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The Double Bind
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The Double Bind / Chris Bohjalian - 4****
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Audiobook performed by Susan Denaker
4****
From the book jacket When college sophomore Laurel Estabrook is attacked 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 he won’t let anyone see. When Bobbie dies, Laurel discovers that he was telling the truth; 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.
My Reaction
Well, this definitely went in a direction I was not expecting! I don’t really want to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away.
Bohjalian crafts a compelling and intricate scenario with layer upon layer of complexity. I loved the way he drew me in, made me believe in Laurel – and Bobbie – and then forced me to reconsider the veracity of their claims. Throughout the work I am intrigued by and sympathetic to both Laurel and Bobbie, and particularly to the former as Bohjalian tells most of the story from Laurel’s perspective. The suspense builds relentlessly in the last five or six chapters, and I’m left breathless and drained at the end. And … wanting to start over again to see what clues Bohjalian left that I missed the first time around.
In the Author’s Note preceding the book, Bohjalian tells how he was inspired to write the novel when a friend shared with him a box of photographs that had been taken by a homeless man, Bob “Soupy” Cmpbell. Some of those extraordinary photos are sprinkled throughout the book.
The audio book is capably performed by Susan Denaker. She has good pacing and really brought Laurel to life for me. I could understand her hurt and confusion and frustration.