Matt Kim is a man who feels himself slowly disappear. People bump into him in the street as if they can’t see him and his actions appear to have no impact on his environment. He is estranged from his family. As a Korean man raised by Irish Catholic adoptive parents in Boston, he feels unmoored -- neither Asian enough nor American enough. He melts into the space between the walls. He soon finds that he has a doppelganger -- a double who seems to be a better version of himself. His girlfriend Yumi (You-me… get it?) is going through a similar experience.

The delivery is surreal and feels like someone trying to describe a dream before it slips away. Dreams occur in a part of the brain that doesn’t process lasting memories. If you want to remember the shards of a dream you had before it slips away, you have to articulate it by writing it down, telling it to someone or at least going over it in your mind before you fully awake. The first quarter of the book feels like that’s what Matt Kim is doing -- articulating the misty remnants of his life to try to hold onto it.

As the story moves on it becomes more grounded, coinciding with his trying to rekindle his relationship with his pre-teen daughter. Still, he feels invisible, in part because he’s an Asian man in Boston, which in the book is rife with dudebros, the KKK and white supremacists in red caps.

The story can be hard to follow at times because of the surreal quality, but it’s a good read if you take your time.

I received this Advance Reader Copy of Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#DisappearDoppelgängerDisappear #NetGalley

Matthew Saleeses has a lot to say about invisibility. HIs protagonist Matt Kim is feeling displaced and, well invisible as his life crumbles around him. Or is it? This opens with a stream of consciousness and then turns into something else. I'm at a loss to describe it- it's not an easy read but it's intriguing. The plot wanders here and there and then back again; the reader must pay attention. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.


I should maybe share that I adore this author. I think he’s generous and smart and I love his person as well as his writing. I also was adopted but was part of the public foster care system and I’m also Asian American and have white foster parents. I share that to say that there’s a lot happening off the page that already amounts to adoration but this novel was so interesting and witty and I hope everyone reads it.

“English poet John Donne saw his pregnant wife's doppelganger holding an infant at the same instant his live wife suffered a stillbirth many miles away. Before her death Queen Elizabeth I saw her doppelganger inert on her royal bed. In Scottish legend fairy creatures give birth to sickly babies that look the same as healthy human babies, and thereafter try to swap out their kid for yours.These were stories of surrender to an outside force—but an outside force in the shape of the self.”

I liked the surrealist bent to this book but I felt like the character development was sacrificed to keep in the format. It's a shame because it was a wild ride and the writing was solid. I just didn't like or care about anyone in the book. I enjoyed the doppelgangers but I felt like we switched between them too much too quickly. I did like the adoption angle but it still didn't feel like the character were fleshed out enough.

3.5-4. (Rounded up)

This is an odd and interesting read, one that I think is ultimately worth the ride, even if that ride takes you out of your comfort zone in ways that may or may not work for you.

The issue of minority visibility/invisibility in America's state of white supremacy is both timely and timeless, sadly, since we as a country have only ever made small inroads in our institutionalized racism, from politics to law to societal beliefs. Matt Kim, the main character of the book, is obsessed with his own increasing invisibility, both in society and in his personal relationships.

The book is written in first person and opens with a strong sense of the surreal and reads like the stream-of-consciousness of an unreliable narrator. Kim's thoughts, especially in the beginning, are erratic, somewhat extreme, and often removed from emotion. The result is a bit disorienting but serves to match the emotional and mental state of the character.

The actual plot of the book is slow to unfold and even slower to feel more grounded, and character motivation was sometimes beyond my comprehension. However, as plot and family characters are introduced, Kim's journey into his concerns of invisibility, his doppelganger, and his place in the world become a bit more cohesive (though still surreal).

I won't add more detail, simply because I don't know what would be considered spoilery and what wouldn't. Ultimately, though, the book works successfully with its allegory, symbolism, and philosophical asides to contribute to the ongoing conversations regarding race visibility/invisibility issues we face today.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I couldn’t get into this book, as much as I loved the concept and the story line, I found it a bit complicated for me but that’s more a reflection on me than the writing. I would love to hear this as an audio book read by the author.

I liked the concept of the book but I found that the execution made it too complicated to follow - I had to go back several pages back each time to check which Matt was that, and I did not manage to really feel invested in the plot for that reason. I think it was a good idea but the final result is just not for me.

This surreal imaginative novel is a sign of our increasingly plain out scary times we live. It's absurd but it mirrors our life today. Salesses' new book reminded me of Murakami especially The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. An asian man living in Trump's America, a man who feels he doesn't matter, when there are much better people out there who are having at hard go at life in these times, how can you exist?

Began very well but then got to a point where it was more flaky than interesting. Could not finish :(

I DNF’d this around 1/4 of the way in. I appreciate the ‘surrealist’ vibe the author was going for, and the synopsis of the book was VERY intriguing, but unfortunately I really did not connect with this at all. I’m sure there will be an audience who absolutely loves this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

This one takes some thought and concentration -- not a light read. But it is a good one and told with some humor. This author has some other books, so he knows how to formulate a story. Recommended for those seeking an intellectual and funny story.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear by Matt Salesses

Invisibility is a social issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It affects many segments of the population, but some groups bear more of the burden of being unseen than others. Disappear Doppelganger Disappear, begins with an abbreviated list of disappearances…governmentally sanctioned limits on immigration, particularly affecting Asian immigration. Author Matthew Salesses addresses this burden through character Matt Kim, who has lost his parents, family, and quickly losing all sense of himself. As a Korean American adopted child, Matt seeks connection. He’s divorced and estranged from his daughter and seems to be willing to do anything to reestablish connections. Like the character in his own novel: “He was at an age of dwindling options: Each choice he made limited the choices he had left.”

Then there are the doppelgängers written as separate characters. There is the “Matt” who is everything Matt thinks he’d have liked to have been, but this Matt has been murdered. The girlfriend, who changes her name, though the original Matt sees this change as the creation of another doppelganger. The story reinforces the premise that in order to communicate, there must be a “share[d] belief in imaginary things: nations, limited liability corporations, money, gender, race.” It isn’t clear what these characters believe in, but clearly, this author understands the nuances of humor.

This book is not for the person looking for an easy read. It is hard to keep track of the many Matts, (including the one named for the author.) The magical elements, which let Matt travel through space and time (though only between two locations and times,) are interesting and unforgettable, but difficult as well, taking the form of cracks in walls, yellow yarn and bubbles. It is in the existential questions where the universal appeal resides, and it goes beyond a plea for male Asian adoptees/immigrants to be seen.

“In this one and only world, messy and circumstantial and shared, nothing is completely free from its opposite. You are not only who you are, but who you are not.”

This is an important book for the times in which we live, and probably, for any time. Crises change, but the need for human connection and living authentically never disappear, even when we want them to.

Recommended to anyone looking for deeper meaning in fiction.

I read and advanced readers copy of Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear provided by NetGalley. The book will be released on August 11, 2020.

I like surreal books. This book definitely is surreal and introspective. 1/5th of the way in I had to stop. None of the characters seemed anything but pathetic. Like watching the Debbie Downer sketches on Saturday Night Live except all the characters were downers. Without empathizing with the people in the book, I lost interest. Hopefully other readers will report differently. The idea and the story was compelling. Adding in the element of adoption also added an element of the human condition that made the story very interesting at several layers. I simply wasn’t interested in the main character or others he encountered. Prove me wrong, please. I liked the idea! I received this ARC from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. I chose the book because it was interesting and would likely have purchased it.