Double Exposure

by Brian Caswell

Chris Eveson is a genius—streetwise, artistic and sensitive, and rebelling against the domineering abuses of his father, unlike his twin brother, Cain, who seems average in every way—at least to the outward observer. But gifts and talents run much deeper than two dimensions. Brian Caswell's extraordinary new novel will draw you into a web of mysteries, and into horrors from the past buried by lies in the present.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Brian Caswell was born in Wales and moved to Australia at the age of twelve. He began his working life as a teacher, resigning in 1990 to become a full-time writer.
His first novel, Merryll of the Stones, was Honour Book (Older Readers) in the 1990 Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards. He has since published three more books, A Dream of Stars (1991), A Cage of Butterflies (1992), which was short-listed in the 1993 Children's Book Council Awards, and Mike (1993) his first novel for younger readers. Two further novels, Dreamslip and Lisdalia, are scheduled for publication in 1994.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the single most amazing thing I have ever read. It is beautiful. Even without the event at the end it would still be memorable. This book changed my life, like great books can. Its probably not for everyone, and can be a bit confronting. But its beautifully witten and has some really amazing bits. The ending floored me completely. Unfortunately though, you can only read it once.

[Annalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I even begin to review this book?

At first, I'll be honest, I found the writing style a bit difficult to get into. I was confused because it kept changing from past tense to present tense, from first person to third person. But please, please don't let that put you off reading this book.

Once I got into the rhythm of this book, I started to really enjoy it. The characters were all really fleshed out and they felt so real. I was really interested to read their stories and find out what was going to happen.

My sister had told me about this book so many times, telling me how great it was (and, yes, spoiling the ending for me as she explained why it was so good). I'm so glad that I finally decided to buy it and read it!!

Brian Caswell is an Australian author and the book is also set in Australia, which added a nice little touch.

But. I just. I feel like words aren't working for me right now. The writing style, although weird, was also really good. When I look back on it, I can't think of any other way that this particular book could have been written. It's become one of my favourites. I'm already thinking about how long I should wait until I read it a second time...

I'm going to end this part of the review now. I have some spoiler-things to talk about with anyone else who has read the book (or just doesn't care about spoilers).

So, here's the thing. My sister spoiled the ending (you know, that Chris died years ago and Cain has been living as both of them the whole time). But you know what? I still loved reading it.

And sure, there was a part of me that was waiting for the reveal the whole time I was reading, but most of me was trying hard not to think about the spoiler and just to absorb the story and the characters and be in the moment.

What my sister did NOT tell me, which made things very confusing as I read, was that Cain's parents also died in the same accident. I had no idea! So when Cain was talking to them about Chris I was so confused! "But how don't they know that one of their sons died???"

Right before everything was revealed, I did figure out that his parents were dead, though. I'm pleased that I managed to work out before it was spelled out... even if it was potentially only two pages ahead... 😂

But wowwwww. The tiny little hints thrown in here and there... But it was written so well!! I still feel like I'm not writing things clearly? I just.

Okay, honestly, when I finished reading it last night... I burst into tears. I was a sobbing mess and I cried myself to sleep because I was so sad for everyone, yet also happy? Because Abby and TJ became friends and Cain was coming back to them - even if it was going to end up a huge mess.

Blaaaahhhhhh.


What an amazing read. What a journey.

Please read this book.

[Jessica Bowden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review coming soon to my blog!

[Arid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I ever read vigorously and without prescription, I was probably between 15 and 16 years old when I left my first finger print on it's mysterious blue cover. It had been wedged between books about learning to run a business and the yellow pages. I still remember every image and moment in this book quite vividly, purely because of how shockingly beautiful every description of every character and scenario was. They weren't so detailed or analogous but rather so easy to empathize with and truly feel (especially at my age). The fact that I read this early in my life left a huge impact on my perceptions of people who I might have misjudged at a first glance. It's voice or prose wasn't particularly complex and was probably why it got through to me so easily as a young reader, but in my heart, characters and the plot were unparalleled for a long time. The plot twist still haunts me to this day and it has led me to question every experience and every personality I've ever embodied be it consciously or unconsciously. A must read for anyone who enjoys fucked up endings or is just looking for a complicated teen love story that doesn't involve sparkling, greasy haired fairies who reflect about a millionth of the raw fear of the 18th century.

[Ernest · Rating 2 out of 5]

This unusual book has a shifting narrative point of view that may jar with some readers. The setup is slow and deliberate, yet the payoff seems oddly unsatisfactory. Given the ending, another read may be necessary to fully appreciate the story and structure. I do not think this book is for everyone and not everyone who finishes it will necessarily like it.

[Grace Morocco · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[TheCosyDragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

Cain and Chris are two very different people. One is an artist, the other feels he's just average. Cain is living under the thumb of his domineering parents while Chris has his own artist pad. When they both follow their jobs to romance, it's difficult to say what will happen next.

This is another Brian Caswell novel I picked up at the same time as 'Cruisin''. Of the two, I enjoyed this one more, even if the ending left me feeling a little confused. Ok, amend that. A LOT confused.

You can feel everything happening, Caswell has captured the immediacy of everything in beautiful descriptions that don't feel forced or unnatural.

Caswell's character building was so strong that I couldn't decide which of the boys was my favourite. Even with the narrative jumping around a bit, which I usually abhor, it was great. This is an example of it working well to get insight into the psyche of the chacaters.

The ending was so confused! If I had time, I would certainly read it again to work out what the hell was going on. I didn't understand how the friend couldn't notice, or didn't say anything! And that the girls never suspected anything.

With it's twists and turns, it is sort of still just another young adult love story. I enjoyed that it had some deeper themes (prostitution, stalking and the like), but overall, it was nothing outstanding apart from the descriptions and ending. Well worth reading, however make sure you leave time to read it twice! Or just pay a lot of attention as you read through the novel...

[Alicia Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

the ending was freaky...

[Kirstyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. That was so awesome. I bet he chose T.J. I like them both, but I think he would've chosen T.J because he IS Cain, not Chris.

[Maryanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book 2-3 years ago and it's still in my head as if I'd just read it. legit, had me second guessing. It had such a good build-up to a mind-playing plot twist

[Renay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in year 10 as a novel study and enjoyed it immensely. The twist at the end is a true shocker and one that will make you flick though past pages to find the clues!

[Woff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty well done, but I saw the 'twist' from the first page. Maybe I've just been conditioned by too much ya.

[Bibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book the characters are highly relatable and the plot is easy to follow without being too detailed. Well-thought out insight into a creative persons mindset.

[Tamsin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great - a real page turner with a fantastic twist at the end.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisty

[Rara77]

2 words holy crap