is the strangers passing on the street in the city, mutual respect and subtle interdependence. Settling down means becoming comfortable with yourself and your role in society, not selling out."

There's also, for me, a sadness about the sometimes wasted potential of punk, of the disillusionment, the burnout, that comes through here. And why I slightly preferred Cometbus #46: The Dead End to this one.

But maybe that sadness just comes into greater relief because of Aaron's insistence in fighting it, in 'being productive", (as he calls it), in making punk culture, of fulfilling the 'D' in DIY. Or maybe it's that I'm now an old dad who makes it to two shows a year and spends 12 hrs a day staring at computer screens of all sizes. Either way more great stuff from Cometbus.

[sil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to find a minimum of navel-gazing and self-aggrandizement in the first Cometbus novel. Aaron Cometbus is slyly self-deprecating in role as a (self-described) "punk anthropologist".

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t make it past 50 pages. Perhaps it’s that I lived a similar life and didn’t care for the crusties who were that much more debaucherous and nihilistic than us when I was amongst them. That’s basically what I saw in these characters. The punk rock nihilism that even as a punk rock child and early teen I could see as being silly, cartoony and childish. That Sid and Nancy bullshit. To say the least: it never spoke to me then and it doesn’t now.

I love the aesthetic of Cometbus though and i love Pinhead Gunpoweder and Crimpshrine. I love their records and the designs and art and zine style inserts. I collected the records and loved doing it. So I thought I should read Cometbus. I did when I was young and it was fun I think, I don’t remember, but now it just doesn’t grab me. Oh well.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of one thousand punk houses across the country as only Aaron Cometbus could tell it. A fun read all around.

[AutomaticSlim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on the toilet, over a hundred shits, and lemme tell you, it's the best spot to read it.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guess you had to be there.

[xDEAD ENDx · Rating 2 out of 5]

How many punks does it take to change a lightbulb?

What a ridiculous question, punks don't know shit about changing.

[Matthew Snope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably Cometbus at the height of his talent, before getting more mainstream seemed to change something in him. Self-published (or at least it was originally self-published) tales of punk rock life and the strange and darkly funny adventures he gets in. Characters so real you can almost feel them in your life (they probably are real people, in fact). Cometbus tackles philosophical themes and just-as-important minutiae with equal ability and clarity. A joy to read, something I look forward to re-reading later in my life, if I live that long. After this novel I began to not be as satisfied with his output, but Double Duce and before-era Cometbus is awesome. He just goes to show that your average punk is not some panhandling gutterpunk fuckup or some rebel misunderstanding anarchy, but a highly intelligent person who has found most, if not all, of societal institutions and mores to be utter oppressive bullshit, and has sought to create a different and better world than the one we live in. Far from a late 1970s fad or subculture to be dismissed, Cometbus shows why a punk mentality and lifestyle is in fact a crucial part of the world, and worth pursuing. The characters in this novel are alive in ways most people aren't.

[Chilly SavageMelon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a hard time looking at this critically, as I'm such a sucker for Aaron's stuff. In fact it never even occurred to me to think of this as something to post on GR, as I got the $2 zine of Double Deuce and not the LG reprint, until I saw it on some one else's list. So I can only offer another gushy gushy positive review, though I cringe at the overt "berkeley punk" and Kerouac name dropping. I think of it as zine culture, and one of the best examples thereof, so on that level, owes as much to Bukowski and lofi small press pioneers as much as anything... Anyway, a personal inspiration. I shit myself when I saw he'd printed a letter I'd sent him 12 years ago in a recent issue. But the mini novel issues are always my favorite.

[Erica Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe I'm biased because I think over the course of my late teens an early twenties I have been to quite a few houses that reminded me of the Double Duece. I have probably slept on the floor in them and felt gross. But reading the book makes me nostalgic for it in a weird way. I just think if you have any punk rock tendencies or experience in the "punk lifestyle" that this is the best book ever. It's just so hilariously true, kinda gross and facinating all at the same time. I love me some Cometbus. Plus I feel cool reading it on the subway cause people always ask me about the handwritten business. It's some of Cometbus' best writing. The zines are great, but I think this a good introduction.

[Stryc · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Double Deuce' my possibly be my favorite book. And for sure, Aaron is my favorite writer of all time.

Cometbus really has a talent for portraying uncomfortable situations in a sweet & sentimental light. I laughed my way through! Every character seemed like an old friend in a way. They are all just a bunch of irresponsible punks living in Berkeley, CA. Lots of fun adventures & stories of pissing off the cops, selling fanzines, destroying everything in sight & having great times with the roomates.

I definitely recommend this to anyone, especially if the punk rock life fascinates them.

[Abram Himelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay- Despite what the Rev. J. LeSchwes says- this book is the shit. A punk rock retelling of Steinbeck's Tortilla Flats- and on par with the original. This is the perfect novel of the East Bay punks (at least to an outsider)- good theory, great rationalizations, deep cynicism, and attempts at absurdist beauty- with the extra bonus of perhaps the best front and back cover of all of the Cometbuses.

[Carissa Weibley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the prose. I think that not having a plot allows you to slow down and really focus on the little nuances of the writing. He throws all these little funny observations and quirky scenarios in that make you stop and ponder. Ponder what, I'm not sure, but in any instance, it was enjoyable. The only drawback is that the book is printed in all caps and "handwriting" font which made it slightly annoying to read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is set in the 80s and follows the misadventures of a group of lovable fuck-ups in Berkeley who listen to punk rock, "squat" in abandoned buildings, play in punk bands, have runs ins with the police, never have jobs, drug abuse, etc. A very entertaining read...makes a good break when you need something light and not serious. The author, Aaron Cometbus, is in a "secret" band with Billie Joe from GREEN DAY (he plays drums) called Pinhead Gunpowder.

[pa'tí m · Rating 5 out of 5]

DELICIOUS!

i enjoyed almost every second and got very intimate with cometbus' work...I know I'm enjoying a book when I start to believe that I know the people I'm reading about and want to call them to hang out by the waterfront or grab some coffee.

I found a copy of the Despite Everything collection at Pegasus' on Shattuck for 8$, I probably won't read that all the way through like this (short) one, but I'm proud and excited to have it as part of my library.

[Emily Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister and I read this book to each other on a road trip we took to go visit our cousin. It was amazing and holds fantastic memories.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah dude cometbus at his BEST! punk-pulp kingpin!

...actually i just reread this one and it's entertaining if you just plow through it and don't think, just picking out each individual detail/incident/whatever. the problem is that the characters just aren't fully realized, not a one of them...

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like his writing a lot, but it took 18 months of putting down and picking up to finish this 170 page book. Too long. Aaron and his bud dies at a squalid Berkeley squat and their trials was a little much for me but his writing was good enough. At the end of the long narrative, there were other stories included and I found them stronger and more entertaining.

[Dena · Rating 5 out of 5]

well written. hilarious. not too much of the 90s ideological emo dribble that is so unpalletable to look back on. i agree with trevor: if you were ever into that whole 90s punk scene, i totally recommend this quick read.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

At one time, as in when I was 17, this was my favorite. I tried to read it when it came out in paperback form and I just couldn't get through it. I guess I don't think Cometbus is all that romantic anymore.

[Mrnotarides notarides · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about a bunch of punks living in a punkhouse on one level, but deeper it is about what happens to those who chose to drop out of society. It is sad in parts and beautiful in others.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Double Duce makes me nostalgic for high school, when I lived for Cometbus, Operation Ivy, Naddy Ice, The Weatherstone and midnight romps through McKinley Park.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite of Aaron Cometbus's amazing writings. Great tales of 90's punks on the streets of Berkeley.

[Amanda ( 0 )( 0 ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As beautiful and sexy as anything else he writes. 5 motherfuckin' stars!

[owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

sentimental squatting in california. diamonds in your eyes and rats in your toilet.

[michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's cometbus - what's not to love?

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

an awesome novelette about a crazy house in oakland that aaron lived in. one of the best issues, and that's saying a lot.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this Cometbus novel. Highly recommended. Hilarious and crazy and wonderful.

[Caroline Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a classic.