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Double Feature (2013)

by Owen King(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1451676891 (ISBN13: 9781451676891)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Scribner

review 1: This debut novel by one of the King boys lives up to it's title. The first part is a truly bizarre account of a young film-maker's attempt at his first film. The second part deals with the fall-out of that attempt on his life and how he interacts with and learns to appreciate his father, a B-movie actor with a striking presence and voice. I found it very enjoyable, with great characters and a good pace. Recommended.
review 2: I enjoyed this novel. Perhaps I should have rounded up from my 3-1/2 stars opinion rather than down. The pile up of coincidences at the end may be what made the final decision for me. Sam, the hero of Double Feature, is a well developed character who keeps getting in the way of his own happiness. He feels short changed by his paren... morets divorce, a father he both emulates and is unable to connect with, the early death of his mother whose only sin was loving an unworthy man, and the mutilation of his directorial debut. You want Sam to move on, achieve some measure of closure, accept the imperfections of loved ones, make another movie, get the girl. But for much of the story he is determined to stick with the one thing he has mastered above all - the art of brooding. Enough quirkiness and amusement is scattered about the pages to prevent Sam's journey from feeling especially somber. The narrative often feels directionless, which may bother some readers but I don't find it to be a negative trait so long as the writing is strong and engaging. When someone is trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do with the life they've been given, a certain amount of meandering about is inevitable. I was reminded of the movie Garden State, which is a good thing as I'm quite fond of that movie. Events of great impact have already taken place, an unknown future of vague promise lies ahead, but the moment at hand seems to mostly be about hanging around and waiting, no longer a child but perhaps not quite an adult, probably stalling. I was also reminded in a more superficial way of one of my favorite movies, Cinema Paradiso. Like that wonderful film, Double Feature is in large part on ode to the movies. Whether it's an intellectual art house film or a campy cult classic or a Hollywood blockbuster with dazzling special effects, we accept the enjoyment that movies have to give us for a couple hours in dark rooms and then we return to the real world. Loose ends tend to be tied up by the time credits roll. Epiphanies have been reached. We walk away satisfied that events came full circle and we return to our own lives where things don't need to conform to rhyme or reason. They just are. I look forward to Owen King's next book and to seeing what direction his literary career will take. It's off to a fine start. less

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