Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein won the first Women’s Prize for Non Fiction last month. I read Klein’s first book No Logo several years ago, which I felt had already dated somewhat over a decade after its release. In contrast, the ideas explored in ‘Doppelganger’ are very much of the here and now, having been published just last year, but I think this book will remain relevant for a long time. What starts out as an amusing anecdote about being repeatedly mistaken for anti-vax right-wing conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf becomes a deep dive in the world of post-truth politics and the ways in which doubles are reflected in the “mirror world” particularly online. This includes frequently discussed topics such as how people curate their online personas and how political divisions are fuelled by disinformation and misinformation, alongside digressions about autism, doubles in literature, climate change and antisemitism. This sounds like a jumbled mix of ideas, but Klein is astute and erudite and balances personal reflections with rigorous journalistic analysis.
Tag Archives: Naomi Klein
Books I Read in June 2024
No Logo by Naomi Klein
If Don Draper from Mad Men was (a) a real person and (b) still alive in the 21st century having somehow avoided smoking or drinking himself to death, I am sure that he would have a lot to say about ‘No Logo’ by Naomi Klein. Described as “equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic exposé”, ‘No Logo’ has been one of the most controversial and widely talked-about books of the last decade, tackling the debates surrounding consumerism, branding and the anti-corporate movement. This tenth anniversary edition contains a new foreword which comments on some of the developments that have been made since ‘No Logo’ was first published in 1999. Continue reading
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