Naomi Klein, a prominent Canadian writer and activist, has won the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction with her book Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World.
The Tale of Two Naomis
Doppelganger is Klein’s personal account into the world of online misinformation, sharing the story of how she’s often been mistaken for Naomi Wolf. Wolf is also an author and journalist, however on the opposite end of the political spectrum as Klein. In addition to being award winning authors and activists, both Naomi’s are Jewish women who were both born at the height of second-wave feminism.
However, over the last few years what they don’t have in common has vastly outweighed what they do.
Klein is a long time Leftie; whereas, Wolf is far on the Right
In a 2023 interview on podcast Gray Area, Klein highlighted an incident where Naomi Wolf’s stance on vaccine verification apps led her to gain attention from right-wing platforms like Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox. Klein pointed out how Wolf’s views portrayed these apps as tools for surveillance, akin to Chinese Communist Party social credit systems infiltrating Western societies. For Klein, this was a revelation and illustrated how certain narratives can align with agendas outside mainstream perspectives, influencing public discourse and political alliances.
As such, Klein’s Doppelganger not only explores her personal experiences of being mistaken for Naomi Wolf, but goes deeper into the larger impacts that digital technology has on contemporary culture, politics, and personal identity.
In an interview with Vox, Klein shared, “I think the confusion around identity is a lot easier when we are not actually interacting with each other. We’re interacting with tiny little thumbnail avatars of one another, which are eminently more confusable with tiny little thumbnail-sized avatars of somebody else. And I’m not immune to it.”
“In my defense, it was never my intent to write this book. I did not have time. No one asked me to. And several people strongly cautioned against it.” – opening paragraph, Doppelganger
Doppelganger Wins Award
Klein, renowned for her earlier work “No Logo” and subsequent books like “The Shock Doctrine”, was celebrated by Suzannah Lipscomb, chair of the non-fiction award judges. Lipscomb commended that Doppelganger is a, “brilliant and layered analysis,” highlighting Klein’s blend of humor, insight, and expansive expertise. Lipscomb went on to describe the book as a “courageous and optimistic call-to-arms”, recommending it to readers who are looking for a more nuance path in how to navigate our world’s complex contemporary issues.
The awards ceremony took place Bedford Square Gardens, in London England, last Thursday, June 13th. Klein win comes with a cash prize of $30,000 Pounds.
*Note: As of the date of this publication, I was unable to find any source in which Naomi Wolf was interviewed for her perspective on this issue and Klein’s book.
An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.