Customer Reviews

The Double Life Is Twice as Good: Essays and Fiction

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I'll admit it -- I picked up The Double Life Is Twice as Good: Essays and Fiction by Jonathan Ames because it contains the short story "Bored to Death," which formed the basis of the HBO series of the same name. I hadn't previously read any of Ames work, though I enjoyed the series and wanted to see how it differed from the original source material.

"Bored to Death" has the same basic premise as the TV show -- a writer gets bored and posts an advertisement as an "unlicensed" private investigator on Craigslist. He then gets called to work on a case and gets much more than he bargained for. Except in the case of the short story, it takes a much darker turn than its HBO counterpart.

However, outside of the inclusion of "Bored to Death," the rest of the book is an uneven mix of what can loosely be described as journalism -- including features on a Goth music festival, Marilyn Manson, Lenny Kravitz and New York City's Meatpacking District, among others -- personal essays, short stories, introductions and forewords from other books and old journal entries. It feels like a lot of it was added to pad out a short book, and the length is still on the extremely short side even with the extra material.

As with other popular essayists, Ames writes in the same voice in all of his work -- even the fiction. The personal essays and journalism are entertaining and sometimes funny, but the journal entries from Ames' youth are not particularly engaging and seem overly self indulgent. I'm also puzzled over the inclusion of two forewords that Ames wrote -- one for a graphic novel he scripted, another for a friend's book. Taken out of their original context, they don't really offer much to the reader.

I'm guessing that the Double Life is Twice is Good may not be the best place to start if you're interested in Ames' writing. Although I found some of the stories mildly funny, Ames sexual neuroses and performance art friends (including a character who goes by the moniker "Mangina," or as Ames affectionately refers to him, "Mangie") got a bit tedious. I'm not particularly interested in middle aged adolescents -- and there's a lot of them in this book, including Ames himself.

Despite my personal biases, I think the overall scatter shot nature of this collection makes it difficult to recommend. There is some great writing in here, but there's also a lot of filler. It makes me wonder if this was published to cash in on Ames' television series, and since "Bored to Death" wasn't long enough to stand on its own, Ames and his editors had to dig out whatever they could to justify the price of the book.

Jonathan Ames's eighth book is another collection of essays and fiction. The centerpiece is "Bored to Death," a novella about an amateur detective (also named Jonathan Ames). It's an amusing piece of fiction that originally appeared in "McSweeney's"; it's also the basis for an HBO series, executive produced by Ames and starring Jason Schwartzman, that will debut this fall. "Bored to Death" is also the strongest entry in this book.

Compared to past collections, "The Double Life" isn't twice as good; it's somewhat below average for Ames. It won't bore you to death, by any means, but several of his journalism pieces wear out their welcome here. Do we really need a 27-page adventure into New York's meatpacking district? How long does Ames need to hang out with Lenny Kravitz and Marilyn Manson to draw interesting portraits of the rockers? His fiction is more successful, and much more fun, than his non-fiction: He often uses his own life and experience as a basis. "Book Tour Diary", a fictionalized book tour diary (what else?) is a work of genius.

The cover copy calls Ames "an edgier David Sedaris". A "weirder David Sedaris" might have been more appropriate. The level of self-deprecation can be off-putting at times. If you're new to Ames, you'll probably want to pick up one of his novels to see how the humor works for you. The Extra Man and Wake Up, Sir! are good places to start.

Jonathan Ames is definitely an entertaining writer, and some of his stories really drew me in and kept me captivated. However the rest of the stories- about 40-50% of the book just felt like filler. I wish that the book had been edited down to a shorter read or that more exciting takes had been added to make it an overall strong read. I would recommend this book, but also suggest that you pass over the stories that seem to be dull.

If you are a fan of Jonathan Ames and appreciate his works, then this another great piece to add to your collection.

It is an easy read that is both interesting and entertaining, so if you are considering this book, then you won't be disappointed.