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A review by nursejennreads
The Body Double by Emily Beyda
3.0
I am not sure what to say about this novel. The premise is what hooked me. (Seemingly) plucked off the streets, a young girl is given the opportunity of a lifetime: a famous actress is recovering from some sort of breakdown but needs to keep up appearances; your job is to slide into that role, a body double, to fool the press and keep relevant.
But it’s more than just a few restaurant appearances. It’s talk shows. Red carpets. Dinner parties with intimate friends. You have no contact with your previous life. It’s as if you failed to exist.
It starts off with the New Rosanna being left in a one bedroom apartment for days on end as she studied notecards about the original. Then the videos came out. Role play. Diet and exercise. Then the plastic surgeon shows up.
This novel went from weird to weirder. You do t have anyone to root for. The New Rosanna begins to feel the original on her body? Starts to have memory lapses and the line between real and imaginary is lost. And then you have her creepy helper Max. His level of obsession is frightening; does he want this plan to succeed….. or does he have darker motives at hand.
This novel pushed hard to fill that new American gothic genre with a modern twist, in my opinion. It was a good premise and good plot, but I am not a fan of the execution and ending. It could have been played a straight as a book club wine night selection and been just as interesting. I agree I did struggle .
But it’s more than just a few restaurant appearances. It’s talk shows. Red carpets. Dinner parties with intimate friends. You have no contact with your previous life. It’s as if you failed to exist.
It starts off with the New Rosanna being left in a one bedroom apartment for days on end as she studied notecards about the original. Then the videos came out. Role play. Diet and exercise. Then the plastic surgeon shows up.
This novel went from weird to weirder. You do t have anyone to root for. The New Rosanna begins to feel the original on her body? Starts to have memory lapses and the line between real and imaginary is lost. And then you have her creepy helper Max. His level of obsession is frightening; does he want this plan to succeed….. or does he have darker motives at hand.
This novel pushed hard to fill that new American gothic genre with a modern twist, in my opinion. It was a good premise and good plot, but I am not a fan of the execution and ending. It could have been played a straight as a book club wine night selection and been just as interesting. I agree I did struggle .