A review by serendipitysbooks
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

 Naomi Klein, a Canadian author known for her social activism and her political analyses, has the misfortune to be mistaken for and confused with Naomi Wolf, a one time feminist turned conspiracy theorist. She has used this as a spur to explore the world Wolf inhabits and to consider why her doppelgänger might have made the choices she has. This is such an incredibly important book. It is all too easy to ignore the anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists, to remove them from our social media, cheer when they are deplatformed, and disengage from them in real life. Yet this leaves us with no real idea of what they are thinking, saying, planning and doing which makes us potentially vulnerable. And this loose grouping of at times strange bedmates does have some valid fears and concerns, even if they are not immediately obvious. A book like this is invaluable in bringing this “shadow world” into the light. I was impressed by the scope of this book, and by the way Klein blended introspective personal reflections with logical intellectual analysis. I appreciated the way she highlighted issues within mainstream society such as capitalist greed and corruption and the way these have contributed to the rise of conspiracy theorists. The book does have an American focus, but the issues Klein explores are not only relevant to but essential for democracies everywhere. Doppelgänger is a very worthy inclusion on the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings