Customer Reviews

Double Duce

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If your not ready to take on the price of "Despite everything" this is a good Cometbus book to get into. This book is a little different from Cometbus's regular zines. Pretty much no travel is documented in this book. "Double Duce" covers a few squats that the author lived in and his relations to his roomates as wells as what seems like the fall of the Berkley/Oakland scene. Many of the experiances covered in this collection are more of the typical punk rock/smash everything/piss in bottles variety and may not seem as fulfilling as Aaron's travel journals. This is a great read though- I would not suggest it as a first Cometbus book for someone unless they are just in love with being a crusty punk.

This book was fantastic. It completely captured the imporant aspects of punk and expressed them in a way thats relatable to the reader. Inspiring, funny, and overall a great read. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in zines or punk culture.

Have you ever lived in a squat or a crash pad? Maybe just wondered or fanitisized about what that would be like? If so, this is your story. The images of my old trashy crash pad home came back as vivid as day when I read about Cometbus's days at Double Duce in Berkley. The bottles of piss because there's no workign toilet, the heaps of trash, and becomming so close with your scumbag roommates that you think idenitical thoughts.

Not only does Cometbus weave an enthralling tale though, the way he writes is smooth and enjoyable. All of the characters become like personal friends, because you feel so intouch with their personalities. Cometbus is a master at reading people, and a total "fly on the wall" kinda guy like a good writer should be. I was a little pissed at the text at first, the "handwritten" look of it is a bit harder to read than your average novel, but once I got a few pages in and my eyes adjusted, I was lost in the drumps of Berkley. I ordered "Despite Everything" the day I got this book because I wanted to read more Cometbus ASAP. I was really glad be included the WDH stories after the initial story is over... the one where the Christmas tree burns down the Watertower that Aaron and Willy live in was my favroite.

This book is very good. The stories are funny and much like stuff me and my friends would talk about. The font is annoying, but overall, it's a good book for sure. buy it used.

Aaron Cometbus writes this book like he sees from God's eyes. Every page is a new idea, a new brain treat for the reader to eat up. He tells every story just like it is>THE TRUTH> Anyone that likes the punk scene would enjoy this book. It goes from getting chases by cops to drug addiction to just sitting around drinking coffee bored waiting for your life to end. A very good book.

SF Weekly's blurb (on the back of the book) says that Cometbus helps define the soul of the Bay Area. I have never been there and have very little experience with punk culture, so I wouldn't know. What was this book like for me? It managed to capture the feeling of being a teenager pretty well. Imagine if Holden Caulfield could stand to live with other human beings. Now imagine that he lived with a group of disturbed special ed children. That's pretty much what this book is like.