Doppelganger

Synopsis

In journalist Naomi Klein’s ninth novel Doppelganger, she documents her experience being mistaken by the public for her political opposite, Naomi Wolf, a feminist-turned-conspiracy theorist who happens to look just like her. Through examinations of Wolf’s rhetoric and the platforms she occupies, a common thread of rhetorical manipulation is revealed. This book revolves comparisons between so-called ‘mirror worlds,’ or how social media, corporatization, and politicics are fragmented and distorted depending on the powers involved, and these ideas are used to pick apart the frameworks of anti-vaxxers, Zionists, and those who perpetuate origin myths and racial inequalities. Through doubles between people and places; real and digital, the reader is guided into seeing patterns they may not have noticed before, opening them up to new perspectives.

Review

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I picked up this book thinking it was fiction, and while I don’t normally reach for dense nonfiction, I’m glad I pushed through. Klein builds her work on extensive research and even pulls details from films and literature to prove each point in a dynamic way. This book offers a unique interpretation of how people become intertwined with shock doctrines and grifting, in the case of anti-vaxxers, nationalists, and other groups. While Klein scrapes the surface of how to decenter the self in an ever-growing attention economy, as well as the interplay of personal branding and capitalism, her solutions are somewhat abstract so that by the end of the book, you have a great wealth of knowledge but nowhere to offload it in an actionable way. Klein ultimately culminates her talking points with the message that people aren’t to blame for being divisive, but the systems that govern them.