Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

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Naomi Klein is a Canadian author known for her generally left-leaning political views and analysis.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Dobson |first=Kit |date=2023-09-01 |title=Naomi Klein |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Klein-Naomi |access-date=2023-09-11|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=2023-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809130722/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Klein-Naomi |url-status=live}} Klein is often confused with Naomi Wolf, an American author who originally rose to prominence as a notable third-wave feminist, with generally centre-left views. However, by the time of writing, Wolf had become known for her right-wing political opinions, especially those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the anti-vaccination movement, and other conspiracy theories.{{Cite news|last=Vognar |first=Chris |date=2023-09-05 |title=She followed her 'doppelganger' down the rabbit hole. What Naomi Klein found there |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-09-05/she-followed-her-doppelganger-down-the-rabbit-hole-what-naomi-klein-found-there |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-09-11|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=2023-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910155611/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-09-05/she-followed-her-doppelganger-down-the-rabbit-hole-what-naomi-klein-found-there |url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|last=Featherstone|first=Liza|author-link=Liza Featherstone|date=2021-06-10 |title=The Madness of Naomi Wolf |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/162702/naomi-wolf-madness-feminist-icon-antivaxxer |access-date=2023-09-11 |magazine=The New Republic |archive-date=2023-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906134127/https://newrepublic.com/article/162702/naomi-wolf-madness-feminist-icon-antivaxxer |url-status=live}} The Washington Post{{'}}s Laura Wagner described the two as both being "White Jewish women" who "published big-idea bestsellers in the '90s" (Wolf wrote The Beauty Myth, Klein No Logo), writing that the two had been casually confused for each other for several years, prior to the publication of Doppelganger. The claim that Wolf and Klein were confused for each other was backed up by other commentators, including those in New York, The New Yorker, and Wired.{{Cite magazine|last=Bacharach |first=Jacob |date=2023-09-06 |title=Is Naomi Klein's Doppelganger Weird Enough? |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/is-naomi-kleins-doppelganger-weird-enough.html |access-date=2023-09-11|magazine=New York |archive-date=2023-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913062212/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/is-naomi-kleins-doppelganger-weird-enough.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine |last=Tolentino |first=Jia |author-link=Jia Tolentino |date=2023-09-10 |title=Naomi Klein Sees Uncanny Doubles in Our Politics |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/naomi-klein-sees-uncanny-doubles-in-our-politics |access-date=2023-09-11 |magazine=The New Yorker |archive-date=2023-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911031937/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/naomi-klein-sees-uncanny-doubles-in-our-politics |url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=2023-09-07 |title=Unhinged Conspiracies, AI Doppelgangers, and the Fractured Reality of Naomi Klein |url=https://www.wired.com/story/covid-conspiracies-ai-doppelgangers-naomi-klein/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |magazine=Wired |archive-date=2023-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910121617/https://www.wired.com/story/covid-conspiracies-ai-doppelgangers-naomi-klein/ |url-status=live}}

In the early stages of writing the book, Klein kept it secret and used the writing process to make sense of the confusion others experienced. Klein intended the book to be different from her previous works, The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything, which were structured like a traditional thesis defense. Instead, Klein structured Doppelganger in a more narrative way. Despite several contact attempts by Klein, Wolf was not involved in the writing of the book.

Doppelganger was published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on 12 September 2023.{{Cite web |title=Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=BookMarks |archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925154206/https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-17 |title=Naomi Klein has new, more personal book out in September, Doppelganger|url=https://apnews.com/article/naomi-klein-doppelganger-september-book-e48d558ea1b2b617441befc939b25414 |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Associated Press |archive-date=2023-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905125531/https://apnews.com/article/naomi-klein-doppelganger-september-book-e48d558ea1b2b617441befc939b25414 |url-status=live}} It was published in the United Kingdom by Allen Lane.

Doppelganger was positively received by critics. Kirkus Reviews described the prose as being "tight and urgent, almost breathless" and praised Klein's blend of cultural criticism and biographical research into Wolf's life.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-26 |title=Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/naomi-klein/doppelganger-mirror-world/ |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Kirkus Reviews |archive-date=2023-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923014948/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/naomi-klein/doppelganger-mirror-world/ |url-status=live}} The New Republic published a positive review, describing the story of Klein and Wolf's mistaken identities as being riveting and praising the book for explaining "how so many people have...broken with conventional left-right political affiliations and shared understandings of reality."{{Cite magazine |last=Marsh |first=Laura |date=2023-09-05 |title=Naomi Klein's Journey into the Unnerving World of Naomi Wolf |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/175254/naomi-klein-naomi-wolf-doppelganger-journey-unnerving-world |access-date=2023-09-11 |magazine=The New Republic |archive-date=2023-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910061920/https://newrepublic.com/article/175254/naomi-klein-naomi-wolf-doppelganger-journey-unnerving-world |url-status=live}} The Evening Standard was also positive, saying that Klein wrote with lucidity and noting that the book was much more personal than Klein's earlier work.{{Cite news|last=Jones |first=Alexandra |date=2023-09-05 |title=Doppelganger by Naomi Klein: a compelling portrait of the apocalyptic mindset |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/books/doppelganger-naomi-klein-review-post-truth-apocalyptic-b1104529.html |access-date=2023-09-11|newspaper=Evening Standard |archive-date=2023-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910033559/https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/books/doppelganger-naomi-klein-review-post-truth-apocalyptic-b1104529.html |url-status=live}} The Los Angeles Times praised the book for tying its disparate concepts together, describing it as "both timely and timeless". William Davies, writing in The Guardian, praised Klein's analysis of conspiracy theories and the book's attempt to understand and empathize with conspiracy theorists.{{Cite web|last=Davies |first=William |author-link=William Davies (political writer) |date=2023-09-09 |title=Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein review – a case of mistaken identity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/09/doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world-by-naomi-klein-review-a-case-of-mistaken-identity |access-date=2023-09-11|website=The Guardian|quote=“The problem in the age of big tech, the climate crisis, Covid lockdowns, online influencers and collapsed trust in “mainstream” politics and media is that everybody has their suspicions that they are being lied to and manipulated – and they’re right. Where they disagree is on the identity of the liars and the purpose of the manipulation”|archive-date=2023-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910225221/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/09/doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world-by-naomi-klein-review-a-case-of-mistaken-identity |url-status=live}} The New York Times{{'}} Michelle Goldberg wrote that no text "better captures the berserk period we're living through," while Katie Roiphe positively described Klein's hopeful tone.{{Cite news|last=Goldberg |first=Michelle |author-link=Michelle Goldberg |date=2023-09-04 |title=Naomi Klein, Naomi Wolf and the Political Upside Down |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/opinion/columnists/naomi-klein-wolf-doppelganger.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905074528/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/opinion/columnists/naomi-klein-wolf-doppelganger.html |archive-date=2023-09-05 |access-date=2023-09-11|newspaper=The New York Times}}{{Cite news|last=Roiphe |first=Katie |author-link=Katie Roiphe |date=2023-09-07 |title=A 'Mirror World' Where Leftist Disdain Feeds Right-Wing Paranoia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/books/review/doppelganger-naomi-klein.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910001009/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/books/review/doppelganger-naomi-klein.html |archive-date=2023-09-10 |access-date=2023-09-11|newspaper=The New York Times}}

The Irish Independent praised the book for those personal moments but criticized the book's breadth, writing that "the scope is so wide-ranging that, at times, the reader can wonder how everything is linked."{{Cite news|last=Barry |first=Aoife |date=2023-09-04 |title=A conspiracy queen? You're confusing me with the other Naomi |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-reviews/a-conspiracy-queen-youre-confusing-me-with-the-other-naomi/a941409837.html |access-date=2023-09-11|newspaper=Irish Independent |archive-date=2023-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908192950/https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-reviews/a-conspiracy-queen-youre-confusing-me-with-the-other-naomi/a941409837.html |url-status=live}} The Washington Post criticized the book's argument that leftists ought to reconsider their approaches to conflict, language, and identity politics, writing that "it's the only argument in the book not bolstered by specifics." New York magazine was also somewhat critical, with Jacob Bacharach writing that the book did not substantially engage with the doppelgänger concept, instead, using it as a jumping-off point to a range of different topics. The result, according to Bacharach, was that too many concepts seemed to fit into Klein's framework, without sufficient analysis to justify their inclusion.

It debuted at number eight on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction works.{{Cite news |title=Hardcover Nonfiction Books – Best Sellers – Books|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/ |access-date=2023-09-21|archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925154600/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/ |url-status=live}}

On June 13, 2024, Doppelganger won Klein the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj778nj9ez8o|title=Naomi Klein wins first Women's Prize for Non-Fiction|first=Emma|last=Saunders|website=bbc.com|publisher=BBC News|date=2024-06-13|access-date=2024-06-14}}

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