Doubles - Nora Gold - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Nora Gold

GENRE: Literary Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: May 1, 2026

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A literary fiction novella about a young math-obsessed girl caught in an institution. Creative in concept, clever in execution. Dark and disturbing content. A few inclusions made me uncomfortable, though these might not affect all readers. Definitely recommended. Not for children despite the young protagonist.

Plot Preview:

1968. A twelve-year-old girl is angry at being kept in a state-run children’s home. Every day, she waits for someone to come and take her back home. But why is she there? Why is she angry?

The story is told to us in the unnamed narrator’s first-person point-of-view over a period of six months.

I had encountered Nora Gold’s writing through the brilliant flip-book with two literary novellas, “In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym”. I was impressed enough to know that I would read more of her works. This second encounter of her writing has mostly justified my faith in her.

The plot is quite impressive in an understated way. It begins somewhat light, but as we continue reading, we realise just how dark it is. Listening to a child’s narration on some truly disturbing events is an unsettling experience. At the same time, I can't help praise its imaginative plot development; the structure is really creative.

Spread over six months, the content is actually a part of an exercise conducted by one of the trustees, where the child needs to write her answers to the question posed, one per week. Of course, given the loquacious nature of our lead and her flittery mind, the answers are almost stream-of-consciousness in their approach, with the response going here, there, and everywhere. Keeping track of the question asked is tricky at times, but the narrator always remembers it even when we might not.

A literary fiction work is nothing without a compelling cast of characters. Our protagonist, the unnamed twelve-year-old narrator, is possibly neurodivergent. However, as we get the story in her own first-person POV, and as it is set in 1968 – long before such issues were acknowledged, we don’t know what condition she actually has (assuming she has one.) Heck, we don’t even get to know her name, which is so sad. Staying anonymous further highlights her plight of being yet another unknown caught in the system.

One thing that is very clear about the narrator is her passion for mathematics, even though she claims that she isn't very good at it. All her thoughts involve numbers in some way or the other. These numerical insights can become fascinating or tedious, depending on how much you like maths. I enjoyed her quantitative aptitude as well as her word play. However, she also has preternatural knowledge of some more subjects such as geography, which feels a bit too much at times.

In this novella, we get to see only the main character in detail, but there are several others who walk in and out of her life. Through her frank narration, we see her opinion on those who interact with her in any way, be it her fellow inmates or any of the counsellors or her family members through her flashback memories. These little insights might be sparing, but they tell us enough, often more than our narrator even understands.

This is one thing that struck me the most about the book: there is so much said, but so much more unsaid. Though a fast-paced novella, we need to invest time in reading between the lines so as to get the holistic picture. The writing is very clever in this regard.

Another thing that impressed me was the transition in the thinking and behaviour of our narrator over the course of six months. Despite getting only a first-person version of her own story, we can clearly see the impact of her situation on her personality. Brilliantly done!

Just because the first-person comes from a child narrator, don’t assume that this is a child-friendly book. Some inclusions made me really uncomfortable, not just because of what was happening but because I was hearing such words and observations from a child. I feel quite conflicted about this aspect of the book. Though her naïveté also shows in several scenes, it is quite possible that the narrator’s neurodivergence and her extensive reading ensured a greater adult influence over her thoughts and words. It is also possible that the 1960s counterculture had influence on the thinking of even teens. But my eyes and ears couldn’t handle crude words coming from a child’s thoughts. This might not bother all readers.

The historical feel is quite subtle, though we do hear references to some events from the time period. This can be attributed to the closeted conditions of the narrator.

The ending is the icing on the cake. It is just perfect for the story, leaving us with something instead of everything, but still better than nothing.

Overall, this indie novella would be an excellent option for readers who enjoy character-oriented fiction, preferably those open to some crude content and not affected by triggers related to kids. Had the content not gone so “adult’, I might have liked this even better. But even as is, it is a compelling story that stays in the head long after the last page.

Recommended to literary fiction readers.

My thanks to Literary Press Group of Canada and Guernica Editions for providing the DRC of “Doubles” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.