The Body Double
A Novel
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A dark, glittering debut novel echoing Hitchcock's Vertigo, The Body Double is the suspenseful story of a young woman who is recruited by a stranger to give up her old life and identity to impersonate a reclusive Hollywood star.
A strange man discovers our nameless narrator selling popcorn at a decrepit small-town movie theater and offers her an odd and lucrative position: she will forget her job, her acquaintances, even her name, and move to Los Angeles, where she will become the body double of the famous and troubled celebrity Rosanna Feld. A nervous breakdown has forced Rosanna out of the public eye, and she needs a look-alike to take her place in the tabloid media circus of Hollywood. Overseen by Max, who hired her for the job, our narrator spends her days locked up in a small apartment in the hills watching hidden camera footage of Rosanna, wearing Rosanna's clothes, eating the food Rosanna likes, practicing her mannerisms, learning to become Rosanna in every way. But as she makes her public debut as Rosanna, dining at elegant restaurants, shopping in stylish boutiques, and finally risking a dinner party with Rosanna's true inner circle, alarming questions begin to arise. What really caused Rosanna's mental collapse? Will she ever return? And is Max truly her ally, or something more sinister? The Body Double is a fabulously plotted noir about fame, beauty, and the darkness of Hollywood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The nature of selfhood, reality, and power struggles in human relationships lie at the center of Beyda's eerie debut. The nameless heroine, living in a small, unnamed town, once had dreams of being in the movies and mistakenly thought that working in a movie theater would bring her closer. Years later, she feels defeated and trapped in the job working concessions, but too exhausted to make a change. Salvation comes from a surprising place: a smooth operator named Max offers her the dream job of impersonating superstar Rosanna Feld, who has had a nervous breakdown. Flown on a private plane to Los Angeles, the narrator is taken to an apartment building where she's essentially a prisoner. By painful inches, she's transformed into a credible Rosanna: punishing exercise regimen, restrictive diet, even cosmetic surgery to change the contours of her face. The only person she sees is Max, and she slowly surrenders to his control. In turn, he becomes more affectionate with her. But as she gains confidence as Rosanna, successfully facing the public and even Rosanna's friends, the dynamics of their relationship changes. Beyda favors a slow-burning, deliberate pace, but her psychological thriller weaves a shroud of menace and anxiety. This auspicious debut will get under the reader's skin and stay there.