Doppelganger

by Eric C. Higgs

Marvin Moy, a gas station attendant who lives in a dream world, gradually realizes that his doppelganger, or double, has been enacting revenge on those who have mistreated him

Genres: Horror

229 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvin Moy is one of life’s losers, a big kind-hearted bloke for whom absolutely nothing goes right. He also has a secret, an ability to see things in daydreams that are actually happening in real-life. A girl he fancies is being hit on by her professor and Marvin dreams of beating the man up, only to then have the girl identify him as the attacker - even though he was miles away when the assault took place. This draws him to the attention of the police and from there, things go from bad to worse - car accidents, a garage blowing up - whilst, at the same time, he starts a tentative relationship with Kathryn, the manager of his apartment buildings. Published in 1987, this is the second novel - and last too, it would appear - from Eric Higgs and keeps up a brisk pace all the way through. Higgs has plenty of ideas and good grasp of imagery and the relationship he paints, between Marvin and Kathryn is both delicately charming and sensuous. Marvin is easy to like, being the butt of everyone else’s anger and annoyance, but as things get worse you begin to wish he’d stand up for himself and that, in effect, is what his doppelganger is doing. Having said that, we get no sense at any point of the reasoning behind the doppelganger, where it came from, why it’s here, why it doesn’t help Marvin more and I felt like I wanted more of an answer. In place of that, we have a great kick-in-the-face denouement, which is quite startling. Not bad at all, worth a read.

[Snakes · Rating 1 out of 5]

His first book is among one of my all time favorites. Both of his books were out of print for a decade or more. His first book, The Happy Man, is now available again and back in print. I ordered this one, his second, from a used book seller for a hefty price. Suffice it to say I understand why this book is no longer in print. There’s such a massive difference between his first book and his second. This book definitely reads like something turned in merely to satisfy a contract.

[Kelsi - Slime and Slashers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3 for GR

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy reseñando Doppelgänger de Santiago Cairo, no el libro de acá arriba.
Oscuro, interesante, ligero, y sobre todo, argentino. Me encantó, y eso que no me suele gustar este tipo de libros

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great premise, horrible writing.