The Double

In this Kafkaesque fable satirizing autocracy, Viktor X., a low-level government data analyst, is kidnapped by Gray Men in broad daylight. He is to be metamorphosed into a doppelgänger for a brutal dictator to protect against assassination. Viktor must accurately impersonate “the Exalted Father,” who boasts a manufactured image of power and manhood, dictates stern religious beliefs, flaunts vast wealth and represses all dissent while pursuing an unpopular war.

Viktor’s two mysterious handler...