I think her book could have been several but she ties it together with the theme of duality. I wonder if worldwide anything is done without an underlying political motive. I am getting the real truth from Klein on world wars, capitalism, colonialism, manifest destiny, residency schools and the history of Israel.
Individuals are torn between the dual conflict of what is good for their own survival vs. what helps others. That’s why I buy cookies and give them to people who need them more. Bad example.
I see from what you say that trying out identities on social media is like trying out characters without the affirmation except for an occasional bad book review. I do create clever demure beta heroines, but at some point they get angry, load a pistol and go after a villain who deserves to be pinked. That's fiction and very satisfying. I myself would never shoot an intruder, though I do keep my broadsword by the bed.
Free will is both a gift and a burden. We each must create an identity that serves us as well as others. Those who fail are the ones who make the news.
I must get this book for later comment. The behavior of attacking someone who is down seems less than human to me. Chickens and sometimes herd animals do it. With chickens it usually means the death of the lowest in the pecking order. People should be better than that. The media should be better than that.
Doppelganger is such a readable and information-packed book I feel I should be taking notes, but want to keep reading instead. I can relate to alternate selves. As a kid I thought it was dishonest somehow to be one person at church, a different one at school, at home and so one. The differences were based on the expectations of others. It took decades for me to weld myselves back into one person who acted the same for everyone according to my expectations.
Then I became a fiction writer and had a cast of thousand marching around in my head. But they were more or less controllable and all mine. I could be one of them when I wanted to, but in the real world I was still singular me.
The search for identity is such a grueling journey and to finally find yourself is amazing. To have someone destroy that self, erode it and devalue it would be devastating The word brand is unfortunate but accurate because it suggests selling yourself, your ideas, your writing. I was never very good at selling anything let alone myself. I try to walk the path I think is right without making too many mistakes. As Tessa, one of my characters, says, “Maybe it’s the sum of our actions, where we end up, that counts.”
I'm so happy you're reading it! Isn't it amazing??? And yes, SO dense. And I also read a book by Brian Lowery called Self-Less, about the formation of self and how our sense of idenitity is so much more fragile than we think, because it's really a product of our social interactions. His argument is v. persuasive and I think it's something we're sort of acting out in hyper reality, right now. We create these versions of ourselves, online, and then we wait as people judge those versions as worthy of likes and follows. I can see in younger versions of myself, or in the profiles of people I know are struggling to find purchase, how they're trying on different versions of themselves. Especially women who are trapped between wanting to be independent and strong and capable and also cute and seductive and worthy, really, of being objectified in a way they'd probably be horrified to admit. Anyway, it's fascinating!
I highly resonate with that idea of writing as a form of engaged control with an chaotic reality. ;-) Leaning hard on that right now and loving that I have that outlet, even if it's a little suspect at some level.
I think her book could have been several but she ties it together with the theme of duality. I wonder if worldwide anything is done without an underlying political motive. I am getting the real truth from Klein on world wars, capitalism, colonialism, manifest destiny, residency schools and the history of Israel.
Individuals are torn between the dual conflict of what is good for their own survival vs. what helps others. That’s why I buy cookies and give them to people who need them more. Bad example.
I see from what you say that trying out identities on social media is like trying out characters without the affirmation except for an occasional bad book review. I do create clever demure beta heroines, but at some point they get angry, load a pistol and go after a villain who deserves to be pinked. That's fiction and very satisfying. I myself would never shoot an intruder, though I do keep my broadsword by the bed.
Free will is both a gift and a burden. We each must create an identity that serves us as well as others. Those who fail are the ones who make the news.
So glad you enjoyed it! I love your cookies example and I am always here for more cookies. ;)
I must get this book for later comment. The behavior of attacking someone who is down seems less than human to me. Chickens and sometimes herd animals do it. With chickens it usually means the death of the lowest in the pecking order. People should be better than that. The media should be better than that.
Brava, Nicole!
So much to unpack here. I’m off to read this book now, but I just had to stop by and say …
You make me want to be better.
Thank you.
Aw thank you! That is a wonderful compliment. Even if I'm not usually all that great, myself lol
Doppelganger is such a readable and information-packed book I feel I should be taking notes, but want to keep reading instead. I can relate to alternate selves. As a kid I thought it was dishonest somehow to be one person at church, a different one at school, at home and so one. The differences were based on the expectations of others. It took decades for me to weld myselves back into one person who acted the same for everyone according to my expectations.
Then I became a fiction writer and had a cast of thousand marching around in my head. But they were more or less controllable and all mine. I could be one of them when I wanted to, but in the real world I was still singular me.
The search for identity is such a grueling journey and to finally find yourself is amazing. To have someone destroy that self, erode it and devalue it would be devastating The word brand is unfortunate but accurate because it suggests selling yourself, your ideas, your writing. I was never very good at selling anything let alone myself. I try to walk the path I think is right without making too many mistakes. As Tessa, one of my characters, says, “Maybe it’s the sum of our actions, where we end up, that counts.”
I'm so happy you're reading it! Isn't it amazing??? And yes, SO dense. And I also read a book by Brian Lowery called Self-Less, about the formation of self and how our sense of idenitity is so much more fragile than we think, because it's really a product of our social interactions. His argument is v. persuasive and I think it's something we're sort of acting out in hyper reality, right now. We create these versions of ourselves, online, and then we wait as people judge those versions as worthy of likes and follows. I can see in younger versions of myself, or in the profiles of people I know are struggling to find purchase, how they're trying on different versions of themselves. Especially women who are trapped between wanting to be independent and strong and capable and also cute and seductive and worthy, really, of being objectified in a way they'd probably be horrified to admit. Anyway, it's fascinating!
I highly resonate with that idea of writing as a form of engaged control with an chaotic reality. ;-) Leaning hard on that right now and loving that I have that outlet, even if it's a little suspect at some level.