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The Double Bind  By  cover art

The Double Bind

By: Chris Bohjalian
Narrated by: Susan Denaker
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Publisher's summary

As the New York Times has said, “Few writers can manipulate a plot with [Chris] Bohjalian’s grace and power.” Now he is back with an ambitious new novel that travels between Jay Gatsby’s Long Island and rural New England, between the Roaring 20s and the 21st century.

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 that he won’t let anyone see. When Bobbie dies suddenly, Laurel discovers that 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 and falls into into a cat-and-mouse game with pursuers who claim they want to save her.

In this spellbinding literary thriller, rich with complex and compelling characters Chris Bohjalian takes listeners on his most intriguing, most haunting, and most unforgettable journey yet.

©2007 Chris Bohjalian (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Laurel Estabrook, a young social worker living in Vermont, becomes obsessed with a box of photographs that belonged to a deceased homeless man, Bobbie Crocker. An amateur photographer herself, Laurel wonders how someone as destitute as Crocker came to possess such high-quality photos, many of them featuring famous people and, bizarrely, Laurel's childhood town. As she devotes more and more time to researching Crocker's past, her friends and family become concerned for her mental well-being. Six years previously, Laurel was attacked by two men in the woods while riding her bike, and though she recovered enough to finish college and get a job, she remains fragile. Bohjalian, whose Midwives was an Oprah Book Club selection, adds original and creative elements to this tale by blending the story of The Great Gatsby with Laurel's story and including photographs by a real-life homeless man named Bob Campbell. Far from being simply a mystery story, this is a complex exploration of the human psyche and its efforts to heal and survive in whatever manner possible. Recommended for all fiction collections. (Library Journal, starred review)

"This elegantly crafted tale is well worth delving into." (Booklist)

"A tricky and intriguing premise." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Double Bind

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

the double bind

this is a very self centered book...lots of politically correct judgements (eg he is a vegetarian, therefore a good and thoughtful person). fairly predictable and boring...ie I did not find it interesting or stimulating. if it is true, I am very very sorry that she had to go through this event and it is nice that she funneled her energies to help others. that is noble

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Narrator misfit

I was so annoyed with the narrator that I could not bear to go on. The story was lost on me due to the very slow, languid, almost condensing tone of voice of the narrator. I will note her name.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not as described

It was OK entertainment. But one of quoted the reviewers promised "a twist at the end that will leave you speechless." There was no twist at the end. In the first half of the book, there is some intrigue about where the plot is headed, but in the second half, the author makes it absolutely clear where it is going, and then delivers as promised. The reader is not one of the really great narrators, but I found her acceptable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story about survival

It came across as a non- fiction until the end. I started to believe The Great Gatsby was a non- fiction book as well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Listen

The Double Bind is a realistic picture of living with mental illness. After reaching the ending, you recognize the symptoms throughout the story. The interweaving of Gatsby characters is a bonus.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I don’t buy it.

The main premise of the two storylines is thoroughly unbelievable , as is the “world” of homeless services in which much of the main story takes place. People don’t behave this way. A real groaner.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

I have enjoyed other Chris Bohjalian books, but this was awful. It should have been a short story, if it was going to be anything. This went on and on for hours and didn’t go anywhere until the end which was anticlimactic and sad. It’s simply not worth the time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

dosapointing

I felt like I invested s lot when I got absorbed in the story and chayscyrrs that the endings twist ruined the book for me.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

What a huge letdown

I read this book believing it was a mystery. I was mistaken. Really horrible end

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Liked it, did love it.

Entertaining, interesting, but not fascinating. I would have liked more clarification, of story and notes.

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