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seventhswan's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.25
This was my first time reading Naomi Klein, though her work came recommended so my expectations were high. Doppelganger lived up to these expectations - I found it to be an engaging, insightful look at a range of related political and social issues, using ideas about doubling and replication as a springboard. Notably, this is the first text of any length I've read where I came away feeling like I'd actually improved my understanding of the politics surrounding Israel and Palestine.
I found the section on autism a little random - slightly strange in tone and out of step with the rest of the book, even though the changeling-as-doppelganger theory made for an obvious link to the title. Klein's denial that autism is a disability ("just a different way of being human" - well-meaning, but no!) meant she didn't engage with disability politics in that section too closely, instead critiquing the Autism Mom Community largely on their promotion of medical misinformation. None of this content was incorrect, of course, but something just felt... off.
Overall, though, this was a few pages of a largely excellent book, and I'll look to read more by Klein in future.
I found the section on autism a little random - slightly strange in tone and out of step with the rest of the book, even though the changeling-as-doppelganger theory made for an obvious link to the title. Klein's denial that autism is a disability ("just a different way of being human" - well-meaning, but no!) meant she didn't engage with disability politics in that section too closely, instead critiquing the Autism Mom Community largely on their promotion of medical misinformation. None of this content was incorrect, of course, but something just felt... off.
Overall, though, this was a few pages of a largely excellent book, and I'll look to read more by Klein in future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, and Violence
siebensommer's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.25
at times it feels like it's losing itself in so many different themes (all very important and well-researched) and then you get to the end and all comes together.. oof
in fact it makes a certain kind of sick sense that our era of peak personal branding has coincided so precisely with an unprecedented crisis point for our shared home. the vast complex planetary crisis requires coordinated collective effort on an international scale. that may be theoretically possible, but it sure is daunting. far easier to master ourselves - the brand called you.
we did [change the discourse] but we appear to have done it at the precise moment when words and ideas underwent a radical currency devaluation
what is the alternative that is being offered on this side of the glass? do we have a plan for a world without sacrificial people? and does that plan feel credible, rooted in action?
we are not, and never were, selfmade. we are made and unmade by one another
hitler [...] was not the civilised democratic west's evil other, but its shadow, its doppelganger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ivvtheral's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Conspiracy theorists get the facts wrong but often get the feelings right ... The word for the system driving those feelings starts with c, but if no one ever taught you how capitalism works, and instead told you it was all about freedom and sunshine and Big Macs and playing. y the rules to get the life you deserve, then its easy to see how you might confuse it with another c-word: conspiracy.
Naomi Klein (not Wolf) and her trip into the Mirror World proved to be a surprisingly light-hearted read for a topic so serious, and by its very nature, dark. This is something I picked up on a whim, having recognised her name from the much-worn copy of No Logo I'd inherited from some random, Little Free Library that I haven't visited in years. I expected little, and I received a lot.
Klein put into words a lot of the feelings I myself have had since I first began paying attention to brief mentions of a mysterious illness in late 2019. It was nice to see my thoughts, my feelings, and my utter hopelessness at the (seemingly) sudden change in western society that has cost lives and relationships, and to see it in a way that was clear, precise, and not altogether hopeless.
Contemplating capitalism and conspiracy, and their innate relationship, Klein tracks her own veritable doppelgängers descent into something other than reality; a path many have set out on since the first lockdowns of 2020. This path many took was ridiculed. Worse, those that led others down the path were seemingly immune to reason, to logic.
Impunity can drive a person mad. Maybe it can drive a whole society mad.
I needed to read this, I think, to find perspective, and to feel less alone. I think there's a lot of people who need to read this so as to reframe a lot of their feelings and confusion and general shrugging in the face of absurdism. It helps. And, it gives hope.
All of this destabilisation places demands on us: to change, to reassess, and to reimagine who we need to become.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Ableism
sydapel's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I really don't rate non-fiction, but we're making an exception for this one since it's one of the only books I've read that discusses our current political polarization without making me feel entirely defeated. Klein approaches alt right talking points with context, facts and a deep amount of empathy that both holds these pundits accountable while recognizing how they've gotten there. I also appreciate the reference made to other explorations of dopplegangers and double-think, it really brings the book together in such a satisfying way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
This was such a fascinating read and not what I was expecting (I don't read premises, so idk what I was expecting actually....).
I am a tiny bookstagrammer who shares a username with other "bookish millennial"s whose "brands" are much different than mine; they focus on SJM, Fourth Wing, etc. while I ..... do not - no shade, we are just different! I found the premise of this so relatable and compelling. I'm no one, but Naomi Klein's career and brand is deeply impacted by having this author doppelganger. Absolutely wild.
I also heavily related to this because I too, have lost loved ones to the "mirrorworld," who dove deep into the covid, 5G, and other endless political conspiracies that have spread like wildfire since the pandemic shutdown in 2020. It's painful, exhausting, and leaves you in a bit of despair wondering why they can't be pulled back from the dudebro podcasts or vile Trump camp. I appreciated that Klein weaved in so much context about how these ran rampant and gained such strong traction, because it ironically made me feel less alone in my own grief of the people I love changing right in front of me.
The way we think about our online selves, and how performative activism has become a thing was something that I think anyone on Instagram or who is perpetually online can feel connected to. It is something I ruminate about often, as I believe to be seen is to be loved. However, to be perceived incorrectly (sometimes poeple really do intentionally misunderstand you) is viscerally painful and sometimes infuriating. And in other times, you don't want to be perceived at all. This cultural zeitgeist is such a mindfuck sometimes.
I don't particularly think there was anything absolutely novel in this, and though it could feel dense at times, I am really glad I read it and felt really comforted that it's something we are all navigating (to different extents) in this "brave new world" lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Rape, Violence, and War
uranaishi's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation
peckreadsbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
madisus's review
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
A brilliant assessment of the social and political landscape during and directly post-pandemic. Klein is so well-researched and spot-on in her analyses that many of her observations and warnings have already come to bear even just a few months after the book’s publication. I strongly recommend to anyone feeling displaced whether emotionally or physically by capitalism— and especially anyone struggling to understand “How did we get here?”
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Rape, Xenophobia, and War
katharina90's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
An interesting read that's particularly strong in its last few chapters where Naomi Klein illustrates the violent bigotry and genocidal tendencies inherent to Europe and its colonial projects.
The book is well written, covers a lot of ground and offers much food for thought.
Trying to tie all of these topics back to the doppelganger motif at times feels like a stretch? I definitely lost the thread a few times but was captivated by Klein's meandering narrative nonetheless.
The book is well written, covers a lot of ground and offers much food for thought.
Trying to tie all of these topics back to the doppelganger motif at times feels like a stretch? I definitely lost the thread a few times but was captivated by Klein's meandering narrative nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Dementia and War
amachonis's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Rape