DISAPPEAR DOPPELGANGER DISAPPEAR

by Matthew Salesses

Disappear Doppleganger starts out as a clever undertaking by its narrator, Matt Kim, to identify the phenomenon causing him to feel like he is disappearing. Reeling from his wife and daughter leaving him and his cat dying, he finds people increasingly ignoring him at work and bumping into him in public places. Just as he manages to convince his girlfriend, Yumi, that this is truly happening, she encounters someone who looks exactly like her. As their friendship develops, Yumi realizes that her double used to date someone who looks just like Matt. Great premise, right? Doppleganger couples.

Where the book falls down, I believe, is in the author’s relentless accounts of Kim’s descent into depression. Even once we meet his doppleganger, who is a better version of himself, the author continues to pile on descriptions of Kim’s depression. By the end of the book, what had felt clever ends up feeling clunky and overdone. For that reason, Disappear Doppelganger Disappear is not my cup of tea. (Liz)