How to Be Book Club - "The Double" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Existential crises are like a persistent rash. There's no cure, but if you're suffering from the Big Questions, maybe the How To Be Book Club can be a salve. Come hang out in Book Club Bar's back garden one Saturday each month, and join us in discussing works of philosophical fiction from across different eras and parts of the globe. We'll read the book beforehand (and do us a solid, if you can—get your book from our store), and then gather for casual conversation over drinks. No preparation needed; just bring your book and your curious mind!

This March we'll finally do what we should have done from the start: explore our shadow selves. We'll read The Double by Dostoevsky paired with Man and His Symbols by Jung. Shout out to our beloved HTB member, Nick, for picking this duo!

The Double follows the unraveling of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a bureaucrat whose life is thrown into chaos by the appearance of his doppelgänger who is more charming, successful, and content than he. If this sounds familiar it's because there have been countless homages and interpretations of the story in literature and film (The Double by José Saramago, Enemy dir. Denis Villeneuve, and A Different Man dir. Aaron Schimberg to name a few). Part psychological horror, part social satire, the novel asks the critical question: what if the call really is coming from inside the house?

To frame our analysis of Dostoevsky, we'll read selections of Carl Jung’s Man and His Symbols—specifically Part 1: Approaching the Unconscious and Part 4: Symbolism in the Visual Arts. In these sections, we'll become aquainted with the Jungian conception of the psyche (the ego vs. the unconscious), and the idea of doubles as meaningful eruptions of what we repress, deny, or fail to integrate.

Maybe we'll even talk about psycoanalytic sociology as it applies to grievance politics...

This month's picks: The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky

& Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung

What your ticket includes:

• $8 off any drink at the bar

Grab a brunch cocktail at the bar and tell us what you thought of the book! Our informal discussion will be led by BCB bookseller Keri Kelly.

Registration is capped, so please register early if you are planning on attending. Please note: gratuity for the bartenders is not included. Please use your tickets at the beginning of the event.