Review by Wy_Bertram -- Duplicity by Fin C Gray

[Wy_Bertram]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Duplicity" by Fin C Gray.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Duplicity follows the life of Daniel McIntyre and his tumultuous path to adulthood where he commits an unimaginable crime. But this book does not focus on the crime itself, but the external factors that lead Daniel to such violent extremes.

As a child, Daniel gets his first taste of human cruelty at the hands of a stranger, and perhaps from then, he begins to angle towards a darker path in life. When he loses his mother to cancer, and his father to grief and alcohol, Daniel more or less decides that humanity isn’t worth it. He spends the rest of his youth wasting away on drugs and trying to detach himself from his family and the world at large until someone unexpected comes into his life. For once, Daniel chooses to see past the bleakness and allow himself the possibility of happiness, but the thing he craves simply cannot be. The alternative is a strapping himself in explosives and hoping to attain happiness in heaven.

For several reasons, Duplicity was a difficult read, yet compelling in a way that I could not put it down. At first, before I got to understand Daniel’s character, and before the greater themes of the story became apparent, it was Daniel’s mother, Alison’s, battle with cancer that was the most heart-wrenching part of the story. Fin C. Gray’s incredible penmanship brought the grief of each character to the surface, and I felt their sadness reverberating through me after the fact.

In its essence, the book was centred on the question of good versus evil. Are humans inherently bad, or are well all simply victims of our environments? As for Daniel, I still can’t decide. Although it is not explicitly stated, it seemed that the name ‘Duplicity’ was a reference to Daniel’s mental state, and I suspect, his father’s as well. In addition to all the grief he suffered, Daniel may have been bipolar, adding to his struggle with his sexuality and self-perception.

The author took a gamble in speculating about the possible motivation of a terrorist, and in that respect, I could hardly call this a crime novel or even a thriller. Above everything else, it was poignant and psychological, a hard-hitting character-driven story that maintained suspense throughout all 294 pages.

The unexpected happy ending was a welcome reprieve from all the prior grit, but of course, a story such as this could not end on too happy a note. That said, I can’t exactly say that I had a great time reading this book, but I was very affected by it, and in my opinion, Duplicity deserves 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend this mostly to readers who enjoy more character-driven stories as Duplicity is more a statement on humanity and the human mind.

However, this book contains quite a lot of strong themes. Sexuality, grief, mental illness, religion,, and terrorism are some of the main points of this story. I wouldn’t recommend this to younger readers or anyone sensitive to topics about the Muslim faith, suicide or homosexuality.

It gets quite profane, and in some instances, sexual and offensive, so reader discretion is well advised.

Happy reading.

******
Duplicity
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Rashida10]

I liked that this book focuses on the underrated factors that have led to such an unimaginable act by Daniel. You chose a good book.

[jomana_3]

I agree with you; it wasn't an easy read, but definitely an interesting one. Great review.