Product Description

The Double is a remarkable tale in the tradition of doppelganger literature. As Dostoevsky examines the neurosis and paranoia that cripple a seemingly ordinary man, he produces a thoroughly 'modern' nightmare, brilliantly foreshadowing the works of Kafka and Sartre. Mr Golyadkin is a rather middling man, a somewhat insignificant government official. Then one day he meets his 'double' - a man with the same name, face and background. Initially charmed by the co-incidence, Golyadkin soon notices a discernable cooling in the reaction of his friends and colleagues towards him, whilst his double seems to grow in popularity. Unable to escape the relentless presence of 'Golyadkin junior', suddenly even the most ordinary activities - going shopping, attending parties - take on a terrifying significance, and Golyadkin finds himself at the brink of breakdown.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105454 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-21
• Original language: Russian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From the Publisher
IN A NEW TRANSLATION BY RICHARD PEVEAR and LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY

From the Author
In ‘Danse Macabre’, his wide-ranging analysis of supernatural fiction, Stephen King imagines a metaphorical hand of four playing cards, one each for the four archetypal tropes he suggests underpin all supernatural fiction. His assertion is that every tale of the uncanny, from the cheapest 1940s B-movie to the most esteemed Gothic novel is, in essence, built around one or more of the archetypes depicted on these cards. They are – and I’m paraphrasing – The Ghoul / Monster, The Undead, The Werewolf and The Double. As far as King is concerned, at least one of these figures can be identified stalking, arms outstretched, through the pages of every tale of terror you will ever come across. When I first read this in 1983 (or devoured it more like – I was seventeen years old and entranced by anything connected to the ghostly – particularly something that could be thrown back at English teachers who suggested that my passion was somehow juvenile and tawdry) I was a little confused by Mr King’s selection. The first three figures contained something that was in essence truly terrifying – some element that had frightened me since The Armada Book of Ghost Stories, Shiver and Shake and Appointment with Fear had first introduced me to the delights of the horrific. There was a Platonic quality inherent in the notion of a pitiless, corrupting Vampire, snarling, unbound Wolfman, or relentless, unstoppable Mummy that chilled (and still chills) on a primal level. But a Double? What’s a Double?

From the Back Cover
‘It’s the very complexity of ideas that the notion of a Double throws up that makes this short novel so engaging and ultimately still so pertinent’ JEREMY DYSON

Customer Reviews

Good, but odd for Dostoevsky
Most of Dostoevsky's famous works were written after his spell in prison and mock execution had profoundly affected his world view. 'The Double' was written before all this, and is consequently very different from the other books of his I have read. It is the story of Golyadkin, a socially inept clerk who is encouraged by his physician to socialise more. No sooner has he received this advice than another Golyadkin appears on the scene, physically indistinguishable from the first, but much more confident. This second Golyadkin frustrates the ambitions of the first in love, at work and in society, precipitating a shocking end.
Although many of Dostoevsky's trade-marks are in evidence here, such as the feverish ant-hero and the criticism of Russian society, the hallucinatory style is unusual for him. Impossible events are described very matter-of-factly and the supernatural premise to the whole book is accepted by all the characters, giving the story a surreal feel. It is also comic in places, more obviously so than his later books (though I think that Dostoevsky is often more tongue-in-cheek than he is given credit for). 'The Double' could easily read as a horror story (albeit a largely psychological one). The whole thing reminded me of Gogol's short story 'The Nose', as much as anything. All this meant that it was very unlike anything else of his that I have read. It was still very good, but a bit strange for Dostoevsky. Definitely worth a read, but not one to judge the rest of his stuff by.

Choose the best translation
The Double is a Kafkaesque novel, 70 years before Kafka. A dark, gripping psychological thriller, it tells the story of Goliadkin, whose life unravels when an identical-looking man starts to impersonate him. Short, surreal, economically written, mean-spirited and carrying a strong anti-establishment vibe, this is a far cry from the novels of Dostoevsky's golden period 20 years later. Despite this, it's surprising how much of the familiar Dostoevsky style is there in embryonic form: a grimy everyday setting; frantic, turbulent dialogue; high-strung characters; attention to psychological detail; a mischievous narrator; and a good helping of black humour. Though The Double is not clearly the work of the same author who (after a spell in Siberia) would go on to write a series of masterpieces, the clues are there.

As with all Dostoevsky's work, getting a good translation will transform your experience of the novel. I strongly recommend the brand new Pevear/Volokhonsky translation, contained in a single volume with The Gambler. By preserving the idiosyncracies of the author in fresh, modern English, these acclaimed translators make Russian literature as brilliant and rich as it should be.