Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

The Double Bind

A Novel

by Chris Bohjalian

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (18):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2007, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

When a homeless man dies at the shelter where Laurel works, leaving behind a hoard of photographs substantiating his claim that he knew jazz and blues greats of an earlier era, Laurel feels compelled to investigate his past.

Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

See what our members are saying about this book in our Community Forum.

BookBrowsers Ask Author Chris Bohjalian
Oh, when you write 25 books, some will always draw more attention than others. But I have so fortunate to be the flavor of the month four times: Midwives, The Double Bind, The Sandcastle Girls, and The Flight Attendant. Now, I do wish more readers had discovered Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, but b...
-Chris_B

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

It's a high-wire act for bestseller Bohjalian, and while the climactic explanation may be a letdown for some, he generally pulls off a tricky and intriguing premise." - PW.
"Although Laurel isn't as easy to connect to as previous Bohjalian characters, this elegantly crafted tale is well worth delving into." - Booklist.

This information about The Double Bind was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Chris Bohjalian Author Biography

Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including The Jackal's Mistress, Midwives, Hour of the Witch, and The Flight Attendant, which was an Emmy-winning MAX series starring Kaley Cuoco. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into mov­ies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. His novels have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by numerous newspapers and magazines, and been selections of Oprah's Book Club and the Barnes & Noble Book Club. He is also a playwright. He lives in Vermont and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on many social networks, @chrisbohjalian.

Author Interview
Link to Chris Bohjalian's Website

Name Pronunciation
Chris Bohjalian: boh-JAIL-yen

Other books by Chris Bohjalian at BookBrowse
  • The Sandcastle Girls jacket

19 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Double Bind, try these:

  • Antoinette's Sister jacket

    Antoinette's Sister

    by Diana Giovinazzo

    Published 2022

    About this book

    As Marie Antoinette took her last breath as Queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch - Antoinette's dearly beloved sister, Charlotte - was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister's execution would ...

  • The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins jacket

    The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins

    by Antonia Hodgson

    Published 2017

    About this book

    In a new Georgian–era mystery by Antonia Hodgson, the follow-up to The Devil in the Marshalsea, Tom Hawkins prays for a royal pardon as he relives the espionage, underground dealings, and murder accusations that sent him to the gallows.

  • Madame Tussaud jacket

    Madame Tussaud

    by Michelle Moran

    Published 2011

    About this book

    The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire... but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin.

We have 9 read-alikes for The Double Bind, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

More Literary Fiction

Browse all Literary Fiction books

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    When No One Else Will
    by Amanda Skenandore
    1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.
  • Book Jacket
    A Pair of Aces
    by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
    Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Summer's Never Over
    by Darby Bozeman
    A woman revisits a Southern summer camp where a counselor's death may not have been an accident.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Feast
    by Catherine Kurtz
    In 19th-century France, a girl with a magical taste becomes a duc’s poison taster amid nobility and danger.
  • Book Jacket
    The Reimagining of Thornwood House
    by Jaleigh Johnson
    A witch and her ward discover a magical walking house and find the true meaning of home.
Who Said...

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home: but unlike charity, it should end there.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.