Search - The Double Bind

I had read many good reviews of this book, I was hopeing that I would not be disappointed. I was not - this is an excellent, excellent book. The author is a masterful storyteller, keeping you engrossed the entire time, giving away only a little information at a time, not revealing too much ahead of time. I don't want to say too much, it would give away too much of the story, all I can say is that you must read this book!

What a great novel! I can't say enough about how this book catches you up in the story line so you forget everything you ever knew about The Great Gatsby. I highly suggest you review the Great Gatsby before reading this book by Bohjalian, but it's not really necessary. And the twists and turns you'll follow makes you think you have experienced a double bind, too. Not to be missed if you are looking for great word crafting, mind bending, and/or light mystery.

This is a 10+ on a 1-10 scale--but you MUST read Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatzby" first for context. Laurel Estabrook is a social worker in a homeless shelter, who was severely attacked 7 years ago, while out for a bike ride. After one of her clients dies, she "inherits" a box of photographs, which intrigue her because so many of the settings are places from her past. She grew up in the same neighborhood as the Gatsby house, which appears in the photos, and one picture even appears to be herself on the day she was attacked. She sets out to discover who her client really was and becomes obsessed with the pursuit.

Meh . . . really enjoyed the Buffalo Soldier, but this one kind of lost me. Yes, there was a twist at the end, but I kept asking myself in the middle of this book "is this really worth finishing?" Passed my "50 page test" in the beginning, but not by much. I don't know . . . I guess I would give one more of his books a try, but wouldn't necessarily recommend this one. No doubt he's a talented writer, but there were some story lines that just didn't come together for me.

I really enjoyed the characters of The Great Gatsby being turned into real, live people in this book. I actually found myself questioning whether Fitzgerald's classic novel was based on a true story! Of course, I had to re-read Gatsby after so many years the second I was through with Double Bind. You'll probably want to do the same, so make sure you've got a copy on hand while in possession of this book.

On the negative side... I hate when I'm told ahead of time that a book or movie "has a twist at the end". My mind automatically goes into sleuth-mode and any "surprise" is figured out midway through. Which stinks, because I think the book would have been awesome otherwise. So, I'm sorry for throwing that out there along with a few other reviewers on this page, but the point is to let others know to STOP DOING THAT FROM NOW ON! Yes, M. Night Shaymalan, I'm talking to you.

ehhhh......Overall I liked this book. But the ending was brought together to quickly. Would make a good movie. Easy quick read, and it did keep me interested. However I just had to many questions at the end. A little more could have been done as an epilogue.