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The Double
"The Double" is about an old man who spends his days reminiscing about his lost youth. Until a mysterious woman appears in his life - a woman who looks exactly like the beautiful wife he once had. "The Double" is a short story about regretting our lost youth, and learning that no matter how hard we try, we cannot ever get it back. Reading Approx. 20 minutes
Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 28, 2020
Read review on: https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.c...
The Double is about an old man named Santiago Cervantez. One night, when he returns home and his wife is asleep, the telephone rings. It is from the police station and the officer informs him that his wife is there. Even though Santiago knows that this is impossible, he goes to pick this person and he is shocked to find that it is indeed his wife, but thirty years younger.
I have to admit that this premise sounds very promising. We never get to learn Santiago's age, but if I had to guess, I would say that he is a middle-aged man. Throughout this story, we get glimpses of who Santiago used to be as a young man and who he is today. He is feeling that his life is quickly passing by, taking every good part away. He is desperate to find something that will keep him alive (in the metaphorical sense) and he finds just this thing in Young Miranda. I found this a very relatable trait, even though I'm not middle-aged. I think that feeling that you could have done better is common while growing up.
A thing that comes up a lot throughout the story is Santiago's irritation with his wife. He has reached a point where he cannot even look at her without feeling angry. He despises who she is and the way she acts. However, this became the reason why I couldn't feel sorry for him. Instead, I myself felt irritated with Santiago for his wife. When you are young and reckless, it is easy to love and to be blind to someone's negative trait. But when you spend years together, you fall into a routine and you throw away every pretense.
Santiago's response to the appearance of Young Miranda to me was unacceptable. I can understand the temptation of starting afresh. After all, she is the same person he got married to. However, because she is the same Miranda she is set to become the Miranda he hates in the future. The solution he finds is something radical (which I will not spoil for you). When he does that, comes his thoughts that bothered me the most. He thinks that with Young Miranda he can change the sofa that got old, and fix the fridge. My question is: what didn't he do those things if they were really bothering him?
The solution, the real solution, to Santiago's problem with his wife would be to sit down and communicate with her. If he was bothered by her dress (which was the only thing that was mentioned again and again in the story), then he should have told her so. He shouldn't have blamed Miranda for changing. Not for once, did he stop to wonder how he has changed, and how Miranda feels about him at this point. He only blames her. And this is exactly the reason why he loses both her and the younger version of her.
We cannot always stay young. While we are growing up we are changing, slowly becoming different people. There will always be regrets, but we should always be aware of the people we have become and appreciate what we have. In general, The Double was an enjoyable read for me and it was surprisingly thought-provoking. If you are looking for a quick read with an interesting premise, you can give it a try.
The Double is about an old man named Santiago Cervantez. One night, when he returns home and his wife is asleep, the telephone rings. It is from the police station and the officer informs him that his wife is there. Even though Santiago knows that this is impossible, he goes to pick this person and he is shocked to find that it is indeed his wife, but thirty years younger.
I have to admit that this premise sounds very promising. We never get to learn Santiago's age, but if I had to guess, I would say that he is a middle-aged man. Throughout this story, we get glimpses of who Santiago used to be as a young man and who he is today. He is feeling that his life is quickly passing by, taking every good part away. He is desperate to find something that will keep him alive (in the metaphorical sense) and he finds just this thing in Young Miranda. I found this a very relatable trait, even though I'm not middle-aged. I think that feeling that you could have done better is common while growing up.
A thing that comes up a lot throughout the story is Santiago's irritation with his wife. He has reached a point where he cannot even look at her without feeling angry. He despises who she is and the way she acts. However, this became the reason why I couldn't feel sorry for him. Instead, I myself felt irritated with Santiago for his wife. When you are young and reckless, it is easy to love and to be blind to someone's negative trait. But when you spend years together, you fall into a routine and you throw away every pretense.
Santiago's response to the appearance of Young Miranda to me was unacceptable. I can understand the temptation of starting afresh. After all, she is the same person he got married to. However, because she is the same Miranda she is set to become the Miranda he hates in the future. The solution he finds is something radical (which I will not spoil for you). When he does that, comes his thoughts that bothered me the most. He thinks that with Young Miranda he can change the sofa that got old, and fix the fridge. My question is: what didn't he do those things if they were really bothering him?
The solution, the real solution, to Santiago's problem with his wife would be to sit down and communicate with her. If he was bothered by her dress (which was the only thing that was mentioned again and again in the story), then he should have told her so. He shouldn't have blamed Miranda for changing. Not for once, did he stop to wonder how he has changed, and how Miranda feels about him at this point. He only blames her. And this is exactly the reason why he loses both her and the younger version of her.
We cannot always stay young. While we are growing up we are changing, slowly becoming different people. There will always be regrets, but we should always be aware of the people we have become and appreciate what we have. In general, The Double was an enjoyable read for me and it was surprisingly thought-provoking. If you are looking for a quick read with an interesting premise, you can give it a try.
June 14, 2020
Santiago Cervantez is an old man who is depressed and worried about the changes in his life.The woman he fell in love and married to is not the same as before and because of that he keep missing the young Miranda and him. Like everyday, Santiago returned from work and had an argument with his wife. While thinking about the old days he receives a phone call that his wife is at the local police station, yet he just saw her at home. First he think it's a misunderstanding but when he sees her himself shocked him even more because she is Miranda, but from twenty years earlier. .
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It's a story which talks alot in just a few pages. As Author tried to capture the sadness and general emotion of an average man who has realised that life is no longer what he thought it was going to be. He even portrays the redundancy of everyday life while making it something fresh and new. Language is fine. It can be read in one sitting within an hour.
.
It's a story which talks alot in just a few pages. As Author tried to capture the sadness and general emotion of an average man who has realised that life is no longer what he thought it was going to be. He even portrays the redundancy of everyday life while making it something fresh and new. Language is fine. It can be read in one sitting within an hour.
December 1, 2020
Peter Kim’s short story The Double is a fantastic tale about our thoughts and how powerful they can really be. The Double may be a short story but it packs a huge punch. Santiago Cervantez is an old man who is in the middle of wondering where things went wrong in his life, when did things change so much? After returning from work one day, Santiago receives a phone call that his wife is at the local police station, yet his wife is in the kitchen. Intrigued by what has unfolded, Santiago finds himself at the police station face to face with a woman who looks and sounds exactly like his wife but from twenty years earlier. Santiago is taken down memory lane to learn where things went wrong in his life and why he is unhappy in the present moment.
Kim manages to capture the sadness and general emotion of an average man who has realised that life is no longer what he thought it was going to be. Kim even portrays the redundancy of everyday life while making it something fresh and new. What is so lovely about this tale is that while the reader only gets a snippet of Santiago’s life, the reader can assume what has went on in Santiago’s life up until this point in time. An easy to read short story, Kim has created a piece of art that can be devoured quickly and ends up leaving the reader both satisfied with this piece of Santiago’s life while also needing to learn how things turn out for him. The Double will leave the reader pondering their own life and questioning if they are truly happy today.
https://www.thenerddaily.com/review-t...
Originally published on The Nerd Daily. Link above.
Kim manages to capture the sadness and general emotion of an average man who has realised that life is no longer what he thought it was going to be. Kim even portrays the redundancy of everyday life while making it something fresh and new. What is so lovely about this tale is that while the reader only gets a snippet of Santiago’s life, the reader can assume what has went on in Santiago’s life up until this point in time. An easy to read short story, Kim has created a piece of art that can be devoured quickly and ends up leaving the reader both satisfied with this piece of Santiago’s life while also needing to learn how things turn out for him. The Double will leave the reader pondering their own life and questioning if they are truly happy today.
https://www.thenerddaily.com/review-t...
Originally published on The Nerd Daily. Link above.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews