The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

This is my favorite of Chris Bohjalian's books.  He typically writes about touchy subjects; things that make you question (and possibly reconsider) what you really believe when it comes to certain controversial topics.  That's one of the things I love about his writing.

In The Double Bind, he writes a modern-day story about Laurel, a college student who's attacked while riding her bike in New England, then becomes active as a volunteer for a homeless shelter to help her heal. 

Laurel bonds with Bobbie Crocker, an elderly man who lives at the shelter and talks cryptically about his boxes of photographs, saying they contain pictures of Hollywood legends.  He tells Laurel stories of his childhood as the son of Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, two unfaithful lovers from F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. 

In the beginning, Laurel believes like everyone else that Bobbie is a delusional homeless man, but when he dies suddenly, she becomes obsessed with him and begins to piece together evidence from his mysterious boxes of photos that lead her to believe that he was telling the truth.  The story moves back and forth from the 20's to today, weaving in Laurel's own story from her childhood to the day of her attack, and Bohjalian waits to tie it all together with a big, delicious bow till the very last page. 

If you like psychological twists and turns, you will love this book!  You can really sink your teeth into it and if you're like me, you'll be left with an eery feeling of, "oh my gosh, NO WAY."  My plan is to go back and re-read it, now that I know the full story so that I can see if I'm able to pick up on little hints along the way. 

You MUST read this book!