Book

 THE DOUBLE BIND (Shaye Areheart Books, February 13, 2007) was inspired in part by photographs left behind by a homeless photographer. The first glimmer of the story was born after Bohjalian wrote about Bob “Soupy” Campbell, a once-homeless photographer, in his column for the Burlington Free Press. Years earlier, Campbell had worked in Manhattan, photographing such luminaries as Chuck Berry, Flip Wilson, and David Steinberg.  (Some of Campbell’s photos are woven into the novel.)

The story begins as Laurel Estabrook is viciously attacked by masked men while cycling through Vermont’s back roads. A college sophomore who used to be outgoing, she withdraws into photography and volunteer work at a homeless shelter. 

There she meets an old man named Bobbie Crocker who, as Laurel finds out, has a history of mental illness and a box of photographs he won’t let anyone see. When Bobbie dies suddenly, Laurel discovers that Bobbie indeed had once been a successful photojournalist.

As Laurel’s fascination with Bobbie’s former life begins to merge into obsession, she becomes convinced that his photographs reveal a deeply hidden, dark family secret. Her search for the truth leads her further from her old life—and into a cat-and-mouse game with pursuers who claim they want to save her. In this spellbinding literary thriller, rich with complex and absorbing characters— including Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan— Bohjalian takes readers on his most intriguing, most haunting, and most unforgettable journey yet.

Special Note: Bobbie Crocker, the homeless photographer in this novel, is fictitious. But the photographs you will see in The Double Bind are in fact some of those taken by Bob “Soupy” Campbell before he wound up a transient in Vermont. Those photographs are testimony to the reality that most of the homeless once had lives as vibrant and vital as our own.

Reviews

The Double Bind received starred reviews in Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews. Read those reviews and more at NoveList.

Find a copy

Multiple copies of the book The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian will be available in September to borrow from participating libraries, and are available for purchase at White Birch Books in North Conway.

An audio version of The Double Bind can be downloaded from New Hampshire Downloadable Audio Books. All you need to download a book is your library card number from the following public libraries that participate in the downloadable audio book program: Bartlett, Conway, Effingham, Freedom, Jackson, Madison, North Conway, Ossipee, Tamworth (Cook Memorial Library). If your library has three- or four-digit library card numbers, ask at your library about the four-digit prefix to put ahead of your library card number. If you have questions about how to use the downloadable audio books or what kind of equipment is needed, please ask at your library or check the New Hampshire Downloadable Audio Book website: http://nh.lib.overdrive.com.