‘Beside Myself’ is Ann Morgan’s debut novel which tells the story of identical twin sisters Helen and Ellie. One day, at the age of six, they decide to play a game where they swap places for a day to fool their mother. However, troublesome Ellie enjoys taking on the role of bright and popular Helen so much that she refuses to swap back despite the real Helen’s protestations. While their true identities remain hidden, several family secrets begin to be uncovered.
‘Beside Myself’ is a book which grew on me once I decided to suspend my disbelief about the likelihood of two young girls successfully swapping places on a permanent basis without anyone realising, particularly the apparent failure of Helen and Ellie’s mother to see through their game. Told from Helen’s point of view (while everyone around her believes she is Ellie), the chapters alternate between their childhood shortly after the swap and their lives as adults which sees the real Ellie (now known as Helen) having a successful career as a television presenter while the real Helen struggles with mental illness and poverty. Much of the book is therefore very dark and Morgan portrays this aspect of the story sensitively as the serious consequences of Helen’s situation are explored in depth.
Like The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer, I found it slightly misleading that ‘Beside Myself’ has been billed as a literary thriller. Even though there is the question of whether or not the twins’ real identities would ever be uncovered, the reader knows from the beginning that the swap is somehow sustained into adulthood so there was less of a sense of mystery than I had been expecting. Instead, the heart of the novel focuses on various themes surrounding different forms of identity and how it defines people and the expectations of those around them.
Overall, the premise of ‘Beside Myself’ is certainly intriguing and poses some interesting questions but I thought the story was constructed a little too conveniently at times.
Before writing her debut novel, Morgan founded a blog called A Year of Reading the World in which she set out to read a book from every country in the world from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. I’m keen to read her first non-fiction book ‘Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer’ which outlines how she undertook this challenge.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for the review copy of ‘Beside Myself’ which will be published in the UK on 14th January.
A Little Blog of Books 
Good review! Twins are creepy :O Ever read “The Other?”
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Thanks, twins are always an interesting concept! I haven’t read The Other – who is the author?
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Thomas Tryon. The movie is pretty much crap, but the book is totally worth a look.
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This is next on my reading list – feels like EVERYONE is reading this book at the moment (so well done to the publicists!).
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Yes, I’d heard a lot about it too and the beginning of the year always seems like a good time to look at debut novelists. Hope you enjoy it!
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This book sounds like a good read and sad too. I’ll definitely keep it book in mind!
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Hope you enjoy it!
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Thanks for the review. I’m fascinated by twins in general, so would like to read the novel. I enjoyed Morgan’s blog, Reading Around the World, but found the book to be rather dry.
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Yes I understand the book is a companion to the blog about how she undertook the challenge rather than about the books themselves – I’m still interested in reading it though and I think Morgan’s blog has played an important part in raising the profile of translated fiction.
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It certainly has raised awareness, & all credit to her.
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What a great coincidence that you’ve reviewed this book, as I’ve been a fan of Morgan’s, ever since she started her blog on reading the world. I just saw mention of this book on her blog a week or so ago, and have been curious to read early reviews. It sounds like if the reader goes in with the right expectations, this could be a book s/he really enjoys. I’ll definitely give this one a read.
Katie @ ShelfishlyAddicted
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I agree with what you say about having the right expectations when reading this book – it’s not a fast-paced thriller but I think it will be popular.
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I agree with you here, it definitely grew on me after I really took a dislike to it in the beginning. (I couldn’t stand the way the characters treated each other). I wouldn’t call it a thriller either, but I did enjoy the storyline in the end, though it wasn’t a favourite. 🙂
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Yes, I had a similar experience reading this book – definitely an interesting concept though.
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I know what you mean, the idea behind it is so interesting!
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I really must read her first book, especially as I followed her blog while she was reading around the world, what a great journey, I read a few of the books and have loads on my TBR as a result, especially as that’s a little like how I like to read, books and authors from many different cultures.
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Yes I discovered her blog towards the end of her year reading around the world. I haven’t got a copy of that book yet but would very much like to read it.
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Oh yes, I have her reading around the world book on my wishlist. I have to say that the twins I know best would never entertain doing such a thing for a single moment … but that makes it interesting, too …!
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